Lady Gaga lovers lip synced their favorite songs on stage while poets tapped on typewriters behind the scenes at the Drag Ball held at Spanish Moon on Feb. 18.
New Delta Review (NDR) hosted the ball to support the Baton Rouge community.
The ball raised $800, which NDR donated to the Mid City Redevelopment Alliance, an organization that is currently taking monetary donations for flood relief.
NDR is an online literary and arts journal produced by English graduate students. Since 1984, NDR has published a mixture of original fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, reviews, interviews and artwork.
The ball is traditionally held in the fall as a fundraiser for the spring literary festival Delta Mouth, but due to planning circumstances, the festival was not held this year.
Phillip Spotswood, editor in chief of NDR, saw this as an opportunity to hold the ball as a fundraiser for flood relief.
The ball consisted of smaller performances from NDR’s staff, music by DJ Cameron Kelly and drag performances from local drag queens and kings.
The theme for this year’s ball was “Kings and Queens of Hearts.” The theme was inspired by a local flood relief campaign, where the Louisiana state symbol was flipped to form a heart in addition to the event’s proximity to Valentine’s Day.
Guests were encouraged to wear Alice in Wonderland themed costumes. Face paint, wigs, frilly lace skirts and heart necklaces were a few of the favorites among attendees.
Spotswood wanted the focus of the ball to not only be on drag queens, but to also be on drag kings because they often don’t get as much attention, he said.
Finding local talent was a priority to Spotswood and Justin Greene, the assistant poetry editor for NDR who helped co-organize the event. Keeping the performers local and supporting the Baton Rouge community was their main goal, Spotswood said.
The two editors watched multiple YouTube videos and went to various drag performances in New Orleans and at Splash Nightclub until they landed on Jack Inman, Shelby Have, Millie Meringue, who performed for the ball, and Martini Bear, who emceed the event.
Tarot card readings and guerilla poetry booths were also set up for guests’ entertainment. Poets with typewriters wrote poems on the spot for guests, while a woman wearing a top hat gave card readings.
Leur Magazine, a new LGBTQ magazine in Louisiana, was also at the event to take photos and give out Leur products to attendees.
“It’s so important to create a welcoming queer space, and a place where people feel good and comfortable to be who they want to be,” Spotswood said.
Spotswood is interested in starting a drag poetry reading next year. He wants to leave behind a reading event that will go on after he graduates, he said.