Oct 03, 2003  |  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.”