There weren’t any kids in the audience, but there were plenty of drag queens — amateur and professional — on stage at Key West Theater on May 23.
The second annual Miss Island Queen amateur drag pageant raised $55,374 for Samuel’s House women’s shelter and had the crowd in hysterics.
The event was created by Samuel’s House board member Kirby Myers, owner of Kirby’s Closet, who emceed the event with the inimitable man-about-town, Landon Bradbary.
Each of the six contestants was paired with a professional drag queen who coached them in style, wardrobe, makeup, talent and over-the-top personalities.
The audience voted with their wallets, throwing money on the stage and writing checks to Samuel’s House on behalf of one or more contestants.
At the end of it all, business owner Casey Arnold — aka “WyMOANa Juggs” — was crowned the 2023 Miss Island Queen under the guidance of his coach, Sushi.
The event and the $55,374 that was raised to help women and families in Key West wouldn’t have been possible without the enthusiasm of each contestant, their coach, the Samuel’s House staff, board members and former contestants.
The 2023 contestants were:
Casey Arnold aka “WyMOANa Juggs” and coach Sushi
Beth Moyes aka “Clutch Mashaft” and coach Jessica Deveraux
Tom Dustin aka “Lucille Ballz” and coach Puddin’ Taine
Dorian Patton aka “DeeDee Royale” and coach Hugh Janus
Andrew Morawski aka “Poetic Pussycat” and coach Blu Diamond
DJ Sanaris aka “Rizzo Vybez” and coach QMitch
