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By: BRYAN ANDERTON COMMENTS
Each October, thousands of gay men from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia
get dressed in their finest drag or Halloween fare for an evening of fun and
good-natured competition. But the event in question isn’t a race down 17th
Street; it’s an annual drag beauty pageant that takes place at a large
Washington hotel.
The Miss Adams Morgan Pageant has been entertaining gay audiences for 16 years,
but has managed to evade nearly all media coverage in that time by holding
steadfast to its self-proclaimed status as a “private event.” The
Dupont Social Club, which organizes the event, has posted a “no working
media” rule to protect those pageant-goers who may still be in the closet.
Last year, event organizers decried a decision by the Blade to publish photos
from the pageant, though the Blade obtained consent from each of the photos’ subjects
and the photographs in question were taken in the public lobby outside the
actual contest.
But now, even among the event’s organizers, there are some who think
it’s time for the pageant to “come out of the closet.”
“[Organizers] claim that it is a private event, and they don’t
want to be outed [by the media],” said one source involved with organizing
the event who asked that his name not be printed. “That’s bullshit.
They videotape the event, and they sell tapes to anyone who wants one.”
The source was skeptical that attendees or participants would be outed by
media coverage.
“It’s a crock,” he said. “You’re on stage, you’re
performing, and it’s Halloween. Give me a break.”
Jeffrey Nelson, one of the event’s organizers, declined to comment for
this story, other than to say, “It’s a private event.”
Last year, a number of event organizers wrote angry letters to the Blade after
the newspaper published the photos.
“We, the members of the Dupont Social Club, have made it abundantly
clear that this is a private event and that no working press is allowed,” Steve
Alexander wrote in a letter to the editor published in the Blade’s Oct.
25, 2002 edition. “The Blade’s blatant disregard for our request
is both unprofessional and disrespectful.”
THE PAGEANT IS a “major” gay event, according to the source involved
with organizing it, who said it draws about 2,300 people each year. He said
the tickets, which cost $50 and can be purchased from pageant organizers, sell
out “well in advance.”
This year’s pageant takes place Oct. 18 at the Washington Hilton. Cocktails
start at 7 p.m., while the actual pageant runs from 8:30 p.m. until approximately
midnight.
The pageant began as a relatively small affair in the late 1980s, with only
a handful of people attending but has grown in popularity each year since.
The event has also evolved into a fund-raiser. During last year’s pageant,
the Dupont Social Club presented a check for about $15,000 to Adoptions Together
to launch a program to place children with qualified gay parents.
The pageant is “completely amateur,” according to the source,
who said professional drag performers are not allowed. Every year, the pageant’s
winner is crowned Miss Adams Morgan, and is then given the duty of helping
to organize the pageant the following year.
One source said the people who attend the pageant come for its “creativity” and “edginess,” and
that it could be a much larger event if organizers made it public. But he speculated
that the relative exclusiveness lends some caché to the event.
“They could easily sell double the amount of tickets, arguably triple,” the
source said. “I think part of it is they keep it exclusive and they make
it more desirable. If it’s a private event, people are going to want
to go more.”
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