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Lip syncing, confetti cannons and mile-high stilettos — sounds like a party.
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A diverse collection of drag performers, from kings to queens and everything in between, will be in Windsor next month for the city’s first Drag Lip Sync Battle Royale.
“Drag entertainers of every color of the rainbow embody so many different artistic disciplines,” said Disco Jesus Windsor, a drag performer and your fashionable host for the evening. “You are going to see lip sync. You are going to see dancing. You’re going to see reveals. You’re going to see surprises. You’re going to see raw emotion.”
What is billed as Windsor’s “first large-scale” drag lip sync competition happens June 4 at Water’s Edge Event Center on Riverside Drive.
Organizers on Tuesday announced the 10 contestants from across Ontario: Ariana Venti, Ariel Attack, Dulce, Hudson Bae, Lua, Miss Luscious Sass, Miss Mercury Retrograde, Noa, Trixx Galore and Vanessa Bae.
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Doors open at 7 pm, when the entertainers and some LGBTQ+ organizations will have merchandise available. The show starts at 8 pm Each contestant will start with a single number. Following that will be judged rounds of lip sync battles until a victor is declared.
The winner will receive $1,000, enrollment in a Toronto drag academy and a choreography package from a local dance studio. Of course, winning also comes with a crown and a coveted title: Queen of the Battle Royale.
Disco Jesus said the varied list of competitors is an example of how drag has “evolved and blossomed into an endless palate of color.”
“There are no boundaries when it comes to drag,” she said. “We have drag kings, we have drag queens. We have AFAB (assigned female at birth) hyper drag entertainers. We have non-binary entertainers. We opened this competition to everyone, to be all inclusive of all levels of all colors of all identities.”
Tickets start at $27 and are available at heoveco.ca. Some of the proceeds will go to Trans Wellness Ontario.