D.C.
WILL
ENGAGE
in
one
of
its
uniquely
homegrown
Halloween
events
next
week:
the
annual
High
Heel
Race,
more
commonly
referred
to
as
the
Drag
Race.
It
started
as
a
small
event
in
1986
at
the
gay
bar
JR.’s,
where
25
contestants
donned
dresses
and
high
heels
and
raced
up
and
down
17th
St.,
NW.
After
gaining
popularity
for
19
years,
the
event
now
attracts
thousands
to
17th
between
P
and
R
streets,
to
watch
scores
of
drag
queens
(some
in
gowns
and
getups
so
elaborate
that
they
can
hardly
walk,
let
alone
run)
duke
it
out
for
the
grand
prize
—
a
bar
tab
at
JR.’s,
which
still
sponsors
the
event.
This
year’s
race
will
be
held
on
Tuesday,
Oct.
25.
There
will
be
street
closures,
television
news
crews,
politicians,
squad
cars,
and
cheering
fans
lining
the
streets
before
the
race
and
mingling
with
drag
queens
afterwards.
ANOTHER
POPULAR
D.C.
Halloween-season
event
happens
this
weekend,
but
with
decidedly
less
fanfare.
The
annual
Miss
Adams
Morgan
Pageant
will
be
held
on
Saturday,
Oct.
22,
and,
as
usual,
organizers
are
keeping
quiet
about
details
of
the
private
party.
Like
the
High
Heel
Race,
the
pageant
started
on
17th
Street
—
at
Annie’s
as
an
amateur
drag
contest
among
friends.
It
was
such
a
hit
that
organizers
held
the
event
at
a
private
residence
the
following
year.
When
the
party
grew
too
large
to
be
staged
at
a
private
home,
tickets
were
sold
and
it
moved
to
a
number
of
different
venues.
Each
year,
about
10
amateur
drag
queens
don
elaborate
costumes
and
getups
and
sashay
down
the
runway
and
dance
in
choreographed
production
numbers
in
a
mock
beauty
pageant.
Held
on
a
Saturday
in
October,
the
event
draws
more
than
2,000
paying
guests.
This
year’s
event
will
be
held
in
the
ballroom
of
the
Washington
Hilton;
tickets
are
$50.
Some
of
the
most
breathtaking
creations
won’t
be
found
on
stage,
but
on
the
attendees,
almost
all
of
whom
show
up
in
some
form
of
costume,
drag
or
otherwise.
IF
YOU’VE
NEVER
heard
of
the
Miss
Adams
Morgan
Pageant,
you’re
not
alone.
Unlike
the
High
Heel
Race,
the
pageant
is
a
private
event
that
is
closed
to
working
media.
With
the
exception
of
photos
published
in
the
Blade
in
2002,
media
outlets
have
largely
avoided
covering
the
event,
which
is
just
the
way
the
Dupont
Social
Club
—
the
group
that
stages
the
annual
show
—
wants
to
keep
it.
“Since
its
inception,
the
Miss
Adams
Morgan
Pageant
has
been
conducted
as
a
private
event,
closed
to
the
working
media,”
the
Social
Club
board
of
directors
said
in
a
statement
e-mailed
to
the
Blade
this
week.
“We
certainly
appreciate
your
interest
in
covering
this
event,
however
its
private
nature,
supported
wholly
by
those
involved
in
the
leadership
and
Board
that
runs
it,
specifically
precludes
working
reporters
from
covering
the
pageant.”
The
Blade
received
complaints
from
several
organizers
after
publishing
the
photos
three
years
ago.
Chris
Crain,
the
Blade’s
executive
editor,
responded
to
the
complaints
in
a
2002
editorial.
“Why
all
the
fuss
about
making
no
fuss?
Because,
it
seems,
several
of
the
contestants
are
in
the
closet
—
not
necessarily
about
being
gay,
but
about
dressing
in
drag
once
a
year
and
participating
in
the
pageant,”
he
wrote,
explaining
the
no
media
policy.
The
Social
Club,
which
has
about
50
members
comprised
of
past
and
present
contestants,
still
operates
the
show,
and
its
members
are
the
only
ones
authorized
to
sell
the
tickets.
So,
if
you
don’t
know
someone
or
know
someone
who
knows
someone,
you’re
not
going
to
get
in.
As
usual,
the
event
is
already
sold
out.
