Southern Women's Shelter Presents 'Purple Reign' Drag Show

The culture is changing, and our national transformation goes deep — so deep that it reaches Arkansas.

Case in point: The Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter will host June 5th’s “You Belong” community resource fair.

Presented on the lawn amid the “family friendly” Bentonville bash: a drag show.

Per its website, The Momentary — a Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art satellite location hosting the event — welcomes “all to gather in support of the LGBTQ+ community.”

On offer:

Educational resources

Food and beverages

Onyx Coffee Lab

Local food trucks

Shaved ice

And a bevy of drag queens will rule:

Afrodite

Neptune

Umami Origami

Ace of Hearts

Nikita Kakes

Sina Kakes

Inertia™

+ at least 8 more

Headlining will be RuPaul’s Drag Show Season 12 (and El-DeBarge-ish) contestant Crystal Methyd.

Some of Crystal’s runway looks:

Drag has really come on strong as of late — in circles one might not expect.

As I covered in April, Hope United Methodist Church is promoting queen Isaac Simmons for ordination.

The minister’s been known to deliver messages in full getup:

Hope United’s in Illinois, but North Carolina’s Calvary United Methodist beat Arkansas to the Southern drag queen punch with 2019’s “Drag Me to Church” event.

And recently, eastern PBS station WNET treated tykes to Little Miss Hot Mess:

Drag queen Little Miss Hot Mess sings "The Hips On the Drag Queen Go Swish Swish Swish" to a virtual child audience on an episode of “Let’s Learn,” produced in partnership by WNET and the New York City Department of Education and aired on PBS. pic.twitter.com/pK9fjoOPMe

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) May 20, 2021

“I think we might have some drag queens in training on our hands,” says Little Miss Hot Mess at the conclusion of the song.

A PBS tag says the episode is intended for kids aged 3-8. pic.twitter.com/7rv4kmoZfV

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) May 20, 2021

Back to Arkansas, the NWA Women’s Shelter explains its reasoning behind a Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Questioning/Intersex/Asexual-themed benefit:

Domestic Violence affects the LGBTQIA+ community at rates significantly higher than any other demographic community. We know that domestic violence does not discriminate and neither do we. At the NWA Women’s Shelter, we provide shelter, counseling, and advocacy services to anyone who needs assistance reclaiming their lives and freedom from their abuser. We are a safe place for YOU to be YOU. Because of the abundant generosity of our sponsors, all profits go directly to benefit the programs and clients at the NWA Women’s Shelter.

So for anti-abuse festival fans, the start of June — Pride month, that is — will bring something different than your average ~~fair~~ fare.

Not only will there be shelter; supporters will also get…PURPLE REIGN:

We are excited to welcome RuPaul's Season 12 finalist CRYSTAL METHYD, to our 2nd annual Drag Show Fundraiser benefitting the NWA Women's Shelter!
June 5th at the Momentary in Bentonville – buy your tickets now!https://t.co/ewYbYvbmu5 pic.twitter.com/XTvEZHU8Po

— NWA Women's Shelter (@NWAWS) April 26, 2021