The Steamboat Springs drag show will host the biggest and best show of its existence tonight, August 21, in spite of shooting threats last month.
In July, a man was apprehended at a bar near Schmiggity’s (where the show takes place) for threatening to shoot up the drag show. In response to this threat of violence, organizers of the Fresh Drag Show decided to make their next show their biggest and best yet. With help from community organizers like Queer Futures, Better Tomorrow, and Soboat, amateur drag from community members, and a guest performer from Club Q, tonight’s Fresh Drag Show is here to take a stand against violence and homophobia, with the title Fresh Drag Show Presents: A Night of Drag Delight and Defiance.
We spoke with the founder, producer, and performer Madame Sassyquatch the Rafting Queen about the importance of drag, reactions to the threat, and the team’s plans for the show. Madame Sassyquatch has been involved with drag since he was in high school, and for him, drag was always tied to fundraising and community support. As a part of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in Chicago, he went to bars in nun drag to raise money for fundraisers throughout the city. His time in Chicago also introduced him to performing and amateur drag hours, as he found a community at a local bar where he occasionally performed during their amateur hour.
Sassyquatch took his drag experience and put it to use for good when he moved to Steamboat Springs and missed the queer bar experiences of Chicago. Last year, he committed to making his very own drag show. After asking around Steamboat Springs, Schmiggity’s finally gave him a chance, and he found his few performers through the city’s Art Depot cabaret fundraiser, continuing the tradition of his drag being mostly inspired by fundraising.
“I think that a lot of times people think that the LGBT community only exists in large cities, and that’s why there’s not many events and stuff like that focused on the outdoors or the mountains and such stuff with the LGBT community. So I think that people just kind of forget we’re here. After living in the city, I know what I’m missing. So, I just figured, why not try and start that up here? I don’t see a reason that we can’t mix the two together,” Sassysquatch said, explaining why he started the Fresh Drag Show in the first place, which is now the only reoccurring LGBTQ+ event in Steamboat Springs.
To be their biggest and best show yet, the Fresh Drag Show will include an Amateur Hour as their intermission, which they’ve found brings in community and those just getting their start in drag. There will be a special guest performer, Finnish Hymn Alnite, from Club Q, and several community organization leaders who will be performing in drag, including Mark Fitzgerald from Better Tomorrow, Chelsie Holmes from Queer Futures, and Chris Ray from Soboat. The regular cast of the show includes Madame Sassyquatch the Rafting Queen, Jack Darling, Beautiful Miss Steak, Gabe Peccorino, Axel Rod, and Lady Mae Hungbe. Enhanced security will be at the bar at drag shows from now on to ensure the safety of the performers and attendees.
Sassyquatch told us at OFM that he and the performers were all incredibly excited about tonight’s performance. “We’ve just been turning such a possibly negative thing into such a positive thing. The last thing that we want to do is give them what they want and cancel the show. We’ve built this night into something for us, for our community,” he explains.
Fresh Drag Show Presents: A Night of Drag Delight and Defiance will occur tonight, August 21, at 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., with the Amateur Hour in-between performances. Tickets are available for $10.64, and the show will take place at Schmiggity’s Live Music & Dance Bar 821 Lincoln Avenue, Steamboat Springs.
Photo courtesy of social media
