Drag queens make LGBTQ Pride Weekend in New Haven ‘bigger than ever’

Sept. 21--NEW HAVEN -- Drag queens with names like Lucia Virginity and Summer Orlando performed on stage and in the street in front of the Empire Nightclub Saturday as part of gay pride weekend, but they were more than just a bunch of pretty faces.

The drag queens are ambassadors that connect the LGBT and straight communities, said Andrew Scheller, an activist and member of Imperial Sovereign Court of All Connecticut, Inc., a nonprofit involving the LGBT community that raises money for charities and helps in the community.

"When we have a drag show, it draws a huge straight audience and so there's interaction (with LGBT community. Everyone will go to a drag show," Scheller said. "We all come away feeling happy."

Dandy Lions, a drag queen from Milford, said, "I have to laugh at myself. I'm a man in a dress."

The block in front of the Crown Street club -- a gay bar on Saturdays and a mixed crowd the others -- was closed to traffic from Church to Orange Street and instead was turned into an enclave for information, with arches of rainbow balloons overhead, entertainment, the awarding of scholarships and even a visit from Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman.

Wyman, perkier than she usually is at public appearances, hugged drag queen emcee Piper Daily and thanked the hundreds on the street for standing up for what they believe in. Wyman said her sister is now in a happy relationship with a female partner after years of being with a man.

"I've never seen her happier in her entire life," Wyman said, wrapping up with, "So go out there and party."

Pride New Haven Weekend began Thursday and will end Sunday with a wrap-up brunch.

Robb Bartolomeo, owner of Empire and founder of Pride New Haven in 1998, said the weekend of events, not held the last two years was "bigger than ever."

He started the Pride group because, "With pride comes exposure, then tolerance and then tolerance turns into acceptance," he said. He said acceptance has come a long way in 20 years, as the club has an entrance on bustling Church Street rather than just a low profile one and people leave the club hand-in-hand.

The interesting array of informational tables includes representatives from: Yale LBGT Affinity group, an employees organization that won in getting the insurance to cover gender reassignment surgery; The Gay Father's Project through the Yale Department of Anthropology; GLSEN Connecticut, which works to end bullying in schools; LBGT Senior support group; Rainbow Support Group for those with intellectual disabilities; Metropolitan Community Church, which has a special ministry for the LGBT crowd; New England Leather Alliance, which caters to fetishes like leather, ropes, whip and more; AIDS Project New Haven, The Gay Men's Chorus. Fliers circulated as well to get people to join a Justice for Jane Doe march from DCF offices to the capital Sept. 27 at noon. Jane Doe is a transgender teen in state custody.

There were also some kinky props and products for sale that certainly can't be found in Walmart, including stress balls shaped like breasts, a vibrating wireless thong and other items that can't be listed in a family newspaper.

LGBT -- which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender -- now often has a Q added for queer, and in some cases, I for intersex, referring to those formerly known as hermaphrodites, said William Love, of the Queens and Allies group at Western Connecticut State University.

Love said the word "queer" used to have a negative connotation, but the LGBT community is "taking it back and owning the strength," of the word.

"We're embracing it," said Love, also a member of the Gay Men's Chorus. He said adding the queer also broadens the scope of people who fit into the community because LGBT didn't cover it all.

Bartenders and popular people in the New Haven LBGT community braved a dunk tank to raise money to help cover the cost of the weekend. It was five balls for $5. Originally, the event was billed as "Dunk a Drag Queen" but issues such as mascara and hairdos got in the way.Love and others said there was no concern about perpetuating stereotypes with drag queens because celebrities and sports stars do it for charity and drag queens are the stars of the LGBTQ community and an important part of outreach.

Alberto Cifuentes Jr., of GLSEN, the ant-bullying organization, said drag queens are an "integral" part of the community and raise a lot of money overall.

By 6 p.m., the block was jammed with some 400 adults who enjoyed the music and entertainment, many dancing themselves and relaxing in the arms of their same-gender significant others. Children played in a blow-up bouncer in the middle of the street.

There were some serious speeches on stage between drag queen acts, including two scholarships awarded and some advocacy during the acts: background drag queens holding up signs that said: "LGBT people carry on in Africa," and, "LGBT people carry on in Russia."

Emcee Piper Daily -- who looked stunning in pink -- folded in some jokes, including about her shoes: "This shoes ain't cheap in a size 14." She also told the crowd that the word "Drag" is the acronym for Dress as a girl, and originated in William Shakespeare's time.

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