Drag Me to the Midway returns to KDays for another year

Drag performers from Edmonton and beyond took over the CKUA stage at KDays on July 24. The lineup of this year’s Drag Me to the Midway included local queens Felicia Bonée, Cedar T, and Mona Lott, as well as Canada’s Drag Race stars Juice Boxx, Makayla Couture, Nearah Nuff, and Xana. The show also included some group performances from Sorry Not Sorry and Kromatic. 

Pepper, the host of the show, said KDays is one of her favourite events to do. “The crowd is insane. It feels like community. It’s very exciting.”

She started doing drag about 30 years ago at the Roost. “I just fell in love with it, and everything else is just fabulous history,” she said.

Drag has evolved a lot since then, Pepper explained. It was very hidden back in the 90s, but has become much more visible and popular in Edmonton. For her own drag, Pepper used to be a little more daring and challenged things more. 

“Now, I do feel it’s a little more crowd-pleasing … which is good. It’s a very good thing, but it has lost its niche, underground edge,” she said. “It’s made me a stronger artist in drag, seeing this evolution.”

A lot of that change can be credited to RuPaul’s Drag Race, which started in 2009. Now, years later, there’s been spin-offs in various countries, including Canada. The addition of Canada’s Drag Race in 2020, and more recently Canada’s Drag Race All Stars, has been exciting for many queens.

“When I first saw Drag Race, I was like ‘oh my God, could this be possible? This kind of exposure?’ And then when it happened in Canada, it was mindboggling, the fact that we could have this kind of world-spanned exposure for our art form.”

“Support local drag,” Pepper says

Pepper said as a result of Drag Race‘s success, everyone thinks they can be a drag queen. “It’s true, anyone can be a drag queen, but it is an art form and it needs to be taken seriously.”

“We do train, and we learn things like makeup, and hair, and sewing, and music mixing, and all these elements,” she explained. “It’s not just standing on stage and lip synching to your favourite song.”

And all the stars on Drag Race start as local queens, which Pepper stressed need to be supported too. 

“Support local drag. Those are the queens that are going to end up on Drag Race. Without your support, how are they going to get there?” she said. 

Building up to an event like KDays where Pepper both performs and hosts, there’s a lot of stress, but she loves the prep. 

“It’s my favourite. Rehearsing, creating the costumes, the concepts, the looks. It’s making magic. And how can you not enjoy making magic?”

As the opening number of Drag Me to the Midway, Pepper donned a Beavis and Butthead look with Pheromone Killz as the other half of the duo. Creating the production, the choreography, the concept, and ultimately the moments onstage is where Pepper thrives.