Metro Weekly

Washington Scandals Rugby Football Club hosts second annual “Sequins and Scrums” fundraiser

Drag competition will raise money for team's trip to the 2018 Bingham Cup and Whitman-Walker Addiction Services

Washington Scandals – Photo courtesy of Mike Arnone.

The Washington Scandals Rugby Football Club will host the second annual “Sequins and Scrums,” drag show fundraiser at Town Danceboutique on Friday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m.

The event will feature 10 Scandals players who transform into drag queens and compete to earn the title of “Scrum Queen 2018.” In addition to obtaining cash tips during the show, the contenders collect tips in advance of the show online via sequinsandscrums.com. The contender who earns the most tips (both online and in-person) automatically advances to the final round of the competition alongside the judges’ picks.

This year’s competitors are: Nathan Hagan, Brandon McGee, Ryan Haynes, Max Sycamore, Rashad DeMesme, Jim Barrett, Tim Kilbride, Brian Dawson, Gus Elfving, and Daly Kingston.

Judges include: Charger Stone, the owner and promoter of DC Bëar Crüe: DC Bear Happ Hour; Tammy Truong, the owner of Uproar Lounge and Restaurant; radio personality Pat Brogan; Angelina Pappas, the owner of Kouzina Angelina’s Pizza; and the reigning Miss Adams Morgan, Miss Eva Von Beaverhausen. 

The event’s emcees will be Aaron Enfield, a Scandals alumnus, and Joshua Street, the reigning 2017 Scrum Queen. While the judges are deliberating their picks to advance to the final round, Street will reprise last year’s winning performance. All tips collected during that performance will be donated to Whitman-Walker Health’s Addiction Services program, which specializes in treatment for LGBTQ-identified clients.

Funds raised online and during the show will go towards the Scandals’ registration and travel expenses for the 2018 Bingham Cup, a World Cup-type competition for LGBTQ-inclusive rugby teams, which will be held in Amsterdam from June 8-10. The biennial event is named in honor of Mark Bingham, a gay rugby player who died on board United Airlines Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001.

“We’re expecting a really good turnout for the event,” says Mike Arnone, the Scandals’ recruitment chair. “This is the first time the Scandals have been able to travel internationally for the Bingham Cup. So we’re trying to raise enough money to make it as affordable as possible for all of our players, so anybody who wants to attend can.”

For more information about the Washington Scandals Rugby Football Club, visit scandalsrfc.org. For more information on Sequins and Scrums or to donate tips to performers, visit sequinsandscrums.com.

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