Fundraiser Best in Drag Show returns to the Los Angeles Orpheum Theatre this October 8, to benefit Alliance for Housing and Healing and its flagship program known as Aid for Aids.
The Best in Drag Show is nowhere near the traditional drag beauty pageant. The fundraiser is known for delivering an evening packed with diamonds in the rough beauties, fierce ice queens, alien fashion fiends, muscle ballerinas, bearded ladies, Samurai princesses, and the show even featured an Oompa Loompa doing a little dance one year that was just too many things. It’s all for fun and a for really good cause.
Miss New Jersey Vava Fanculo – photo by Paulo MurilloNo word yet confirming whether or not two-time Emmy and Grammy award-winning comedian Kathy Griffin will be attending this year’s show. Griffin has been a huge supporter of the fundraiser in the past. She may make an appearance before she kicks off her “Laugh Your Head Off World Tour” in Auckland, New Zealand on October 19. The former D-lister is doing what she does best, which is laugh at herself following the backlash she faced in the U.S. when she posted a photo of herself holding a bloody decapitated head of Donald Trump–all in the name of art.
Kathy Griffin at Best in Drag Show – Photo by Paulo MurilloThe show is hosted by Patric Rush. This year’s festivities will include a roster of celebrity judges who will grade six drag beauties on their gowns, bathing suits and talent as they battle it out for the Best in Drag crown.
The 2017 contestants include Miss Florida Lexi Pro (Antonio Martinez), Miss Louisiana Joan Crawfish (Ricardo Ferrise), Miss New York Anita Tony (Joshua Skidmore), Miss Pennsylvania Soanna Quilt (Joey Gyondla), Miss Texas Dawn Renae Glamzi (Peter Korth) and Miss Washington Rachel Profiling (Chuck Jones).
Contestants for Best in Drag Show 2017Aid for AIDS was founded in 1983 by a small group of friends in the greater Hollywood area to help others in the community who were devastated by HIV/AIDS pandemic. Among those early directors of the organization was gay and lesbian civil rights activist Morris Kight. AFA provided emergency rent, mortgage, and utility payments that allowed people to die with dignity in their own homes. Since its founding, AFA has touched the lives of more than 16,000 men, women, and children.
The Best in Drag Show fundraiser is produced every year by volunteers and a small staff from Alliance for Housing and Healing. Alliance for Housing and Healing sees housing as a structural intervention against the spread of HIV/AIDS and as a platform for healthcare, and provides high-quality care to those living with HIV/AIDS. It continues to reinforce residential stability and 24/7 care for those who are too ill to live on their own. It provides safe subsidized apartments for individuals and families with a second diagnosis, and emergency financial assistance to pay rent and utility bills for those who are facing eviction and homelessness. Alliance for Housing and Healing is dedicated to improving outcomes for low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County.
Best in Drag at the Los Angeles Orpheum Theatre – photo by Paulo MurilloTo learn more about Alliance for Housing and Healing, visit: alliancehh.org
For more information on the Best in Drag Show, visit: alliancehh.org/bestindragshow/the-show/
