The District of Columbia Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs is promoting four city-sponsored events in June to commemorate LGBTQ Pride Month.
"These moments are designed to honor our history, elevate our community, and celebrate the partnerships that continue to move us forward," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement.
Beginning Monday, June 1, at 4 p.m., the Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs will host its annual Pride flag-raising ceremony at the John A. Wilson Building. The event, considered the symbolic start of Pride Month, will feature remarks from the mayor and several community leaders on the building's steps before attendees gather for a group photograph.
It takes a village to raise a drag queen -- some kind of support system for feedback and friendship, dressmaking, wig gluing, and whatever other sticky situations might arise. Even an enterprising entertainer like D.C.'s "magical drag goddess" Cake Pop! sometimes needs a little help from her friends to fulfill a fabulous vision.
Cake Pop! assembled her crew recently for a very special production. In collaboration with director Marty Nee, Cake (a.k.a. John Marsh) aimed to create a visual performance piece to play during her DJ set at the highly anticipated Kitty Kat Ball, a national tour featuring the stars of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 18, including winner Myki Meeks, finalists Nini Coco, Darlene Mitchell, Juicy Love Dion, and special guests in each city.
"I feel like I am at my best communicating with people through performance when I'm on stage, when I'm in the spotlight, when I have that safety of the costume and the wig and the actual performance," says Ginger Minj, the 41-year-old drag queen who is one of the main characters in Adam Shankman's nutball comedy Stop! That! Train!, pulling into theaters Friday, June 12.
Minj, a child actor with roots in the live theater world, shot to fame after her top-three finish on Season 7 of the Emmy Award-winning reality show RuPaul's Drag Race. She finds solace in completely inhabiting a character and bringing them to life. By comparison, Minj feels much more discomfort when asked to share details of her personal life or history, and doesn't easily make friends.
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