Arts
Read More ›
Less Drama, More Drag: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race Battle of the Seasons’ Hits Seattle
Our favorite queens are in Seattle on February 11 for a night of flamboyant fun
Seattleites, brace yourself: A whole lot of fabulous is about to set foot in our fair city. Forget about the rain and don your most fearless frock to the Showbox SoDo this Wednesday, February 11 at 9 p.m. for RuPaul’s Drag Race: Battle of the Seasons 2015 Condragulations Tour.
The tour brings together your favorite drag queens from various seasons of Logo’s hit reality TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race for a lively evening of sparkles, spangle and sharp wit. “Expect comedy, high energy, live singing, impersonations, magic and lots of costumes,” says performer Ivy Winters, who nabbed the title of Miss Congeniality on season five of Rupaul’s Drag Race.
This year, the tour has received a significant behind-the-scenes upgrade. The queens have their very own bus that allows them to sleep, eat and chat their way across the country together. “In the past we’ve had to rely on vans and planes and it was a hassle,” Drag Race season five star Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 says. “But with our drag tour bus we can bring larger sets and costumes. Basically I want to marry the tour bus.”
Seattle’s very own drag performer Jinkx Monsoon, who took home the crown in the season five of Drag Race in part for her impersonation of Little Edie, is on the Condragulations tour, but sadly won’t appear at this stop. (Performers vary by location.) “We all under-estimated Jinkx when season five began,” Alaska says. “Her look, her presence and her entire persona were so different and unconventional that I think we counted her out in the beginning. But challenge after challenge she killed it, and really out-performed everyone.”
This Wednesday, Alaska, Ivy and other Drag Race stars including Bianca Del Rio, Courtney Act, Manila Luzon, Raja and Sharon Needles will bring their talents to the stage, embodying what drag is all about – art, women, fashion. “We’re flamboyantly donning the traditional symbols of femininity, standing up against masculine oppression and giving power the divine feminine,” Alaska says.
Follow Us
Rearview Mirror: Godzilla, Cork, and a New Sushi Spot
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
POPPING OUR SENSES I don’t think I’ve ever given much thought to a wine cork beyond the satisfying pop it makes when opening a bottle, but after spending a morning at DeLille Cellars in Woodinville with about 50 other people, I have a new appreciation for it. The occasion was “(Pop) Open Your Senses,” a…
Best Bookstore: Beguiled Books
This Pioneer Square darling is easy to spot: pink doors and candy-striped details mark its home near Occidental Square. Beguiled Books started in 2024 as a mobile bookstore, making its way from table to tent to trailer, and finally to its current brick-and-mortar space. Labelling itself as “Seattle’s Original Romance Bookstore,” Beguiled specializes in just…
Best Art Gallery: Foster/White Gallery
A pillar in Pioneer Square’s arts ecosystem, Foster/White Gallery opened in 1966 (then called Richard White Gallery) as the first space of its kind in the neighborhood. It soon gained notoriety for showing preeminent Northwest artists such as Morris Graves, William Morris, George Tsutakawa, and Dale Chihuly. In the decades after founding the gallery, its…
Best Museum: Seattle Art Museum
A vote for Seattle Art Museum is really a vote for three different art outings. The downtown museum pairs ambitious exhibitions with a global collection; the Seattle Asian Art Museum occupies SAM’s original 1933 Art Deco home amid the 43 acres of Capitol Hill’s Volunteer Park; and the Olympic Sculpture Park puts art out in…