Mon. September 4, 2017
More than $3,000 was raised for Equality Illinois at the inaugural Dragapalooza, with 30 performances and more than 50 performers in total shining in a three-hour non-stop show at Sidetrack on Thursday, Aug. 31.
"Dragapalooza exceeded our expectations," said Sidetrack general manager Brad Balof, who dressed for the night and dished tea with all of the queens. "The volunteer team from Equality Illinois was amazing. There was a great turnout of support from audience members. The staff got into the fun ...and the drag queens really brought amazing numbers."
About 500 attended and all of the bars inside Sidetrack, including the deck bar, were open and patrons were able to watch the show on Sidetrack's newly-rewired HD TVs.
Dragapalooza has taken the place of Sidetrack's annual Night of 100 Drag Queens, Balof confirmed. Instead of one show per year, the bar will be doing Dragapalooza a few times a year – and the next Dragapalooza is, likely, in early-2018.
Dragapalooza highlights included performances by RuPaul Drag Race alums Jade and DiDa Ritz, amazing production numbers from The Vixen, Squad Goals and Alexis Bevels, among others, and some statement pieces from such queens as Aurora Gozmic and Eva
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