PORT ANGELES — Producer Merryn Welch does not hold back when describing the Celebrity Drag-off, the event you must see to believe.
“I’ve heard Marilyn Monroe will make an appearance,” she said, adding that rumor has it Audrey Hepburn may arrive too.
Studio Bob, the upstairs venue at 118½ E. Front St., will be given over Saturday night to drag queens and kings: the glitz-soaked, sky-high-heeled kind, all emulating their favorite stars.
Participating for certain are Seattle drag queens Jessica and Drew Paradisco; Port Angeles’ own Blake McCabe, a previous drag-off winner; and Gertie Loins, the drag artist formerly known as Salmonella Riviere.
Gertie — that’s Aunt Gertie to you — has moved from Port Angeles to Seattle, but she shall return Saturday to serve as mistress of ceremonies.
Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. for the 8 p.m. show and contest, which is for the 16-and-older crowd only. Seats are $12 via Brownpapertickets.com or $15 at the door.
The drag-off is not officially part of this week’s Esprit conference for transgender people at the Red Lion Hotel, Welch noted. But she and the organizers did think this would be a good time for a drag-off.
The event has three judges: costume designer-actor-director Richard Stephens, dancer-choreographer-artist Lauren Jeffries-Johnson and a mysterious figure called Helen Heels.
Among the competitors is Lucy Paradisco, a third member of the Paradisco family. About this, Welch is full of anticipation.
“The Paradiscos are all amazing and beautiful,” she said.
“They are going to knock everybody’s socks off.”
For more about the event, find the Celebrity Drag-off page on Facebook or phone 360-797-3903.
