Illustration by Lauren Campbell

Eastern’s 15th annual drag show broke the previous school year’s record halfway through, with cash donations overflowing from the padded bras of shimmering queens and the tight underwear of go-go boys on Feb. 19.

The show, named and influenced by the 1996 film “The Birdcage,” raised about $4,100 in donations for the Spokane AIDS Network. Roughly 158 more tickets were sold for this year’s show compared to last year.

“Record ticket sales, and record funds raised. This year was indeed a success,” said Nova Kaine, head of Le Gurlz, the drag group which performs at EWU every year. They work at Irv’s in downtown Spokane.

Established in 2000 through the collaboration of the Eagle Pride Student Organization, Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership (SAIL) and Eagle Entertainment, this event has quickly become one of EWU’s largest traditions.

“The tradition [of the drag show] was started to bring awareness and support to the LGBT community at EWU and within our surrounding Cheney and Spokane communities,” said Stacey Reece, director of SAIL. “The program is designed to show that EWU is a strong supporter and ally of the LGBT community.”

Thanks to the establishment of the EWU Pride Center, educational workshops were added to the schedule along with the drag show to bring awareness to the LGBTQ community. This year, students who attended the The History of Drag workshop were able to get VIP tickets to meet the performers after the show, without paying the extra cost.

This year’s event included Spokane’s local drag performers Nova Kaine and Le Gurlz, as well as three go-go boys, and an enthusiastic group of guys from the Delta Chi fraternity who adopted sorority girl personas for their performances. In addition to the local acts, the show featured famous drag queens Ms. Pandora Boxx and Ms. Darienne Lake, known for their time spent competing on the reality TV show “RuPaul’s Drag Race”.

Boxx was voted fan favorite after she was voted off “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in episode 8 of season 2. Originally from Rochester, NY, she was influenced by Lake in the art of drag. In addition to being known for her run on the show in season 6, Lake, also from Rochester, is given the credit of being Boxx’s “drag mother.”

In each of their sets, a drag performer picked a song to lip sync to, while dazzling the crowd with their enthusiasm and dance moves. During the performances, volunteers went around and collected cash donations from the audience. The more money donated for a certain performance symbolized how much it was enjoyed by showgoers.

The performers encouraged audience participation, which made the event more fun and interactive for the spectators. Students who attended the event seemed to have a good time.

“[The show] was very interesting, “ said Sam King, EWU freshman. The Birdcage was King’s first time attending a drag show. He said he was surprised by the atmosphere of the event: “I thought it was hilarious, but also sexy.”

“We thought it was really good,” said Jenelle Muñoz, EWU junior who attended the show with her friend, Carly Williams, freshman. For both of them, it was the first time ever attending a drag show. “It was fun and entertaining. We loved Pandora Boxx!” said Williams.

Lasting for three hours, the show drew in a crowd of 658 students and members from the Spokane and Cheney community. VIP ticket holders were able to meet the performers after the show outside of The Roost to take photos and ask them questions.

The event was sponsored by Eagle Entertainment, ASEWU, Eagle Sound Productions, the EWU Pride Center, Eagle Pride Student Organization, and SAIL.