The married couple and creative duo behind Woodbridge’s Armageddon Beach Party Store & Lounge, Elena Smyth and Aubrey Smyth (aka Kozma and Motu, aka Detroit’s “ambassadors of psychedelia”) have teamed up with with a digital nightclub and Haus of Moneje, a queer-Black-run production house to produce a virtual benefit that to emphasize the importance of “All Black Lives Matter.”
Friday night’s Queer Pride for Black Lives: A Virtual Variety Benefit Show will feature an evening of streamed drag performances to benefit Black-led organizations, like Foundation of Black Heritage and Culture, I Am Human Foundation, Black Visions Collective, and two organizations created to honor slain members of the Black trans community, The Nina Pop Mental Health Recovery Fund, and The Tony McDade Mental Health Recovery Fund.
Per a press release, Queer Pride for Black Lives “aims to continue the work of those before us, by providing a platform to spread awareness of and advocate for the fundamentally important Black Lives movement.”
The virtual event will host performances by some drag elite, including, Eva Angelica Stratton, Freddy Prinze, Commander Sins, and the Reigning Gay Male Entertainer of the year, Teddy Michael.
Hosted by Full Tilt Social Club, a digital nightclub that offers party programming via Zoom and Twitch, the event will offer two shows, one at 8 p.m. and another at 10 p.m. Tickets, which can be purchased via Full Tilt Social Club, are a suggested donation of $10-$15 or pay what you can, though the release says nobody will be turned away.
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This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2020.