Hailed as the world's only museum dedicated to the history and art of Burlesque, the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum in downtown Las Vegas closed this week.

Its executive director says museum attendance mirrored the drop in visitation that Las Vegas is seeing.

He blamed the economy for fewer ticket sales to the museum's largest fundraising event, as well as policy, a familiar foe in the art form's history.

A burlesque dancer in three different decades... (Shawna "The Black Venus") Lots of fun, lots of drama always.

-Shauna "The Black Venus" refused to let racism deter her from dancing.

-When I first started, there were a lot of places I could not work because of my color.

The late 70s, it wasn't that great because I couldn't work where I wanted to work.

I couldn't work here.

I couldn't work in Vegas.

-Now considered a legend in a burlesque community that she says today's public is somewhat more accepting of... -We're still looked at as sex workers, for one thing, but, in general, people are more open.

-She visited Vegas in June to perform at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender, a four-day fundraiser for the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum.

-Oh, it's great.

I still, I just love, love dancing, and I'm usually goofing around.

(Penny Starr, Sr.) Instead of "stripper," I prefer "exotic."

Any woman can come out with their clothes off, but the woman that can dance around with a little bit of something on is the woman that has it.

You put that people right here.

That's the one I like.

-It's the high point of their year.

Every year we bring as many of the older performers as we can.

They love the opportunity to kind of revel in-- you know, they weren't-- I mean, they were popular, but they weren't beloved people when they were doing their careers.

They were getting arrested.

-Dustin Wax is Executive Director of the Weekender and of the now closed Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum.

-All of these are Jennie's pasties.

-An activist who fought for the rights of fellow burlesque dancers, Jennie Lee "The Bazoom Girl" founded the museum, which first opened as Exotic World in Helendale, California, in the 1980s.

-Her husband's family own this goat ranch, and she had this idea that she was going to, like, start a museum there.

-It's been at this downtown Las Vegas location since 2018.

-This is the most expensive part of what we do.

I mean, the Weekender costs a lot of money, but it makes a lot of money.

-Wax says the museum typically costs more to operate than it earns and that he's had to use money generated from the Weekender, an internationally attended conference with classes... -If you use your hands as well, you're adding more power.

-...shopping, meet and greets, and more.

But he says attendance has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels, and he doesn't think it will anytime soon, partly due to President Trump's policies on gender and Canada.

(President Trump) They've charged our farmers up to 400%-- almost 400% on certain products and certain, you know, things.

Our farmers want to send it, they have to pay 200, 300, 400%.

People don't know that.

Canada is a very tough country to deal with.

Frankly, Canada should be the 51st state, okay?

It really should, because Canada relies entirely on the United States.

We don't rely on Canada.

-I started getting emails from especially a lot of Canadians, but also from the UK, from Australia, Hey, I'm scared to come there this year.

I don't want to cross the border.

A big part of our audience is LGBTQ.

They're concerned about the kinds of stories they're hearing about the scrutiny that people are receiving at the border.

They're concerned about, What if my physical appearance doesn't match the gender expressed in my passport?

-Wax says the museum also relied on grants from nonprofits like Nevada Humanities, which are facing federal funding cuts under a Trump administration that's trying to rein in government spending.

-I'm looking at the future and thinking we could stay open and just keep going until one day there's $0.00 in the bank account, or we can be proactive and look at what is a model that keeps the collection together and keeps the Weekender happening.

-Wax says the Weekender, now in its 35th year, will continue, while the collection of about 6,000 pieces will go in storage.

-Photographs, posters, promotional material.

We have probably 200 costumes.

-Also among the museum's collection are these three urns holding the remains of three former burlesque dancers.

Why do you have urns here?

-So a lot of these performers didn't have close relations with their families.

When Jennie moved out to the goat ranch in Helendale, she's like, People can come here and live.

And one of the reasons retired elderly performers might want to go and live in a trailer in the High Desert is because they don't have a daughter or son's house they can go to or family members house they can go to for their golden years.

So we have three urns with the remains of Mitzi Sinclair, Sherri Champagne, and Rita Cortez.

-Wax says their remains will likely live in his own home, and he hopes the rest of this colorful collection can someday serve as a traveling exhibition.

At the Weekender, word of this traveled as fast as twirling tassels.

-I know in Austin, our community has already talked about, Hey, if they're going to be traveling, how can we bring them here?

-After all, this museum on the road would reflect the lives of some of Burlesque's biggest stars.

(Dee Milo) I worked nearly all of the United States and the foreign countries.

-And while burlesque legends are lamenting the museum's closing, they're thankful that the Weekender will keep bumping and grinding so they can rejoice... -The way Burlesque is, you know, portrayed now, it's just, it's great.

-...and reminisce, share their craft, and shimmy.

-I would come up against anyone, you know, because I would work that stage.

And I have one move that I make.

I call it my Fred Astaire move.

I absolutely have 'em down pat, you know?

And I can't do it anymore.

[laughter] But I do get through a good-- I do a good number.