Northern Queers and Allies’ largest event of the year has finally arrived. The 28th annual drag show is this Friday, Feb. 7, with an amateur drag show on Thursday, Feb. 6. The group has been planning this event since September and is eager to see it come to fruition.

“The Amateur Drag Show is an opportunity for students to perform drag. For many of the performers, it will be their first time performing drag. At the end of their performances, they will receive feedback from professional performers,” said Shelby Goode, Queers and Allies president.

The winner of the Amateur Drag Show will go on to perform at the Drag Show the following day.

Professional performers will be driving up to campus from Chicago to participate in the show. In the past year, the event has averaged around 700 students and community members. Queers and Allies hopes to see similar numbers this weekend.

“Our intended purpose for our event is to celebrate queer joy. It is important to come together as a community and support an art form that has deep roots in queer history. The performance is a mix of lip-syncing, dance, costume, and comedy and celebrates a wide range of gender identities and sexual orientations,” said Goode.

The organization will be accepting donations for a group of local Marquette youths to attend the BAMM Pride Summit. There will also be queer Valentine’s Day cards for sale, and the profits will go toward the summit as well. Cash, card, and Venmo donations will also be accepted.

Queers & Allies collaborated with ALLIES to make these events possible.