Las Vegas-style feathers and glitz will adorn the queens at the fourth annual Drag Queen Show in support of Alouette Addictions Services.
Adrien ‘Mz. Adrien’ Cormier will be emceeing the evening of entertainment that she describes, with a chuckle, as a little naughty, and not so nice.
Mz. Adrien, along with Raye Sunshine, Robin Loveless and new entertainer Celestial Seasons have picked out wild costumes for their new act.
“We don’t repeat any performances,” said Mz. Adrien.
This is the annual signature fundraising event for Alouette Addictions Services, with all money going towards their elementary and high school prevention programs, which are funded by donations and grants.
The elementary program was launched four years ago in three schools in the district for grades 6 and 7. Now the program is in more than 20 schools in the district for more than 2,000 students.
“We’ve actually delivered 150 sessions this year already and we are booked solid through to the end of the school year,” said Alouette Addictions executive director Annika Polegato.
The program, done in partnership with School District No. 42 and Prof. Dan Reist, with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, addresses the issues of drug and alcohol abuse and safe decision making.
“We don’t specifically talk about drugs and alcohol. We talk about resilience, we talk about safe decision making, community inclusion, compassion,” explained Polegato.
“I think the other really important piece is we are connecting folks and increasing awareness and acceptance around the LGBTQ community,” Polegato added.
“A lot of times we have youth who are using trying to manage those challenges. I think that’s so important for us to increase accessibility to services and increase awareness and acceptance of everybody being equal.”
Jay Link, with Alouette Addictions, teaches the curriculum. At each school he co-facilitates with different teachers to come up with lesson plans for students.
The program currently runs two days a week, costing $25,000 a year.
Polegato said Alouette has requests expand, but needs around $40,000 a year to run the program three and a half days a week.
Alouette is working with the school district to expand the program to Grade 8 students and is looking to pilot it at one school this year before rolling it out to more classes in September.
“The more conversations we have and the more consistency in the messaging, then the more opportunities for success,” said Polegato.
There are 30 tickets remaining for the ages 19-and-over show.
This year, Alouette increased the capacity from 140 tickets to 180, and Polegato expects to sell out again this year.
Tickets include the entertainment, dancing , one cocktail and light refreshments.
There will be a silent auction including items like a paintball package from Delta Force Paintball in Maple Ridge, a giant outdoor Jenga game and an adult Slurpee machine. There will also be balloon prizes, where you purchase a balloon for $20 and you are guaranteed to win a prize worth $20 or more.
Mz. Adrien first fell in love with drag performing when she was only 14 years old in Halifax.
“It’s just part of who I am. I’ve always dressed up,” said Mz. Adrien.
“I remember my mom told me when I was about six, I had stolen the Miss Piggy sheets off of my sister’s bed and I’d made a toga and I was running around my little small fishing village wearing this Miss Piggy sheet toga,” she giggled.
Mz. Adrien performs regularly at Heritage Grill in New Westminster and also at The Stage in Mission once a month. She is known for her outstanding work as an emcee and often does private gigs.
She enjoys performing at this event because it reaches an audience that does not get to see drag very often.
“The first year I was there, I was talking to a group of women and they were there because of their local church. And I thought when was the last time I had a bunch of church ladies at one of my shows,” laughed Mz. Adrien.
“I learned quickly at that show, no swear words. You can be dirty without saying the word, right?”
• The Drag Show takes place on Feb. 17 at Pitt Meadows Heritage Hall, 12460 Harris Rd.Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $60. To purchase tickets call 604-467-5179, email annika@alouetteaddictions.org or go to bitly.com/dragshow2018. For more information about Alouette Addictions, go to alouetteaddictions.org.