By: Milena Mata | Contributor | mm1934@jagmail.southalabama.edu
Photo by: Lauryn Gunn | Contributing Photographer
USA Spectrum and F.E.M. hosted HalloQueen, the Halloween-themed drag show on Oct. 28 in the Student Center Ballroom.
Spectrum hosts this especially extravagant event every year. Members of Spectrum form committees that coordinate with each other to plan separate aspects of the event. Celia Schnuettgen is a member of Spectrum who helped arrange the event. The students started planning months before to make sure everything was executed to perfection.
“Part of it is consistency,” said Schnuettgen. “We do this every year, and we advertise this every year, especially during recruitment. It is one of our biggest events. We plan this two months ahead of time to talk about the event, food, and decorations.”
Spectrum decorated the ballroom with Halloween-themed balloons strewn across the floor, ghost and bat stickers on the walls, and a wall backdrop specifically made for taking pictures. Students also had the opportunity to eat like queens at the buffet.
The show consisted of five professional drag queens that Declan Godfrey, the Vice President of Spectrum, contacted. Wanda Doomy, a seasoned comedy queen, hosted the show, introducing the other queens and making funny remarks while feeding off of the energy of the audience. The queens couldn’t be contained to the small stage as they utilized the entire ballroom to interact directly with the guests. Keke Fox and Lolly Gag highlighted their talent with fun and exciting performances to a medley of songs. Jupiter Vincent championed the horror theme of the night with their gothic makeup. Lastly, Madame Willow Showghoul stunned with performances inspired by “Euphoria” and also excelled at the overall Halloween theme.
By the second act, everyone had already lined up their chairs in a circle around the ballroom to make it easier to tip the drag queens.
The night was not only a drag show, though. Celebrations began with a costume contest that allowed people to talk and eat beforehand. Most of the attendees also participated. Some outfits were traditional while others opted for a playful route, dressing up as characters from TV shows or celebrities like Beyoncé. The students who entered the contest walked down the stage to give the judges a better look. A student dressed as the Mad Hatter from “Alice in Wonderland” won the contest. They even pulled a teacup out of their large hat as they walked across the stage taking a bow.
Screams are not only suitable for a frightening Halloween but also for supporting fun, energy-filled stunts, backbends, and death drops.
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