What a night, is all I can say. Attending the Heels for Hope charity drag show put on by Kappa Phi Eta, Tau Sigma Chi,and Phi Kappa Sigmawas phenomenal. If you’re not familiar with what Heels for Hope is, it’s a charity drag show in association with Courage MKE where both student and professional drags perform to raise money for homeless LGBTQ+ youth in the Milwaukee area.
This event hit close to home as Milwaukee is my hometown. I was happy to see the efforts being made in my city for change and hoping that when I return home, I can volunteer with this organization to continue being a part of that change. Attending this event was definitely the highlight of my week. This was my first time going to this event, and I was filled with joy after leaving. I had two research papers due the same week, but I was far from worried about them while I was attending this event. Not only did I have a lot of fun, but I also supported a good cause.
Throughout the night the MC’s read statistics about LGBTQ+ homelessness, and they were startling. I was happy by attending this event, I was giving someone hope and a home.During the brief intermission, Roger Moreano, the Assistant Dean of Students and Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on campus, gave an inspirational message about the importance of taking pride in your identity and the importance of us all attending the event. He also challenged us to use our voices to create change on campus, which is a challenge I will accept.
Now let’s talk about the performances. When I tell you they came with all the energy, they came with ALL the energy. I was singing and dancing along through every performance. When trying to record performances, I couldn’t because I was dancing too much - that’s how much fun I was having. My heart was warm seeing straight allies and members of the LGBTQ+ community come together and overall seeing people take pride in their identity.
Throughout each performance you could vote for your favorite drag performance through a cash or Venmo donation, and the performance with the most donations received recognition at the end. I had a lot of favorites, but one of my favorites was a trio of queens that call themselves “Turtle Chocolate and Vanilla Drizzle.” This trio consisted of the queens J’adore, Brihanna, and Marie Antoinette. The way they interacted with the crowd had me shook! They all came with a lot of attitude and dance moves, but my personal favorite of the three was J’adore. I am so proud of this queen’s performance and energy she brought to the stage.
Another favorite of mine was Anna Engleson ‘22 as the Drag King Luke Warm. Everything from the name to the performance to the makeup was amazing. Luke Warm represented for the Drag Kings and did not come to play! Other performances that paid tribute to Tina Turner and the late Selena had me out of my seat! Their stage presence, outfits, makeup, energy, and interaction with the crowd made for an overall great performance. I felt like a fan girl when I approached these professional queens after the show to chat and take pictures. I enjoyed their personalities and had a lot of fun talking to them after the show.
Attending this event is an experience I will never forget. In the end, Heels for Hope raised over $2000 to support Courage MKE. If you were unable to make it to the event, no worries. You can still donate to help support LGBTQ+ homeless youth in Milwaukee and give them hope.