For me, MGOA has always been personal
by Floyd Martin
Special to The Gayly
Angles was the first gay bar I intentionally went to, and it sometimes messes with me. It was the first gay bar I worked at, I attended my first drag show there, met my first husband there, and it was the first place I did drag.
I worked there for eight years. So many memories and so many nights, I probably don't remember, and sadly, 80 percent of those people are not in my life on a regular basis anymore. They’ve either moved, died or we somehow lost contact.
And sometimes, the ghosts dance hard on my head and my heart when I go there like we used to on the stage with wild abandonment to the dance music spun by [DJ] Checkerz.
But at the Miss Gay Oklahoma America pageant held at Angles this past July 26-28, I don't feel that sad vibe. It's a celebration of life, of love, an art form, perfection, history, optimism and a sense of community.
In a day where the art of female impersonation has gone mainstream, everyone from straight grandparents watching RuPaul's Drag Race to little kids who love Drag Queen Story Hours in their various cities are drag experts. It’s good to see our community steeped in such a tradition like the 42nd annual Miss Gay Oklahoma America (MGOA) pageant.
There are many pageant systems for many different types of entertainers in 2019. All have their drawing points and their charm, but for me, MGOA has always been personal. It was my first drag pageant, and it was a system in which I have been honored to know the participants, winners, and promoters for the last 30 years.
I was honored to receive the Tillie Laine Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017, joining luminaries like Tony Sinclair, Ginger Lamar, Jack Calcoate, Kelly Howell, and his year's recipient, Adrianna. She and he head of the alumni board which operates this pageant.
MGOA bridges the gap between the LGBT/Drag community in our city and state, and the past and the future. Preliminaries are held in OKC, Tulsa, Lawton and Enid.
This year, the girls were of various experience levels, and there were contestants in their first year competing. There was Anita Richards, who has perfected her illusion and stage presence over a 40-year career. It was her first appearance at Miss Gay Oklahoma America since 1995.
They all brought their A-game. It never ceases to amaze me that someone can take an old song, like You've Came Along Way From St. Louie by Pearl Bailey and make it new and fresh again, as Miss Richards did, or a new hilarious version of Mommie Dearest by Erikka Shaye, like we have never seen done quite before.
Twelve contestants representing various preliminaries took the stage on and gave it their all. On the final night, the top five were brought back to do it again.
The gowns and hair are breathtaking. Part of the competition includes the contestants interviewed as men in a private session. Then the top five are later asked an onstage question, putting them on the spot. At this moment, the crowd quieted down, and you could hear a pin drop, as the 2018 Miss Gay Oklahoma - the lovely Shanel Sterling- read the question out loud twice. The contestant thinks for a minute and reveals, sometimes, a part of their soul, as they describe their dream and answer the question.
The judges, A former Miss America, A former Miss Oklahoma, and three ladies who vastly enrich our community, listen quietly and take notes as they give scores in the different categories.
The forever Miss Oklahomas, many who have performed in between the pageantry and some as the handsome men they are day to day, in attendance take the stage, and present the various trophies for the various categories, which are all named after fallen sisters.
There’s the Sasha Loren Beauty Award, The Amii Deshay Talent Award, and the Cherelle Ventura Award for highest ranking non-top five contestant. Most of these girls are too young to have known these formers, but the crowd never forgets these entertainers taken sadly before their time.
In the end, 59-year-old Anita Richards was announced as first runner-up. Erikka Shaye, in her 4th year competing, finally achieved her goal as Miss Gay Oklahoma America. She takes her place in the sisterhood.
Both Richards and Shaye will represent Miss Gay Oklahoma at the Miss Gay America pageant October 2-5 at Hamburger Mary’s in St. Louis where nearly 50 contestants from across the country will compete in the spectacular Beyond the Stars themed 48th annual Miss Gay America pageant.
Established in Nashville in 1972, The Miss Gay America Pageant is the world’s first, longest running and most prestigious nationwide female impersonator (aka drag) competition.
Floyd Martin (c) with Katrina Kalb (l) and Sara Cunningham of Free Mom Hugs. Photo by Robin Dorner.
The Gayly. 9/7/2019 @ 3:46 p.m. CST.