Last week, Pride Week at St. Lawrence was hosted by Spectrum. One of the events was a drag show featuring three drag queens from New York City. The drag queens were Champagne Bubbles, Anida Tension and Andora Teetee. The show drew in a crowd of students, faculty, staff, and Canton residences. All ages and identities were represented in the crowd proving for a very successful event that celebrates diversity and pride in one’s identity.
The event was held at two separate times, an early show at 5:00 p.m and a later show at 8:00 p.m. The event was a huge success as shown by the filled room. It took place in Eben Holden as it has been in the past. This year, during the 8:00 p.m time, all of the chairs in the building were filled. Club members scrambled to find chairs to seat as many people as possible and still there were many who had to stand.
The Spectrum e-board which consists of all seniors remember the last time the drag show was held in 2019. The pandemic had affected the following pride weeks and so the return of the drag show was a scary event because the club was unsure of audience attendance, but the members knew it had to happen.
Secretary of Spectrum Tyler Kearns expresses the necessity of a drag show to a space like SLU. “We don’t have a lot of LGBT+ visibility in the north country, especially a town like Canton that is pretty small and pretty secluded,” Kearns says. He expresses the fact that students would have to travel far from Canton to even see one. The fact that it was able to be brought to students is amazing.
When planning of Pride Week started months ago, the drag show was one of the first events that was solidified because of its importance to Pride Week. “[The show] helped introduce students to drag not as a queer thing but an art form that is rooted in queer culture,” Kearns says. While this was a fun event to attend, it also helped show students that this is an art form that comes from the queer community but it is an art that requires respect to its historical roots.
The queens each did two acts that gave a total show time of around an hour and a half. Most notably, Champagne Bubbles did a Marilyn Monroe number that included plenty of audience interaction. Andora Teetee did not hold back with her racy set. Of course it was all topped with Anida’s amazing MCing and performances.
Audiences were able to bring cash to tip the queens and encourage them to come over and interact with them. Anida Tension included a bit where she pulled five students up on stage and had them do a fashion show. This gave students an opportunity to not only be a part of the show but to enjoy themselves and get the joy of a crowd cheering for them.
At the show, audiences had the opportunity to enter a free raffle to get a signed picture of the queens. There was also a raffle for baskets provided by the Dub, the Advocates, PPGA and SLU Dems. This is the raffle that was happening all week but the winners were drawn at the show by the queens. The table also had the t-shirt sales that were at the tables in the student center all pride week.
All of the proceeds from tabling are being donated to ACR Health. The money is being allocated to the Q-Centers which are a safe space for LGBTQ+ identifying folk. At the Q-Centers folks can receive case management services, after-school programs, free HIV/STD testing, education services and participate in special events. ACR Health is hoping to expand into Canton as they are currently based in Watertown and Syracuse. This past week the club had raised a total of $1,161 from just sales.
Pride week was a great success and ideas are already brewing for an even bigger and better event next year. Spectrum would like everyone to keep up with the Spectrum Instagram and get on the listserv to see when events are taking place.