Volume 83, Issue 28 Web Edition SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935
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April 18, 2018
Second Annual Pride Festival
By Ivy Pope
staff Writer
On April 13, Brevard College hosted its very
own Pride Festival for the second year in a row,
and with that festival came the college’s second
annual drag show. Featured in this show were
drag queens and kings: Ithika Cerise, Natasha
Noir Nightly, Jada Queen, Katarina Eclipse,
Viktor Grimm, Adonis Steel, Ida Carolina,
Vincent Martin, and Cherry Wine.
Three Brevard College students participated
directly in the show: Dal Davis (Jada Queen),
Caroline Vargas (Cherry Wine) and Lisa Arrona
(Vincent Martin). Professional queens and kings
were Viktor Grimm, who was ranked #6 in the
nation for his drag king performance, and hosts
the kingdom drag king showcase at Scandals
nightclub in Asheville North Carolina.
Ida Carolina was was the former Ms. Blue
Ridge Pride, former Asheville Sweetheart, and
is the current reigning Ms. Tricities, colloquially
known as the Queen Elizabeth of the South.
Adonis Steel is known as the pocket-sized daddy
of Asheville. Katarina Eclipse, a.k.a. the Glitter
Queen of the Mountains, is a former Ms. Inferno
a pageant put on each year during Halloween.
Ithika Cerise is a step instructor, speaks Korean,
and is known as Ms. “Traffic Hazard”. Natasha
Noir Nightly is the bearded vixenn of Asheville.
Cherry Wine and Vincent Martin were a duet
performed by two Brevard students, Lisa Arrona
and Caroline Vargas. When they were asked
about how their characters came to exist, Lisa
Arrona stated, “It all came down to the choice
of songs. Cherry Wine chose the mash-up of
New Rules by Dua Lipa and Poker Face by
Lady Gaga. From there, we just decided to act
out the song.”
When asked whether she enjoyed participating
in the drag show, Arrona responded, “I loved
it! Cherry Wine and I were talking afterwards,
and we both agreed that this was the best night
of our lives so far. The first drag show we ever
saw, was the one we were in! I loved hearing
the other kings and queens stories - it made this
night all the more meaningful.” When asked why
the name Vincent Martin was chosen, Arrona
responded: “I took a BuzzFeed quiz.”
Caroline Vargas, described who Cherry Wine
was to her saying, “Cherry Wine is the happiest
version of myself I chose the name Cherry Wine
because I am always drinking Cheerwine when I
do drag makeup. It makes me happy, it’s bubbly,
and it sounds like it’s an alcoholic drink, but it’s
really just a fun soda.”
Vargas also went on to discuss the look for
Cherry Wine saying, “I built my whole look
around the name, including the wine colored
dress and the hundreds of rhinestones I put on
it to make the soda bubbles.”
When Vargas was asked what she thought
about doing drag for a night, she replied: “1
am very introverted out of drag. I was nervous
all week because I know there is a lot of hate
within the drag community towards queens who
identify as female out of drag...
“I felt like I was supposed to prove myself
and show that I wasn’t just taking the easy route
by choosing to be a queen instead of a king. As
someone who never walks in heels, never wears
makeup, never performs in front of people, and
has never even been to a drag show, I can say
that this is definitely not the easy route. I won’t
even say how expensive it was to pull this look
See 'Pride Festival' on page 8
Photo by Madison Ramsey
Pride flag on Blue Ridge Pride’s booth flaps in the wind.
Kendal James performs at Friday’s Pride Festival.