The drag scene of the Champaign-Urbana area will once again throw an annual drag show event, Cocktails and Queens, on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. The event is being held at The City Center in Champaign and will be organized by Amy Myers, producer of Drag shows and an active member of the LGBTQ community.

According to Myers, the idea for the event started from a retired gay bar in Urbana called Chester Street Dance Club. It was the only LBGTQ bar in the area, so once it closed, the culture went with it, Myers said. There would be shows from time to time, but to keep the art of drag alive, Myers decided to bring the shows back, this year in a much bigger venue. 

Myers also kept up with drag where she was the general manager of the bar 51 Main in Champaign and held drag shows there as well. She no longer works at the bar, but she still continues to produce shows.

Myers said being part of the drag community is “so much fun,” especially when she was introduced by the drag house, “House of Man.” She said she has a stake in the drag community and has worked to produce shows in the C-U area. Some of her best notable queens that have come through for her shows are RuPaul’s Drag Race former stars Alyssa Edwards, Alaska Thunderfuck, BenDeLaCreme and Trinity the Tuck. She said her goal is to bring back special entertainment like this to future shows. The lack of queer spaces is something that Myers said she cares deeply about and has made it her mission to help create a comfortable and fun environment because there are no longer any gay bars in the C–U area.

The queens that will be performing in her show are Presley, Calionna, Corinna, Ceduxion, Peach and Apollo. All of the queens are from the Southern Illinois area representing Midwestern drag, queens like Ceduxion being part of a drag house from the C-U area, the “House of Carrington.”

“Ceduxion is actually a queen from Decatur but she’s really great and has been performing in the C–U area for a while now,” Myers said.

It is clear Myers cares a lot for the performing queens as she then affectionately referred to her as “Big Booty Judy.”

“Definitely go into the show with an open mind and definitely bring your dollar bills for the queens,” Myers said.

Tickets to the show are sold out on Eventbrite but standing room-only tickets will be available at the door.

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