 The Baton Show Lounge float, Chicago Pride Parade 2013 | |
 | |
| Address | 4713 N. Broadway Chicago United States |
|---|---|
| Location | Uptown Chicago |
| Coordinates | 41°58′4.39″N87°39′31.47″W / 41.9678861°N 87.6587417°W |
| Public transit |
|
| Parking |
|
| Owner | Jim Flint, Christoph Chiavazza |
| Type | LGBT |
| Genre(s) | Drag |
| Capacity | 195 |
| Opened | 1969 |
| Years active | 1969-present |
| Website | |
| www | |
Baton Show Lounge is a Chicago drag club since 1969. It is famous as the venue for the Miss Continental pageant.
Baton Show Lounge was founded in 1969 in River North. [1] [2] [3] The first venue's address was 436 N. Clark St. [4] The name was inspired by Flint's time in the Navy as a drum major. [1] He would attract crowds by baton twirling and roller skating on the street. [1]
The early days of the lounge were marked by police raids. [5]
The venue moved to its present address at the Uptown Broadway Building in Uptown at the end of 2018 due to rent hikes. [4] The new venue provides a capacity of 195 seats with an additional disco and bar room. [4] Grand opening of the new location was on April 10, 2019. [4]
Performers put on shows three times a night, five nights a week. [4]
Flint organized the first Miss Continental Pageant in 1980. [4] He started the competition as an inclusive pageant for all female impersonators, including those who have taken hormones or had surgical enhancements. [6] [3]
Since 2008, Dance Divas is a group that has held a benefit show for Chicago Dancers United at Baton Show Lounge. [7] Proceeds help members of the arts community with health expenses. [7] [8]
The Queens, a documentary directed by Mark Saxenmeyer, premiered in 2020 and focused on the 2011 Miss Continental competition. [10] [11] [4]
The cast appeared on several shows, including: Phil Donahue, Maury Povich, Oprah, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jenny Jones, People are Talking, 190 North, and ABC 7 New Year's Eve Celebrations. [2]
Connie and Carla is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck and starring Nia Vardalos, Toni Collette, and David Duchovny. The screenplay was written by Vardalos.
An AFAB queen, diva queen or hyper queen is a drag queen who is a woman, or a non-binary person who was assigned female at birth. These performers are generally indistinguishable from the more common male or transgender female drag queens in artistic style and techniques.
Mimi Marks is an American entertainer.
Miss Continental is an annual drag queen pageantry system founded in 1980 by Jim Flint. The pageant itself takes place at the Baton Show Lounge in Chicago, Illinois, and is usually held over Labor Day weekends.
Drag pageantry is a developed form of pageantry for female impersonators, drag queens, and trans women, styled after traditional beauty pageants or contests for cisgender women. It has also evolved into a pageantry for male impersonators, drag kings and trans men.
Catiria Reyes, better known as Lady Catiria, was a Puerto Rican drag performer, film actress, and transgender beauty pageant winner. She was one of the main performers at the New York City Latino nightclub La Escuelita, where she entertained crowds for almost two decades. She was the first person to win two titles at the Miss Continental pageant in Chicago. Towards the end of her life, she became an advocate for AIDS awareness.
Jorge Luis Flores Sánchez, better known as Nina Flowers, is a Puerto Rican drag queen, DJ, activist, professional make-up artist, and reality television personality who has been performing since 1993. He is best known for being the runner-up of the inaugural season of RuPaul's Drag Race, as well as being a contestant on the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars.
The U.S. state of Illinois has an active LGBT history, centered on its largest city Chicago, where by the 1920s a gay village had emerged in the Old Town district. Chicago was also the base for the short-lived Society for Human Rights, an early LGBT rights advocacy organization (1924).
Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, best known by the stage name Alyssa Edwards, is an American drag performer, choreographer, and businessperson. Edwards was known for competing in drag pageantry before rising to international attention as a contestant on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, becoming a fan favorite during and after her time on the show. Edwards subsequently appeared on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars and starred in her own web series, Alyssa's Secret.
LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon is an important part of Pacific Northwest culture.
Naysha Lopez is the stage name of drag performer and beauty pageant winner Fabian Rodriguez, who won the 2013 Miss Continental competition and appeared on the eighth seasons of both RuPaul's Drag Race and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.
Antwan Mason Lee, better known by the stage name Asia O'Hara, is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and costume designer. She is most well known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, in which she placed fourth. Since her season aired in 2018, O'Hara has been a staple of several domestic and international tours that feature Drag Race contestants, including Werq the World, Christmas Queens and Drive 'N Drag. She has also appeared on a number of web series produced by World of Wonder, including Can Do Queens, which she co-hosts with Kameron Michaels. In June 2018, she released "Queen for Tonight", her debut single. Her second single, "Crown Up", was released on May 20, 2019, along with an accompanying music video. Since January 2020, she has been a staple cast member of RuPaul's Drag Race Live!, a residency show in Las Vegas, and also stars in the accompanying VH1 miniseries RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue.
Reuben Asberry Jr., known professionally as Kennedy Davenport, is a drag queen, television personality, and dancer from Dallas, Texas, who came to international attention on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race, placing fourth overall, the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, where she was the runner-up, and the second season of Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World.
Victoria "Porkchop" Parker is the stage name of Victor Ray Bowling, an American drag performer and actor who came to international attention on the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race. He is notable in part for being the first contestant ever eliminated in the history of the franchise. Parker has also appeared elsewhere on television in and out of drag, and he has also served as a backup dancer for Miley Cyrus.
Brooke Lynn Hytes is the stage name of Brock Edward Hayhoe, a Canadian-American drag queen, ballet dancer, and television personality. After working as a dancer with Cape Town City Ballet and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Brooke Lynn Hytes achieved international recognition for competing on the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race; Brooke Lynn Hytes placed second, only to winner Yvie Oddly. Brooke Lynn Hytes is the first Canadian to compete in the series. Since 2020, Brooke Lynn Hytes has been a main judge on the spin-off series Canada's Drag Race, and is the first Drag Race contestant to become a full-time judge in the franchise.
Paradise is a gay nightclub in Asbury Park, New Jersey. It is known for its fundraisers and drag shows, most notable of which is the annual Miss Paradise pageant. The club is integrated with the Empress Hotel; both are owned by record producer Shep Pettibone. Paradise's 1999 opening is credited as one factor that improved Asbury Park's struggling economy and drew the LGBTQ community back to the city after a period of local unrest. The venue is a popular Jersey Shore destination in the summer, and it has received praise for its welcoming atmosphere. After several months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Paradise reopened its outdoor pool and bar area in summer 2020.
Jazell Barbie Royale is an American beauty pageant titleholder, singer, and entertainer. She won the Miss Continental pageant in 2016 and, in 2019, she became the second American and the first woman of African descent to win Miss International Queen. In 2022, Royale placed fourth during the second season of Queen of the Universe.
The Chicago Is a Drag Festival is an annual drag festival in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is the first drag-centered festival in the Midwest. The festival showcases drag acts from all different genres, including drag kings, pageant queens, comedy and camp, performers who dance and lip sync, and emcees. Organizers purposely booked a diverse lineup including people of color, trans and nonbinary people, and a mix of longtime performers and newcomers.
James W. Flint, also known as Jim Flint, is a drag performer, American businessman, and veteran.
Nicole Onoscopi is the stage name of Cole Cozart, an American drag performer based in Portland, Oregon. Nicole Onoscopi was first runner-up and the first Miss'd Popularity in the annual drag pageant Miss'd America in 2019, and was named Miss Gay Oregon in 2021 and Miss Portland Gay Pride in 2024. She has performed throughout Oregon, including at LGBT pride events in her native Albany as well as McMinnville, Portland, and Salem.
