Virtual Drag Ball
Soundbites: Virtual Drag Ball; New Music From Peg Tassey and Glorious Leader
By JORDAN ADAMS
As we approach the pandemic's one-year anniversary, I've been thinking a lot about the final days of normalcy in early 2020. For instance, my last "regular" night out was spent spinning records with some Seven Days colleagues and DJ Disco Phantom at the Monkey House on March 11. That's the date when, in a virtual press conference, the World Health Organization finally used the word "pandemic" to categorize what was happening.
A performer at a past drag ball. File: James Buck
Even though it was a fun hang, a pall hung over the Winooski nightclub that night as news of event cancellations and other coronavirus-related realities continued to interrupt the good times. I've not hit the decks since, and I really, really miss it.
I reckon that some folks' last big night out in the Burlington area before the pandemic was the 25th annual Winter Is a Drag Ball, which hit South Burlington nightclub Higher Ground on February 15 last year. The über-fab gala is one of the area's biggest indoor winter events. But it has also always struck me as the pride event of Vermont, based on its social media hype and the enthusiasm from attendees — party monsters known for going full-tilt balls to the walls, pun intended.
Obviously there can't be an in-person Drag Ball this year. But a virtual versionof the sequined celebration, featuring high-quality, prerecorded sets from nearly a dozen queens — and a dance party from DJ Craig Mitchell — hits the interwebs via the streaming platform Mandolin on Saturday, February 13. Visit boxoffice.mandolin.com to purchase tickets; the proceeds will support Vermont CARES, a nonprofit that works with Vermonters affected by HIV and AIDS and was the original Drag Ball beneficiary. Over the years, Drag Ball has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for similar charities.
To preview the online extravaganza, the House of LeMay's Amber LeMay(aka Bob Bolyard) will dig into the event's 25-year history on her streaming television program "Amber Live!" on Sunday, February 7, at 8 p.m. Watch it via amberlive.tv or youtube.com/amberlive.
"I figured we gotta do something. We can't let it slide by," Bolyard said of producing the virtual Drag Ball during a recent phone call. "It might not be the experience we've all enjoyed the past 25 years, [but] I think it will give us something to look forward to for next year."
Bolyard will interview fellow queen and local legend Rev. Yolanda, as well as Steven West (aka Miss Cherie Tartt), whose early-'90s antics in the Queen City inspired the House of LeMay, as well as the Drag Ball itself. Other scheduled guests include DJ Rob Douglas, who frequently provided the Drag Ball's pelvic-thrusting soundtrack, as well as former Higher Ground employee Chris Friday, who plans to share some behind-the-scenes experiences.
Bolyard's upcoming broadcast won't include live drag performances, "unless," he said, "someone says, 'Hey, stand back, I'm gonna do something.'" Barring that possibility, the show will be mostly a retrospective featuring commentary as well as photos and video clips of years past.