Lady D founded the Delicious Drag Divas out of sheer necessity for creating safe, entertaining spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community.
gaudy , majestic , and unabashed in boundary - bear on pageantry , drag has long been at the forefront ofsocial progress . Even in 2022 , with homophobia and transphobia still consort rearing across the US , dependable spaces for theLGBTQIA+community are more important than ever — havens thatdrag show , and pioneeringdrag performing artist , provide . This is particularly true since drag is still largely regarded as a big - city pastime , limit to the sorry - house of cards comforts of famously queer - friendly metropolises , likeSan Francisco , Miami , andChicago , leaving small Ithiel Town overlooked and in indigence of a gender - bending bema that allows guests and performing artist alike to proudly be themselves .
But fromAnchoragetoArkansas , drag retain to pave the direction forward , even in the unlikeliest of places . A prime example is Bangor , Maine , a little metropolis in one of the least populated state in the nation , with a grand amount ofone homo bar in Portland . About three hours northeast of Portland , the much modest and quieter residential area of Bangor is getting loud thanks toDelicious Drag Divas , a community of interests of queens — led by Lady D — put on display that defy stereotype , draw attendees from all over New England , and ultimately make an oasis of comforter , fun , and solidarity in a drag - impoverish desert .
Delicious Drag Divas originated six years ago out of sheer necessity — and a nihility that needed weft . “ I and my other half went to see a drag show . My other one-half wanted to do scuff and since there was no space to do it , I make a space , ” says Lady D , who started Delicious Drag Divas as a small product caller putting on intimate drag show in rotating distance in and around Bangor . It speedily develop through popularity , word of honor of oral cavity , and a clear need for drag , proving the need for safeLGBTQIA - friendlyspaces beyond those confined to festal streak in larger cities .
Photo courtesy of Lady D
The shows have gotten much bigger , and the requirement is a plenty higher . Originally , we were fighting for spaces to do it — now , I get phone calls day by day from places that require to do drag shows .
— Lady D
now , folk come from all over Maine and nearby states like New Hampshire and Massachusetts — a testament to Delicious Drag Divas ’ uniqueness , consideringBoston is n’t lacking in LGBTQIA+ spaces . Through both Good Book of mouth and publicity on Facebook andInstagram , along with the fact that Lady D keeps tag prices as accessible as possible , the shows have come a foresighted way in a comparatively unforesightful amount of time , inflate to an attendance of 250 to 300 people per monthly show .
Since Delicious Drag Divas does n’t have its own lasting space , it frees up Lady D and co. to rove around and bring inclusive entertainment to the deal , including in untraditional configurations for drag . “ We seek to include as many safe space as possible , ” says Lady D , as long as read venue can lodge up of 300 Edgar Albert Guest . In the past , they ’ve hosted event in Maine towns likeOgunquitand Skowhegan , but Bangor remains the rest home stem , with a eating place , mutation bar , and event center calledSeasonsbeing a late mainstay .
The principal caveat , besides basic capacity indigence , is that each venue feel safe first and foremost . Places where , as Lady D says , “ multitude are n’t gon na get overly intoxicated and leave that they ’re watching adult male in dresses . ” She describes the shows as 100 % inclusive , saying that they do everything possible to make the space safe for everybody . “ I do n’t suffer any kind of vitamin B from masses , ” she says . “ I have a Taser and I ’m not afraid to use it . I ’m also trained in armed surety , so I can take somebody down . ”
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fortuitously , it has n’t come to that , thanks to the inclusive atmosphere in Maine and the general motive for places like those that Delicious Drag Divas provides . “ It ’s very overspread out and sporadic , ” Lady D says of Maine ’s LGBTQIA+ scene , or miss thereof . It ’s why show like these are not just a fun night out , but a necessity for many . “ We ’re just a good billet to have fun . We do n’t have that in Bangor , we do n’t even have that in Maine , ” she aver . “ In the entire state of Maine , there ’s one gay bar , almost three hour in the south of Bangor , and it ’s such a midget muddle - in - the - wall blank space that only seat 50 the great unwashed . So other than our drag shows , we do n’t have anything . ”
Filling a much - needed void , Delicious Drag Divas provides spaces that are at once safe , sexy , and fun , with each show consisting of an hour - long conform to - and - mingle , abide by by up to two hours of performances split between five to six queens , like Shaunna Rai , Izzy , Ivanna Soul , and Tiffany Tucker . With Lady D doing double duty as hostess and DJ , the cast rotate with queens from all over Maine , each free to do however they ’d like . “ I do n’t ban whatever they want to do , ” she says . “ If they want to do something theatrical , I let them do it . A couple of them want to do live vocalizing , which is cool . ” locus that they utilize always allow a cash streak , and there ’s often food available , like at Seasons , where meeter can order from the restaurant and bring it to their place .
Photo courtesy of Target
A majority of the interview is unbent multitude look to go out and have fun ( “ We provide a dependable space foreverybody , ” Lady D echoes ) , along with member of the LGBTQIA+ community from all across Maine , and many have become regular who purchase annual passes to the monthly show . At the end of the day , whether for LGBTQIA+ multitude or allies , demonstrate like Delicious Drag Divas and performers like Lady D are providing a refuge in a corner of belittled - Ithiel Town America where it ’s needed most . As fun , danceable , and lewd as they may be , it ’s about security and solidarity at the front and center of the eclat and setting .
“ As much as people do n’t realize that it ’s in the small towns , it really is , ” suppose Lady D. “ They require to know that the LGBTQIA+ community is in the small towns , and by doing pull shows and provide the space for people to get to have fun , it ’s show citizenry that ‘ Okay , my neighbor is jolly and I did n’t bang that before . ’ It ’s more prevalent , and you did n’t know it . ”
Out of the water closet and onto the stage , Delicious Drag Divas is as informative as it is fun . “ We always felt like we had to conceal it , then someone like me comes along — who is authentically themselves and does n’t give a crap what people call up — and arrange on a drag show and the community amount out . I ’ve lived in the big cities . I ’ve done it . I do n’t need to hide who I am . And if you do n’t care who I am , there ’s an exit to my left—‘cause I ai n’t going anywhere . ”
Photo courtesy of Lady D
