Glitoris is on a mission to do good. For those who don’t know, Glitoris is a Los Angeles drag queen and the alter ego of Vance Fannin. Every year for his birthday he’s outdone himself. He loves a planned party and he isn’t shy about it. This year, however, he decided to do something a little different. He threw a lip sync tournament in the style of Ru Paul’s Drag Race’s Lip Syncing for your life component. But, this wasn’t really a party to celebrate Vance. It ended up being a huge fundraiser to support the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center and he raised over $2000 with no overhead costs.
The event took place at a studio in downtown Los Angeles and I arrived early to catch the behind the scenes drag prep. Vance assembled a group of three additional fabulous queens and a drag king to judge the event. He brought in a fantastic bartender in Chris and he was lucky enough to have enough snacks for an army, donated by two incredible families, the Alfontes and the Munroes, who had recently lost a member of the community to breast cancer. There was also a silent auction with a personal training package, a headshot session, a haircut and a house cleaning all up for grabs.
It was a rigourous tournament with some serious highs and high kicks. Many fell before Emily was ultimately crowned the winner of the illustrious crown. The crowd was incredibly responsive and the energy was palpable. What a perfect way to ring in another year. I’m looking forward to next year’s event and to watching it grow!