The ripples of Drag Kingdom
Dec 15, 2022Whenever we gather together, it's powerful. Things happen that were not going to happen anyway. From new connections to standing ovations, at Drag Kingdom we celebrated the end of the year together as the Kings of Joy community.
From this one night, here's the impact we made:
- 30 Kings of Joy performed in groups, duos, and some incredible debut solos!
- 107 people in our community said hell yes! I want to see you on stage in your Drag King persona and bought a ticket to attend.
- We raised $753.80 for our LGBTQIA refugee friends living in Block 13, Kakuma, Kenya through 10% of ticket sales, merch plus the food made and catered for by Chris through their business Cohab Coffee. All food sales went to Block 13. They send their love and appreciation and are happy to be able to pay for medication for typhoid and malaria among other things such as asthma medication, as well as food rations for the community.
- 8 future Kings have been paid forward by the community to participate in Kings of Joy Gold Stars, the debut group performance opportunity for first-time Drag Kings. These Kings of Joy get to perform at the Queers of Joy show in this pay-it-forward program.
- 7 new potential Kings of Joy signed up to the waiting list due to all the Kings who performed, demonstrating what it is to be a King of Joy and be part of such a supportive community.
- 100% smiles on faces
This was accomplished with the support of many hands. Let me give a shout-out to:
* The Red Rattler where we hold our performance events. I've loved this home since Chris and I performed together in our first Drag King group in 2018 and my diva dance group, Show Ponies started performing there in 2019. Shout out to the team especially Kween, Program Manager, Brooke, Venue Manager and Sammi, Duty Manager.
* Nat aka Hank E. Panky, Production Manager
* Claire aka Cyber Prince, Stage Manager
* Tori Folkard, videography and Sarah Malone, photography
* Rae aka Choking Hazard and Kiki aka Kaizer, makeup team with incredible setup support by Renee Taylor aka Aftercare Bear
* Lara aka Rainbowgan, door
* Jacob with the beautiful face, merch table
* Our hosts, Chris aka Chase Cocks and Kaitlyn aka Maggot Banks
* The Kings of Joy All-Stars who performed Pony (Goondiwindi Jones, Mike Hunt, Hank E. Panky, Dustin le Rugrat, Mario Maverick and Dug Estyle.)
* Our debut solo acts - Ewin Trouble, Max'd Out and Bob's Bulges.
* All the Kings of Joy performers!
And finally, thank you to The Working Kind Collective for providing us with a new home - our palace for rehearsals, in-house events, and workshops. I believe the future is so bright we have to wear shades...
I was so acknowledged by the community, but I'll leave you with this one quote from Ewin Trouble. "You are the queer Tony Robbins."
I'll take it!
Love,
Danica
The King Coach, Daddy Joy, Mother of Drag Kings.
P.S. Wanna be a Drag King? Sign up to the waiting list for Kings of Joy here
