Nothing rings in the new year like a drag show, according to Amy Myers, a local drag show producer and active member of the LGBTQ+ community. 

The “Drink ‘n Drag” drag show will take place at The City Center in Champaign on Jan. 8, featuring local drag queens and a special guest from Atlanta, Georgia. 

Myers began organizing drag shows in 2019 at the Stone Creek Golf Club in Urbana before she began hosting them at The City Center. 

Drink ‘n Drag is the second show she’s hosted at The City Center after her “Cocktails and Queens” event in mid-September. 

Myers produces her drag shows independently, meaning she has full control over advertising tickets, creating promotional posters and renting the equipment. She also gathers the girls she wants to perform and hires DJ AK – or DJ Andy Kirkpatrick, her regular DJ – for the show.

“I’ve tried to have these things at other places, and it’s just a moneymaker for people,” she said. “So, I like doing it independently because I’m in charge. I’m in control, and I can hire who I want, and I can produce a high-quality show where I don’t have to answer to anybody.”

She said the illusion, makeup and costumes of drag inspire her, saying the shows are an escape for the entertainers because they “can be an alter ego for a couple hours on the stage.”

Myers was even a drag king at one point in time, but now she emcees the shows, saying, “I like to see the crowd and know that they’re entertained and watch people’s faces and see them laugh and smile.”

Eight queens will perform at the Jan. 8 show, and Myers said they’re already busy sewing costumes and preparing their sets. 

The performers include Apollo Summers, Cationna Carrington, Ceduxion Carrington, Corinna Carrington, DeCevia Mann, Seccura Mann, Smokey and special guest Amaya Mann St. James. 

“The entertainers are going to give you a night of dancing and entertainment and tricks and splits and death drops and more than just walking around and having their hand out for $1,” she said.

Myers said she’s noticed more straight people and baby gays – or people who have recently come out of the closet – coming to the drag shows. 

Myers said drag shows have become more normalized since she first came out in 1993, saying, “Now, it’s like everywhere, you know, so it’s crazy but crazy good.” 

“Everybody knows what drag is now,” Myers said. “It’s more mainstream and not taboo. And everybody seems to be enjoying it, which is awesome. And that’s something I never thought I’d see in my lifetime.”

Myers said has some more “new queens on the scene” that she’s hoping to include in future shows, saying, “You got to start somewhere, and you got to include the babies. We gotta give them a chance.” 

Myers has another show on March 12 at The City Center and has future shows planned for June, August, October and December. 

General admission tickets cost $10 when purchased via Eventbrite or by texting (217) 819-6102. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $15 on the night of the event. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the three-hour show starts at 8 p.m. 

So far, Myers has sold 190 tickets for the Jan. 8 event, and VIP tickets are already sold out. 

“It’s a little bit of everybody,” she said, “And it’s a drag show and you know what you’re walking into, and it’s great because it’s all of us as a whole bunch of people partying under one roof, and it’s pretty neat.”

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