Chicago Is a Drag Festival | |
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Genre | Drag festival |
Frequency | Annually |
Location(s) | 5238 N. Clark St, Chicago, Illinois |
Coordinates | 41°58′38.99″N87°40′8.36″W / 41.9774972°N 87.6689889°W |
Country | USA |
Inaugurated | June 28, 2019 |
The Chicago Is a Drag Festival is an annual drag festival in Chicago, Illinois, United States. [1] [2] [3] It is the first drag-centered festival in the Midwest. [4] [5] 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. [5] Organizers purposely booked a diverse lineup including people of color, trans and nonbinary people, and a mix of longtime performers and newcomers. [5]
The first festival was held in June 2019, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riot and the 50th anniversary of the Baton Show Lounge. [4] [5] [6] [7] The first event showcased 50 performers including: Imp Queen, Lucky Stiff, and Elektra Del Rio. [4] Emcees included Lucy Stoole, Aunty Chan, Khloe Park and DiDa Ritz of RuPaul’s Drag Race . [6] [4] [5] Special guests included Tiffany “New York” Pollard and TS Madison, along with Candis Cayne and Drag Race winner Raja. [6]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was hosted online. [2] [6] [8] The festival streamed on A Queer Pride’s Twitch channel on June 30, 2020. It was hosted by Shea Couleé. [9] Performers included: Lucy Stoole, Tenderoni and Bambi Banks-Couleé, The Vixen, Detox, DiDa Ritz, and Joan Jett Blakk. [9] Musicians Peaches and Nadya Tolokno of Pussy Riot made guest appearances. [9]
On June 24, 2022, the event was held at the Cheetah Gym lot in Andersonville. [6] The third festival showcased 40 performers, including: Denali, Kahmora Hall, Fantasia Gaga Royale (the first winner of the OUTtv show HotHaus). [6] [10] Hosts included Precious Brady-Davis. [6]
The 2023 festival was titled Chicago Is a Dollhouse. 35 other trans and non-binary performers were showcased on June 23, 2023. [2] For the first time, the festival was free. [2] It was held at the Cheetah Gym Parking Lot on 5248 N. Clark St in Andersonville. [11]
It was hosted by Angelíca Grace, Chanel Mercedes Benz, Danika Blake, Dutchesz Gemini, Irregular Girl, Luv Ami-Stoole, Switch The Boi, and TiKi Vonté. Featured performers were Jazell Barbie Royale, of Queen Of The Universe, and Vander Von Odd, winner of Boulet Brothers’ Dragula Season 1.
Performers included: Alexandrea Diamond, Ashaandti, Aurora Gozmic, Boo Boo Kitty Fuck, Bubba Boom, Christi DaVinci, Clit Hardwood, Cosmo Dragón Fiero, Cunty MeMe, Denime Infiniti Sanchez, Dida Ritz, Doja Thee Kiki, Dusty Bahls, Helvetikah Blak, JForPay, Joan Jullian, Kenzie Couleé, Lila Star, Lilith Babylon, Liviana, Lucy Stoole, Lynzo The Heartthrob, Mick Douch, Omani Cross, pb, Penis Envy, Rachel Slurrz-Stoole, Ramona Slick, Sasha Sota, Selena Rivera, Smokey Karmichael, Travis Fiero, Yuíza Beach, Ziggy Banks. [11]
Peaches Christ is an American underground drag performer, emcee, filmmaker, and actor. Peaches currently resides in San Francisco where her Backlash Production Company and Midnight Mass movie series are based. Grannell studied film at Penn State University, where his senior thesis film Jizzmopper: A Love Story, about a janitor at an adult video store, won the audience award at the annual Penn State Student Film Festival. Grannell developed the Peaches Christ character during the production of this film.
Murray Hill is a New York City comedian and drag king entertainer. He is the entertainer persona of Busby Murray Gallagher, although this persona is maintained even in private settings. Murray Hill is the self-proclaimed "hardest-working middle-aged man in show business".
Airline Inthyrath, known by her stage name Jujubee, is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and recording artist from Lowell, Massachusetts. She first rose to prominence in 2010 as a contestant on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race, and later returned to compete on the first and fifth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, and the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2022), becoming one of the most popular queens from the franchise. She has the unique distinction of being the only contestant to reach the finale of the competition four times. Additionally, she was a main cast member on the makeover television series RuPaul's Drag U (2010–2012), Dragnificent (2019–2020), and RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race (2022). In 2021, she competed in the first season of Paramount+ singing competition Queen of the Universe.
Lucy Foozie, better known as simply Miss Foozie, is a character from Chicago. Time Out Chicago calls her a "drag hostess and entertainer", and Chicago Free Press has awarded her "best female impersonator". Since 2008, Miss Foozie has served as Community Ambassador for ChicagoPride.com.
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).
Timothy K. Wilcots, better known by the stage name Latrice Royale, is an American drag performer, recording artist, and reality television personality. She is best known for her appearances on the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2012 and on the first and fourth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. She finished fourth on her original season; in its final episode, she was crowned Miss Congeniality. She placed fifth on the fourth season of All Stars.
Chicago has long had a gay neighborhood. Beginning in the 1920s there was active homosexual nightlife in Towertown, adjacent to the Water Tower. Increasing rents forced gay-friendly establishments steadily northwards, moving through Old Town and Lincoln Park along Clark Street and on to Boys Town.
Martell Robinson, known by the stage name Jasmine Diane Masters, best known simply as Jasmine Masters, is an American drag queen, internet celebrity, YouTuber, and stand-up comedian. He is best known for competing on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Robinson is responsible for several viral videos, many of which have become memes, most notably And I Oop! which was the most used gif of 2019.
Sang-Young Shin, known professionally as Kim Chi, is a Korean-American drag queen, artist, entrepreneur, and television personality best known for competing on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Kim Chi was the first Korean-American contestant on the show as well as the first Korean-American drag queen on American national television. She owns the beauty brand Kim Chi Chic Cosmetics.
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.
Jaren Kyei Merrell, known professionally as Shea Couleé, is an American drag queen, musician, actor, podcaster, and fixture of the Chicago nightlife scene. Born in Warsaw, Indiana, they began their drag career in 2012. In 2017, Couleé achieved international fame after competing on season nine of RuPaul's Drag Race, placing in the top four. In 2020, Couleé won the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Couleé later returned to compete on the all-winners seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars in 2022, once again placing in the top four.
The Vixen is the stage name of Anthony Prince Taylor, an American drag performer, best known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and placing seventh. Her appearance on the show was notable for raising a conversation around racial dynamics both among her fellow drag queens and in the show’s fandom. She is the founder of Black Girl Magic, a drag show consisting of only African-American queens. In August 2020, she released Commercial Break, her debut album.
A Drag Queen Christmas is a 2017-2019 drag tour featuring alumni of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Digital Drag Fest was a digital drag concert series hosted by Producer Entertainment Group. Beginning on March 27, 2020, it was originally supposed to be a limited engagement until April 12 but, due to overwhelming demand, the series was extended to May 30. The aim of the series is to allow drag and LGBT performers who have had shows cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic a chance to perform for their fans. 50 percent of the proceeds from the event's merchandise would be donated to GLAAD, and several performers from the event also pledged a portion of their ticket sales to the organization.
Ella Fitzgerald is the drag persona of Donnell Robinson, an American drag queen based in Washington, D.C. Known as "the doyenne of D.C.'s drag scene," she hosted a long-running show at the drag club Ziegfeld's and is a mainstay of the city's annual Capital Pride.
Drag-a-thon was a drag show held during July 10–12, 2023, at the drag venue Darcelle XV Showplace in Portland, Oregon. The event was a successful attempt at setting a Guinness World Record for the longest drag stage show. Drag-a-thon was conceived and produced by Emma Mcilroy, co-founder of Wildfang, in response to the Tennessee Adult Entertainment Act and similar anti-drag legislation across the United States. Eden Dawn, the host venue Darcelle XV Showplace, and its longtime performer Poison Waters were also credited as co-organizers. Drag-a-thon was also a fundraiser, yielding approximately $290,000 for LGBT support service The Trevor Project.
DiDa Ritz is the stage name of Xavier Hairston, an American drag performer who competed on season 4 of RuPaul's Drag Race. Dida Ritz is based in Chicago, where she performs regularly and hosts Drag Race viewing parties. Her performance of "This Will Be" by Natalie Cole during a lip-sync contest has been deemed among the show's best.