Hundreds gathered on Friday night in Haines to watch Juneau Drag’s first-ever appearance at the Southeast Alaska State Fair. Despite the initial controversy over the performance, KTOO’s Yvonne Krumrey reports that the show was an overwhelming hit.
Volunteers in purple vests and fairy wings set up the catwalk as people of all ages crowd around the stage, many wearing glitter on their faces.
For some residents, like Symaron Marquardt, hosting a drag show at the fair is a sign that Haines is a safe place for queer people.
“As a mother, it allows my transgender daughter to see people who represent her as a person, in a town that’s not very diverse,” she said. “So I’m really excited that the fair didn’t cancel it.”
There was some controversy leading up to Friday’s show. When fair organizers posted the line-ups in March, they got nearly 100 emails about the drag show — mostly in support. But some parents expressed concerns about kids being exposed to drag and what they thought would be sexual themes. Another person implied that drag should be met with violence.
But in May, fair officials announced they would not cancel the show. Instead, they would move it from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
For Haines Borough Assembly Member Ben Aultman-Moore, the show means that the town is catching up with the rest of the world.
“Haines is very concerned about keeping its young people. And this is the kind of thing where young people are like, ‘Okay, it’s not 1954 anymore,’” he said.
Juneau Drag has had a large presence in Juneau and Skagway, but nobody KTOO spoke to could remember a drag show in Haines before.
The acts range from tributes to Stevie Nicks and Barbie to a Where’s Waldo parody.
Drag artist Lituya Hart Monroe has been performing for nearly a decade. She says the group wanted to make the show suitable for all ages — and she wishes she had exposure to drag when she was growing up in Juneau.
“I didn’t have access to anything like this when I was a kid. And I really do wonder how that would have changed how I move around in the world and how I see myself,” she said.
The show may be the most attended at the fair this year. When the very-tall Lamia Monroe steps onstage in a classic Barbie chevron swimsuit, teen girls at the front scream and cheer. Later, Luke TheDukeof Bell does a modern country medley. And when Gigi Monroe walks out as Stevie Nicks, it’s the teens’ moms who lose their minds.
Gigi: Did you enjoy our kings and queens tonight?”
The show goes until 11 p.m. After the curtain call, dozens line up to have their photos taken with the performers.
Reporting from Haines, I’m YK.
View Original Story by Yvonne Krumrey
