DO THIS: Don Your Amateur Drag at The Beauty Ball

Photo by Alexander John.

Five years ago Dr. Patrick Barrett began hosting a soiree in his apartment, where he’d ask guests to come in drag. He dubbed the party The Philly Beauty Ball, and it was apparently such a riot that it’s become become one of the year’s most-anticipated events. It’s a chance for those among us who are curious about drag but don’t want to glue on lashes and tuck our junk on a regular basis to see what we look like in a wig and a little rouge. But most importantly it’s a fun way to take part in the community and raise money for a good, local LGBT cause.

For the second year in a row the party is happening on the upstairs dancefloor at Woody’s. The date has been set for October 4th, so there’s plenty of time to run to CVS to buy up all the cheap makeup you can get your hands on. Plus, being so close to Halloween, you can snatch up a wig on the cheap.

G Philly favorite Bev will be the mistress of ceremonies for the evening, no doubt heckling the roomful of amateur queens. Gayborhood photograher Jonathan Hernandez will be onsite to snap a professional photograph of you in your getup. He’s had lots of practice photographing drag queens—even famous ones—so this will be a photo you’ll want to keep.

If you want to make sure to look on-point in your photos, you can pay an additional $15 to have a real-life drag queen beat your face (that’s drag for “apply your makeup”) before the party.

Guests aren’t required to come in drag (but really, why wouldn’t you), but those who do can participate in a lip-sync competition that requires contestants to wow judges in a one-minute “kamikaze” lip-sync. The winner will get a crown, and the pleasure of evil looks for the rest of the night.

Admission is $10, with all net proceeds going to the Mazzoni Center. More information can be found here.