After Lee's death in 1990, the pageant was created and took place at the Exotic World Museum's grounds in Helendale, California from 1991 through 2005 before relocating to Las Vegas.

[8][9] She garnered attention by sending out a press release claiming that "Lili St. Cyr, Tempest Storm, Blaze Starr and 30 other alumni of burlesque will all be invited to attend this reunion."

The new format featured an entire evening dedicated to the "legends" – the mostly sexagenarian and septuagenarian women of burlesque's "golden age" of the 1950s and 1960s.

[14] In 2006, the pageant took place in a new location, Las Vegas, in the wake of certain events that greatly affected the museum's operational ability.

The pageant consisted of four evenings' worth of events and featured dual hosts Margaret Cho and El Vez.