Toronto-born Drag Race Canada judge and RuPaul’s Drag Race star Brooke Lynn Hytes is joining forces with Brock McGillis, the first openly gay male professional hockey player to host a virtual drag show to help the artists, performers and tip wage earners in the Village community. Digital Drag Show takes place on June 16 at 8:00 p.m. in partnership with local cannabis retailer, Friendly Stranger.
“We are thrilled to partner with Brock, Brooke, and 12 of Toronto’s most exceptional Queens to help raise funds for the members of the Village community who have lost work due to COVID-19,” says James Jesty, president of Friendly Stranger Holding Corp.
Organizers are recommending viewers pay $10 to watch the show. Physical tickets will not be issued, but people can make their $10 donations via the Go Fund Me page. Net proceeds will be donated to Glad Day Lit’s emergency survival fund which supports LGBTQ2IA+ artists, performers, and tip wage earners in the community.
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Queens that will be performing in the show include:
- Boa The Drag Queen, self-proclaimed as one of Toronto’s quirkiest queens
- Lucy Flawless, known as Toronto’s hillbilly diva
- Erin Brockobić, the queen of brunch in Toronto
- Devine Darlin who was the first-ever Miss Crews and Tangos
- Sofonda Cox, TD bank’s pride ambassador
- Jada Hudson, Toronto’s turn up queen
Friendly Stranger will also be using the event to support local businesses in the Village such as Craig’s Cookies, Crews and Tangos, Woody’s, and The Well through placements in the show and prize packages.
COVID-19 has prevented Pride month in Toronto to continue with its regular programming forcing many events to resort to virtual presentations such as the Pride parade. The month of June is usually a busy one for performers, community members and local businesses in the Village, and organizers are hoping the proceeds from this event will help in these uncertain times.
The Digital Drag Show fundraiser is hoping to raise $10,000, and donations can be made here. They have already raised close to $7,000.
For those who can’t tune in on June 16, the show will be saved on Friendly Stranger’s website for 30 days to continue the fundraising efforts.