The UW-Platteville Alliance invited circuit drag queens and kings from all over the tri-state area to their fifth annual Rainbow Rave to celebrate Gay Pride month.

Photograph by Kate Olsen
Roxy was a hired diva from out of the area that performed at Oct. 3′s Rainbow Rave, an annual event hosted by the Alliance.

Conferences

On Oct. 3, the day started out with a panel consisting of various speakers. The speakers who came were asked by the Alliance to come and talk to students and members of the community and surrounding area.

The panel was created as an effort to educate the community on continuing issues the gay population can face, Rebecca Wonder, sophomore accounting major and president of the Alliance, said.

During the first half of the day, there were four one-hour conferences on subjects such as acceptance in high school, sex versus gender and college issues, being an Ally and Christianity.

The speakers included: two gay ministers, who are in a relationship, who talked about Christianity and breaking down Bible verses to show what they really meant; a high school and middle school counselor who talked about bullying of young gay students; Deirdre Dalsing from Counseling Services spoke about the difference between sex and gender and keeping it separate from being gay.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays also came and talked about how to become an Ally, and Fair Wisconsin spoke about domestic partnerships and rites involved in the process.

Entertainment

At 8 p.m. the rave was scheduled to begin, but the queens were busy getting their hair and makeup ready, so the show did not begin until 8:45 p.m.
Kira Vitale was the “husky host,” and the main queen of the night. She tried to get everyone pumped up in between and introducing the acts.

There were three queens who came to perform from out of Dubuque, Iowa. Three of the Kings, the Anchormen, were hired after being discovered at a conference at Stevens Point.

Wonder also performed on stage.

“I loved it,” she said. Wonder said students enjoyed seeing their own classmates on stage because they were able to connect with them.

Wonder danced with Kris Purkapile, a former criminal justice major at UW-P, and Patrick Harker, a senior agricultural education major.

“I had planned it all for three weeks, and I had connections with the theater department who helped me find size 13 heels,” Harker said. “[Drag] was exciting, and it’s something I want to keep doing.”

The kings and queens would always begin their acts on stage, dancing and lip-syncing to the song of their choice. The queens dressed in their glitzy, sometimes barely-there outfits, and the kings dressed in jeans or black pants with a button-down, collared shirt.

Depending on crowd involvement, the performers occasionally exited the stage and personally danced on audience members in hopes of making tips, and further entertaining the crowd. Dancing styles ranged from hip hop to erotic dancing, sometimes performed on the tables.

“The purpose of the Rainbow Rave was to entertain the community and to give [the audience] a sense of acceptance with the Gender, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community,” Wonder said.

“I was very disappointed that our campus leaders, which preach diversity, failed to support through attending the drag show or the conferences,” Wonder said. “Very little staff and none of the deans attended.”

Members of the Segregated University Fees Allocation Commission showed up to the rave, and even participated. The president of SUFAC, Jared Keehn, had dropped his name tag on the floor, which was picked up by the host queen. Keehn was then told to get down on his hands and knees and bark like a dog in order to get his tag back. Keehn did as he was told, smiling and laughing the entire time.

“I thought the Rainbow Rave was hilarious,” Danielle Russ, junior criminal justice major, said. “I am definitely going again next year.”
The Rainbow Rave came to a close at 11 p.m. and was followed by a dance until the event ended at midnight.

The Alliance hosts other campus events, such as the National Day of Silence. They also participate in Unity Week held during spring semester.

To join the Alliance, students can attend meetings at 6 p.m. in the Women’s Center in Warner Hall on Tuesdays. Starting in November, the first Monday of each month will also hold their meeting at the same time and place for those who cannot attend the Tuesday meetings. For more information, contact Wonder at wonderr@uwplatt.edu.