Bubbles, a giant rainbow flag, 3 days of performances, 15 drag artists, Cookie Monster, sequins, glitter and glam. Over the weekend, more than 300 people attended Glitz, Juneau’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride extravaganza.
Juneau Drag is organized by local Drag Queen Gigi Monroe, who started Glitz in 2015. The show is filled with gender expression in the form of glamorous outfits, lip-syncing and dancing. This year, it was held at the Aurora Grand Theater for the first time. It officially opens in July, but has hosted a few pop-up shows while undergoing renovations.
This year’s Glitz was Drag King Rubin Strange’s third drag performance. Dressed as Sailor Mercury, a character in the Sailor Moon anime franchise, Rubin Strange lip-synced, danced and blew bubbles into the crowd to a song mashup of “I Want to Break Free” and “Fat Bottomed Girls” by Queen.
“My bubble gun, just everywhere, and people were just like having a blast with it,” Strange said in the lobby during intermission. “That’s my favorite part.”
Off-stage, Strange said she’s a trans woman who came out at the age of 30. She said Glitz and Pride share the same meaning to her.
“It’s this, like, out and loud megaphone of: we are here, we belong here, we’re not going anywhere,” she said. “It is resistance.”
Carly Lemieux spent Friday night volunteering at the cash register, exchanging large bills for single dollar bills so attendees could shower the performers with tips. She said Glitz, to her, means community.
“The people, and the creativity, and the love, and the openness,” Lemieux said. “These are my people, this is where I need to be.”
She said she has felt welcomed into the Juneau drag scene.
Weaving through the plush theater seats, Drag Queen Aria B. Cassadine sang “I’m So Excited” by The Pointer Sisters.
She traveled from Chicago to sing live at Juneau Glitz – her first time at the city’s biggest drag event of the year. Cassadine has competed in drag competitions and pageants across the country. She was a finalist on Ru Paul’s show, Queen of the Universe, and won Miss Gay Black America in 2018.
Bethany Gassan is a life coach who has lived in Juneau for around 18 years and was at Glitz for the first time, too.
“Absolutely my biggest thing is being authentic to who you are,” she said. “So for me, this is everything that I talk about.”
Gassan said she’s not a member of the LGBTQ+ community herself, but is supportive of family members who are. Wearing a flashy, rhinestone jumpsuit on Friday night, it’s clear she got the outfit memo.
