Makeup, formal gowns and size 15 high heels all combined to make the 17th annual Womanless Beauty Pageant a success for the Nansemond River Pilot Club on Saturday.

“It was a great event,” said Becky Adams of the Pilot Club, adding that rough estimates put the figure raised at around $12,000. “It was a great night, and I think everyone enjoyed it. It goes to a good cause.”

Eight men dressed up as women and competed in casual wear, talent, evening wear and interviews, all for a good cause.

The annual “Heels for Healing” fundraiser supports the club’s efforts for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. And while a memorial ceremony during the event honored dozens of cancer survivors and those who have lost their battle to cancer, it was mostly a night of fun.

Even through the fake eyelashes and makeup, the men on stage didn’t lose sight of why they were there.

“My brother died of brain cancer at the age of 14,” said 21-year-old Jonathon Paul. His girlfriend’s father, Patrick Carroll, a second-year participant, encouraged him to do the event with him.

His girlfriend’s stepmother loaned him some of his clothing for the competition, and he found some at Goodwill.

“I had a blast,” he said. “I got to meet a whole lot of people.”

Winner Ty Satchell had it in the bag from the very beginning, performing a show-stopping dance routine to Beyonce’s “Get Me Bodied.”

“I love to dance,” said Satchell, who was somewhat nervous about being the winner. He attends Liberty Baptist Church, where the show was held. He decided to do the show with one of his employees, but the employee then backed out.

His wife helped him dress with items found at Goodwill, he said.

“When I first got him dressed, I said, ‘You’re such an ugly woman,’” joked his wife, Angie Satchell.

Talents displayed in the show included Jason Moore’s baton-twirling, Satchell’s exercise routine and Joey Brewer’s reading of Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman.”

Scott Karlin did a dance routine and then ended by breaking a stack of boards in a karate chop — perhaps the most masculine moment on the stage all night.

Karlin said his co-worker, Jason Moore, asked him to participate with him.

“He knew I would do it,” Karlin said. “I do all kinds of crazy stuff at the office all the time. That was a lot of fun.”

Awards given were:

• Ms. Relay for Life: Ty Satchell, “Tyra Rox”
• People’s Choice: Jason Moore, “Caronette Sugarbaker”
• Ms. Congeniality: Jeremy Branch, “Misty Mason”
• Most Original: Brian Bass, “Paula Ticks”
• Best Casual Wear: Joey Brewer, “Josephine ‘Boom Boom’ Brewer”
• Best Legs: Scott Karlin, “Karlina Scott”
• Best Make-Up: Jonathon Paul, “Jazzmen”
• Best Talent: Patrick Carroll, “Anita Goodman”