July 14, 2023
Watch: With 60 Queens, Portland Drag Show Sets Record
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
A two-day drag show in Portland, Oregon reportedly set a new record while offering massive entertainment to the tune of more than 600 songs performed by more than 60 queens, NBC News reported.
60 emcees were also on hand to oversee the "Drag-a-thon," which took place from July 10-12 "at Darcelle's, an iconic drag cabaret in Old Town, a cultural hub in northwest Portland's Chinatown, according to KGW-TV, a local NBC affiliate," the news item detailed.
An announcer at the event shared the news when the Drag-a-thon officially set a new world record.
"Today in Portland, Oregon, USA, you had a time of 48 hours, 11 minutes and 30 seconds, and you have the new Guinness World Record title," NBC quoted the announcer telling the crowd, which numbered in excess of 2,500 people.
"The previous world record for longest drag show was 36 hours, 36 minutes and 40 seconds and was achieved by an event hosted in Melbourne, Australia, in 2017."
The event wasn't just about breaking a record, though. There was also a focus on supporting endangered youth.
"Wildfang, a Portland-based queer apparel company, and Darcelle's raised more than $250,000 for The Trevor Project, an organization supporting LGBTQ youth in crisis," NBC News noted.
The festive occasion was also a joyous way of standing up to anti-trans oppression emanating from GOP-led state legislatures across the country.
"This is the time for us all to stand together, let the world know that in America, we are free to be exactly who we are," one of the performers at the Drag-a-thon, Bolivia Carmichaels, declared to the local NBC affiliate. "There are so many fantastic queens, local and from around the nation that came together just for this event."
The locals were just as enthusiastic about the two-day celebration of the venerable art form.
Wildfang promoted the event on its website, declaring, "Drag is being criminalized across the USA. We will fight their hate with joy." The site included a notice that the event had sold out, offered information on standby tickets, and listed some of the performers who were slated to take the stage, including John Cameron Mitchell, Peppermint, Eureka O'Hera, Frankie Grande, and Brian Esposito, among many others.
Wildfang CEO Emma Mcilroy, who also served as a producer for the event, said, "I swear the only city that could have pulled this off is Portland. The only place that people are going to come out at 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. to watch a drag show is Portland."
Watch the KGW-TV news report below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
