pride

Spring is in the air, flowers are blooming in Bixby Park, red plastic cups are accidentally being left in gardens — and that can only mean one thing: it’s time to party! Yes my darlings,Pride is just around the corner and hopefully by now our crazy drag queens have rested their heels from the Easter Walk shenanigans and assembled their rainbow fashions and glitter for yet another Celebration of Pride. This years theme, “Linked Together,” does make one recall Mineshaft adventures of years past, but I have just been informed that it refers to our common bonds that link us together (and not via slings and handcuffs).

Looking around at our very diverse city, it may not seem immediately apparent, but yes indeed, regardless of how much of an interesting, hip, and unique individual you may be, you are just like the next guy (well to a Drag Queen of course). To quote the Diva of all Drag these days, RuPaul, “We are all born naked and the rest is drag.” Whether your wearing thigh-high glitter boots, full leather gear, an 80’s hair style & flannel (hipsters, not lesbians, have moved forward), or a fashionable ironic t-shirt, we are all in DRAG. We are always putting on a performance and this is the time of the year to get your Oscar in Pride.

Pride gathers the most electric group of folks to a common goal: to celebrate and empower, to inaugurate our differences as the similarity that bonds us. So this year get out there and rock it! There is a wonderful list of Pride week celebrations leading up to the big weekend on May 19 & 20th, but here are a few of my personal picks, (mostly because I’m in them):

  • Sunday, May 13: Drag Queen Brunch with the Brunchettes at 11:00am, Hamburger Mary’s. Reservations are highly recommended.
  • Wednesday, May 16: The Starlette Revue Annual PRIDE show with special guests from RuPauls Drag Race, 10:00pm at Hamburger Mary’s. 18+.
  • Thursday, May 17: Illusions Starring Shannel, 9:30pm at Executive Suites. 21+.
  • Friday, May 18: The Legendary Dreamgirls Revue with Delta Work, 8:00pm at Hamburger Mary’s. 18+.
  • See ya’ll at the Parade, Sunday Morning May 20, on Ocean Blvd, 10:30am.