Drag show performs this time without a hitch | Lifestyles | transylvaniatimes.com

Koko Dove, Miss Trans South Carolina, performs a Reba McEntire number at the May 18 show.

Nearly a year after a threat caused its cancellation UpCountry Brewing Company hosted a drag show, “Unicorns Unite,” on May 18 and this time without a hitch.

On July 29 last year, UpCountry Brewing Company, located in the Brevard Lumber Arts District, was set to host “Don’t Hide Your Magic Unicorn Drag Show.”

The show was canceled two days before it was set to take place because a local resident communicated threats toward the event and its attendees.

Brevard’s Joseph O’Neal, 31 at the time, posted on Facebook under a pseudonym: “I’ll be damned if I’ll allow a pride celebration in my hometown of Brevard. They may as well consider themselves target practice. I’m not kidding. It’s pure wickedness!!”

O’Neal also posted a photo of guns with the attached comment: “I will die before that takes place!!!”

O’Neal turned himself into the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office July 26. He was charged with one misdemeanor count of communicating threats due to alleged postings on Facebook in response to the upcoming drag show. On Oct. 10 O’Neal pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of communicating threats, according to court documentation. He received 12 months of unsupervised probation. He was not charged a fine but did pay $213 in court costs.

UNICORNS UNITEThe May 18 drag show was well-attended by more than 200 people, said UpCountry’s event coordinator Arianna Ruiz.

“There were some protesters,” said Ruiz but “it wasn’t bad.”

“Overall, it was great, it was wonderful,” she said. “A lot of our drag queens said that they would come back and that they felt safe here. I had eight security guards. A lot of them volunteered their time; they were close family and friends.”

The pre-show festivities included a makeup booth, hair styling and glitter stations and themed cocktails. Host Big Tessa Coals, a Brevard College alum, kicked the show off in style with an energetic number before introducing the rest of the queens in the evening’s lineup.

Taylor Spliff wowed the crowd with handstands and somersaults. Katarina Synclaire showed off her spectacular fashion with some quick-change reveals and yards of beaded fringe. Miss Trans South Carolina Koko Dove impersonated Reba McEntire and the reigning Miss Blue Ridge, Alexis Black, captivated the audience with her elegance and grace.

Big Tessa asked each of the performers why it was important to have safe spaces to be queer.

They each spoke about difficulties they had growing up. This included not feeling like they could come out in public, being disowned by their families, feeling unsafe being who they were in public and how having safe queer-friendly spaces helped them feel supported to find a new family of friends.

“We the people of color and diverse identities have been here from the beginning and will be here at the end,” said Tessa after the show.

“We will be safe and we will not be silenced,” said Tessa. “We love freedom and hope everyone in Transylvania can come together and celebrate making freedom more safe and accessible for all peoples. Thank you Brevard for being home.”

PRIDE PROCLAMATIONLast Friday the Transylvania Young Progressives, including James Carli, Mary McKeller, Peter Offen, Miles Schafer, Julia Dunn and Sam Stites, asked Brevard’s mayor and city council members to declare June 2024 as Pride Month in the city of Brevard.

“LGBTQIA+ and gender nonconforming people have always existed in every society in human history,” they wrote in an email. “For far too long they have been forced to live in the shadows of our communities, including here in western North Carolina, nationwide and around the world.

“Thanks to cultural shifts with younger generations embracing new networks and taking up the baton after the sacrifices and struggles of activists of decades past, Brevard and Transylvania County’s non-cisgendered, non-hetero residents no longer have to live in fear,” they wrote. “They are beginning to emerge from their cocoons to bestow on our community their beautiful colors, creative energies and contagious liberty.

“Like a healthy forest, a society is healthy when all components of the social ecosystem are free to pursue their fullest self-expression, self-actualization and self-determination to build a life they choose. Supporting gay liberation increases the openness and vitality of our community, inject new energies and creative impulses, and add to the holistic richness of our beautiful area.

When asked for comment Tuesday, Brevard Mayor Maureen Copelof said she will be proclaiming June Pride Month at Monday’s City Council public meeting.

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