At Boston Pride’s Royal Pageant, Linda DeMarco (center) poses with Phaedra Phaded, Queen, and, Willyum LaBeija, King, crowned at the event at Machine Nightclub.
Photo: TRT/Lorelei Erisis
Contestants performed, strutted for judges and crowd
By: Lauren Walleser/TRT Reporter—
The Queen and King of Boston Pride 2013 were crowned Monday, June 3 at Machine Nightclub at the fifth annual Royal Pageant, hosted by 2009 Queen Raquel Blake and 2010 Queen Lakia Mondale and featuring Rupaul’s Drag Race star MIMI Imfurst.
Boston Pride volunteer Charles Reinhardt McGarvey shared why he thinks events like the Royal Pageant are an important part of Pride.
“I consider myself a drag hag, and I don’t think that’s an offensive term. I love drag queens,” said Reinhardt McGarvey. “I think for a long time the whole agenda of gay rights was to try to convince everybody that we’re just like everybody else. But we’re not! And that’s one of the things that makes being gay so wonderful, is that we’re not like everybody else. We have bears and leather daddies and drag queens, and all of these things are important to our culture as people.” [pullquote]“I consider myself a drag hag, and I don’t think that’s an offensive term. I love drag queens,” said Reinhardt McGarvey.[/pullquote]
Brian Curr, another Boston Pride volunteer, said he respected the courage of the performers.
“I would love to say that I’m confident enough to get up there and be as fierce and empowered and as artistic and amazing, but I’m not, so I can sit back and respect that,” Curr said.
The contestants in the Queen category were Kris Knievil, Willmuh Dickfit and Phaedra Phaded. The King contestants included Joey Lazzerini, Roman St. James, Chris Rod and Willyum LaBeija. An interview round was conducted in days prior to the event. At the pageant, contestants competed in three rounds: presentation, performance and evening wear. Performers entertained the crowd in between rounds, and at the end of the night, Phaedra Phaded and Willyum LaBeija were crowned Queen and King for 2013.
“[Drag] celebrates uniqueness,” said audience member Bokay. “I can be whoever I want to be. It really brings out the creative side of me and it takes away all the barriers.”
The judges for the pageant included MIMI Imfurst; Lauren Vitale, MAC artist and head makeup artist for the Boston Celtics Cheerleaders; Lucky Belcamino, president and co-founder of East Coast Biker Chicks; Miss Cambridge 2013 Carrie Sunde; Dustin Rennells, president and CEO of Bad Boy Bake Shop; and Coco Alinsug of Fenway Health. Henry Paquin served as the Boston Pride Pageant Committee Chair.
According to the rules of the pageant, “participants select which category they would like to participate in based on their own chosen definition and/or display of gender identity. In other words, the King category is open to women dressing in male drag, men born men, transgender men, drag kings or anyone else who desires to compete in the category. Similarly, the Queen category is open to drag queens, women born women, transgender women or anyone else who desires to compete in the category. The goal is not to limit who can participate but to have each category open to all.”
As the winners, Phaedra Phaded and Willyum LaBeija will get to ride in the Boston Pride Parade and perform live at City Hall during the Boston Pride Festival on Saturday, June 8, 2013.
For more information on all Boston Pride Week events, visit www.bostonpride.org.
