The South Park Blocks were empty Sept. 23—the Saturday night before fall classes started. Campus was quiet, except for the south stairwell in Smith Memorial Student Union (SMSU) where students snaked down three stories in anticipation for Portland State’s annual Viking Days Drag Show.
Among the performers were Alexis Campbell Starr, T’Kara Campbell Starr, Nikki NiHao, Kourtni Capree Duv, Nay-Nay Leakes Cartier and Poison Waters herself.
“It’s one of my favorite events,” said Murph Murphy, the director of the Queer Resource Center (QRC) housed on the fourth floor of SMSU. “I love getting to kick off the year with this.”
This was the second year Murphy organized the event, and knowing what to expect from the event gave them an edge in planning it. Nevertheless, there were still challenges. “The biggest challenge is [the] quick turnaround,” Murphy said.
Housing was still helping new students move in, so a significant hurdle was ensuring students knew about the event. However, as students flooded in they nearly filled the ballroom. “We are talking about having it at a bigger venue,” Murphy said. “We don’t want to turn anyone away.”
By the time the event was getting started, around 300 eager attendees chatted amongst themselves. The music came on and some students vogued in their seats. Then, Waters pushed through the curtain to cheers from the audience.
Waters introduced the show and briefly flirted with audience members before refocusing on the night’s performers. The crowd seemed especially excited after discovering several performers had connections to PSU. T’Kara Campbell Starr and Cartier were both students at PSU. NiHao—whom students were particularly ecstatic about—is the current residence director at PSU’s University Housing and Residence Life.
Students may be disappointed that the performance only occurs once a year, but finding any of the queens around town is relatively easy. Waters will be at the on-campus Dead Guy Bar—aka Rogue Hall—for Zombie Drag Queen Bingo on Oct. 12 and 24 at 7 p.m.
At the night’s end, Murphy fielded audience questions to the queens. They explained how they got their names, how one learns drag and how they trained. “Just sex, and you know…” Nay Nay Leakes Cartier said.
Before students left their seats, Murphy reiterated that the QRC doors are always open. After all, the QRC was the organization which brought everyone together that night. “Any student that wants to find support and find community—reach out,” Murphy said. “We’re here. We’re queer. We’re proud. We’re doing drag!”
