By India Madsen
Editor, LA&PS Voices
Typically, the halls of Founders College are dead silent on a Thursday evening. February 16th, however, saw a buzzing crowd of students in a line that snaked around the building. The source of their excitement? The annual LA&PS Drag Race! Thanks to the hard work of LA&PS Work/Study students, Founders Assembly hall was transformed into a vibrant performance venue, complete with mocktails, Britney Spears hits, and shimmering pink streamers. “We feel the energy in the room and it’s giving us life right now,” said Ms. Renona Virus, one of the drag queens, once the audience settled in for the show.
The drag race is one of the LA&PS Colleges’ major yearly events. The event involved a great deal of planning and preparation, but was well worth it. The students in attendance were very happy to temporarily escape the stress of their midterm coursework and to connect with their community.
The race featured five incredible drag queens, each with a unique performance style. Mary Jayyy, York alum and drag race MC, began the show by dancing through the audience, getting everyone clapping and cheering.
Next up, Gila Münster appeared in a spectacular outfit inspired by Cruella De Ville, featuring red gloves, a fur coat, and the infamous black and white hair look. After a performance that “slay[ed],” according to an audience member, Gila dramatically curtseyed to the crowd. “Energy ten, outfits ten,” applauded Karlene, one of the competition judges.
E. J. shook up the competition with a look that was entirely different from the others. They hobbled onto the stage with a grey wig and a crutch. They brought the audience a passionate, satirical rendition of “Let it Go,” casting away their crutch at a particularly theatrical moment. Even though E.J.’s lyrical reimaginings like “be the good gay you always have to be” had the audience in stitches, their vocal abilities were no joke. “Oh my god, you can sing,” said one of the judges.
Next up, Ms. Renona Virus appeared in a glittery crystal dress reminiscent of the Radio City Rockettes. Ms. Renona had only one year and three months of experience performing as a drag queen, but no one would have guessed it, considering the skill in Ms. Renona’s performance. “It feels like it’s been much longer!” one of the judges told her.
The final queen, Big D’Elle, put on a showstopping performance that included lots of tumbling, twerking, and hair flipping to a soundtrack featuring Cardi B.
After the queen’s performances came a trivia section of the competition. Most of the jokes in this part of the performance were so funny that they do not meet the publication guidelines for York’s website, so you’ll simply have to come to next year’s drag race to take part in the fun!
At the end of the night, audience members cast their votes for their favourite drag queen. After a suspenseful drum roll, it was announced to a wave of cheers that Big D’Elle was the winner.
Ultimately, the event strengthened the LA&PS community and fostered LBGTQIA2S+ pride and culture within the colleges, with many of the audience members revealing that the LA&PS Drag Race was the first drag race they had ever experienced. “Thank you so much for allowing us to share our art in a non-aggressive space,” said Ms. Renona.