The time has come again to crown Alberta’s Next Drag Superstar! In 2022, Pheromone Killz and Dayna Hart faced off in the final lip sync for the crown – and Pheromone killed! She took home the Grand Prize, but now, the time has come for her reign to end! This year also marks the ten-year anniversary of this celebration of provincial drag excellence so we thought, what a perfect time to look back over it!
In a way, our connection to the contest pre-dates EVO. Back in 2011-12, with Ru Paul’s Drag Race still growing in popularity, OUT TV felt the time was right for a series of provincial contests – and reached out to local bars to source out interest. One of the bars they contacted was the Junction (Edmonton’s Junction Bar and Eatery closed in 2012. Learn more about it here). Rob Browatzke was bartending at the time the call came in, and even though the idea seemed intriguing, neither he nor owners Tracey Smith and Deborah Chymyshyn had seen the show or heard of this JuJubee queen OUT TV wanted them to book. Junction passed on the project.
A couple years later, and EVO was open, and Pure Pride approached us about working together on the contest. They’d done one the year previously, just Calgary-focussed, where Deva Dave was crowned Calgary’s first Drag Superstar, but it was time to make the contest provincial. Rob sat down with Edmonton icon Miss Bianca and planned out how the show should look – a format still in play ten years later. Finalists would be judged on performance, yes, but they also had to prepare a fantasy wear look, and have an evening wear look for a QnA portion.
That first year, queens from across the province fought their way into the finale, with special guest judge Courtney Act. Eventually, it was narrowed down to a top two (but only after the audience erupted in boos and jeers when Chanelta Shanaynay was eliminated after spinning in a hoop above the EVO stage!) The finalists were both from Edmonton drag troupe, the Queens of the Orient. Rosell Kristina and Tiara Manila lip sync’ed for their life – and Tiara Manila took the crown!
Tiara Manila passed away in 2023. Rest in power, queen <3
In 2015, EVO took over production of the contest entirely. The format stayed the same though, and both here and at Cowboys in Calgary, a new crop of contestants started the battle all over again, ending with Tiara Misu squaring off against Vanity Fair to the Pointer Sisters before taking the crown. Our second crowned Tiara would pass off the title to Lilith Fair the following year, with special guest judge, Jackie Beat. 2016 also saw us crown Edmonton’s Drag Superstar, Gogo Fetch; she’s technically still reigning since we’ve never done that again, but anyone who has ever been to one of her bingos or shows isn’t surprised to learn she’s a superstar!
Drag herstory lesson – at this time, there was still a distinction drawn between drag queens and who were then called bio queens, or faux queens, or hyper queens (basically women performing female-presenting drag). Shamefully, we had been gatekeeping the contest to drag queens, and in 2017, Sucreesha Minorah of the House of Homocidal was having none of that. She had proven herself on the stage, and she demanded her spot in the competition. And she fought her way right to the end, before Divina Diefor snatched the title away. Her role in smashing that glass ceiling was instrumental in her 2023 induction into the Stiletto Hall of Legends.
The next year, it was the battle of the AFAB performers, as Kat Marlowe Minorah faced off against Calgary’s Duke Carson in the final lip sync. Special guest judges that year were Derrick Barry and her partners.
In 2019, we gave away the biggest prize ever. Not only was the cash prize doubled, the prize included a trip to Vancouver for a gig with Alma Bitches. It was an intense battle, and in the end, it was Ivy League versus GoDiva for the crown – and GoDiva took it. GoDiva’s 2020 step-down was cancelled due to COVID though, and so she reigned, and reigned, and reigned, because even 2021 didn’t let us have another contest. In 2022 though, ANDS was back, and GoDiva passed on the crown to Pheromone, who would also reign for two years; 2023 saw the first ANDS All-Stars, not a contest, just a stunning celebration of some past winners and runners-up.
And now it’s time again. Already, the dragoons are registering. Who’s going to take this year’s cash prize – the biggest ever? $2500 is up for grabs as we celebrate the tenth anniversary of this contest, and we KNOW the performers are going to turn it out. All of this year’s judges are going to be past winners and other title holders of note, so it truly is peer-reviewed, but don’t worry, you the audience still gets to vote!
Special shout-outs to venues like Cowboys, Twisted Element, and Dickens for hosting in Calgary over the years, and shout-outs to sponsors like GayCalgary.com, Pure Pride, Sweet Carousel Corsetry, Stoli, Amped Accessories, Beam Suntory, Hymen Designs, and more, for helping support drag artistry in Alberta.
