Has interest spiked for drag shows in Kelowna?

Last week the very large number of allies who showed up for the rally for Drag Storytime was a clear and tangible display of the support for the Kelowna LGBTQ2S+ community, despite some recent online hate.

Given the high-profile controversy in recent weeks, has that led to a rise in local interest in drag entertainment?

Drag Queen Ella Lamoureux told Kelowna10 while she doesn’t think the protests per se have led to an increase in interest, there is a bigger focus on allyship and support for all queer art.

“With people coming to a queer show or event, the spike in attendance is fantastic, but it shows the people that are already there and already interested are actually coming out,” she said. “Before they would come and support us from afar and now they’re putting an action to their words.”

Lamoureux performs weekly at the downtown LGBTQ lounge Friends of Dorothy. But when she first started, it was only once a month. She said it has expanded beyond the means of local performing.

“Drag all over Canada has grown quite a bit like the TV shows representing drag which has created an influx and has put drag more in a highlighted way,” she said. “There are people embracing it more… and then when they get shown it and can appreciate it, I think it’s creating more of a positive look on it because people aren’t looking at it as this underground hidden way.”

She recalled in the early days of her act, the major queer events didn’t want them performing telling them there was ‘no scene for them.’

“We had to do a lot of work in the background, showing that we’re fantastic, we can be kind, and show we’re activists,” she explained. “A lot of that recently is getting side stepped because of the protests because there’s a lot of negative voices, and it’s putting ownership on us and on our allies to create a stronger and louder voice to become more unified so we can be presented in a positive way.”

And what for the future for drag in Kelowna?

“The best part would be if there are no protests. Just a level of acceptance through all,” she said.