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Baton Rouge Pride co-chairs Chris Bradford, Bobbi Wisekal-Crouch and Carlos Perez photographed in downtown Baton Rouge, which will also play host to this month’s Baton Rouge Pride Festival
After pandemic hiatus, Baton Rouge Pride Festival organizers promise biggest, most inclusive event yet
BY ZANE PIONTEK
Baton Rouge Pride co-chairs Carlos Perez, Bobbi Wisekal-Crouch and Chris Bradford say this year’s Pride Festival will provide the most activities yet, including family-friendly offerings.
FOR TWO YEARS, Baton Rouge has been missing its Pride.
In 2020 and ’21, the city’s annual Pride Festival had to take a beat because of restrictions on large in-person gatherings. This June, the event finally returns—and it will be the biggest celebration yet, according to Baton Rouge Pride’s three co-chairs.
The festival will include a sprawling array of presentations and activities and even a few celebrity guest appearances from American Idol runner-up David Hernandez, Idol contestant and Queen of the Universe second alternate Ada Vox, and Snap! singer-songwriter Thea Austin.
“We want to make sure that people—because they’re looking for that community again, they’re looking for that touch, that face-toface interaction—that they get what they’re looking for,” says Baton Rouge Pride co-chair Bobbi Wisekal-Crouch.
Beginning June 19, Pride Week will supply seven days of events around town, leading up to the June 25 festival. On that day, the event will be spread across the Raising Cane’s River Center’s convention center, river view room, meeting rooms and galleria.
Each space will house panels like Drag Queen Storytime, Drag Queen 101 and Healthy Sexual Trivia, an instructional panel on sexual health in the LGBTQ+ community led by Wisekal-Crouch, a clinical pharmacist with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
In addition to being the largest festival yet, this will also be the first with a decisive theme: “Living Out Proud,” a celebration of the pioneers of the LGBTQ+ rights movement who “paved and braved many roads” for today’s LGBTQ+ population, as the BR Pride website reads.
Co-chair Chris Bradford says a crucial aspect of that theme is a focus on community building: finding ways to establish and affirm a strong LGBTQ+ network in Baton Rouge. One way the organization has done that is by compiling a local business directory on its website of LGBTQ+-owned and -operated businesses in the city, all of which have been invited to participate in the festival’s resource fair.
“It’s important that people know which local businesses will not shun them away,” Bradford says. “Having those places out there that are open and friendly to have their name out there and seen at Pride is important.”
Among the growing list of businesses presenting in the resource fair will be Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign, Leur Magazine, LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana and Advanced Study, a national clinical study investigating the validity of federal regulations that make it more challenging for gay men to donate blood. To help offer a truly inclusive experience, there will be an emphasis on family-friendly activities, co-chairs say. WisekalCrouch says she regrets how some Pride celebrations favor the raunchier side of queer culture and tend to only cater to adult audiences. While all that is fun, she says Pride should be something parents want to celebrate with their children so that they can
begin a healthy exposure to queer culture from a young age. “Just providing that safe zone for the conversation to happen within the family, I think, is so important,” she says. “Because then they’re not going to a stranger to look for guidance; they’re actually showing that family support within the home, and I think that is spectacular.” During Drag Queen Storytime, local drag entertainers will dress in their best princess eleganza and read stories to children. Co-chair Carlos Perez, a drag queen himself who performs as Miranda Mann, also said he’s particularly looking forward to welcoming families to the festival. “Just the smiles and the glee on these people’s faces when we’re out there doing all that, I miss that most of all,” he says. The Baton Rouge Pride Having weathered its pandemic Festival back in 2019 hiatus with patience, Baton Rouge Pride Week returns in grand fashion— promising something for everyone, and more of all of it than ever before.
COME ONE, COME ALL
Local LGBTQ-owned or -affirming businesses
Today, local business owners can love and support who they want with pride—during Pride Month and beyond. There are plenty of companies in town that are allies of the LGBTQ community by either being a part of it, supporting Baton Rouge Pride, speaking up on social media or being a historically recognized safe space for the community. For Baton Rouge Pride’s full directory of these businesses— or to find out how to become part of the directory—visit batonrougepride.org/ directory.html
FILE PHOTO
CHECK OUT THE LINEUP
Baton Rouge Pride Week runs June 19 to June 26, culminating in Baton Rouge Pride Festival on June 25. Visit batonrougepride.org/events for the full Pride Week schedule.
Drag race
By Olivia Deffes
Queens of Louisiana is shining the spotlight on local drag queens
Local drag queen Britnee Alexander with Queens of Louisiana founder Heather Prudhomme
WITH MORE RESTAURANTS and bars hosting shows, Baton Rouge’s drag scene has gotten bigger than ever.
Heather Prudhomme saw a need for a new platform to connect performers with fans. Thus, Queens of Louisiana was born. Branded as a drag fan club, it began last year as a website for all things drag. Today, it also hosts events and offers services to queens, such as professional photography and boxes of collector cards they can hand out to fans at events.
“I had this idea (to start a fan club) because I’ve always had a love for drag,” she says. “As drag shows shifted from nighttime events to daytime events (such as brunches), I noticed different people of all ages enjoying drag.”
Prudhomme really can’t remember a time when drag wasn’t a part of her life. Her godfather was a cross-dresser dating back to the 1970s. Around 30 years ago, Prudhomme attended her first show in New Orleans. Ever since, she has made it her mission to show people that drag is an art form, just as much as theater, painting or fashion.
Prudhomme started out by interviewing queens after their performances. She’d quiz them about their favorite things and what they liked about drag. She then created online bios, where fans could learn all about their favorite artists and find out information about upcoming shows.
Now hosting its own events, it regularly sells out of tickets for brunches at venues, such as Brickyard South, as well as the first-ever Drag Bingo at Cheba Hut - Baton Rouge.
It also has a whole team of event planners, photographers and drag lovers to welcome people into the community and allow new talent to find their way. Along with Prudhomme, the group has grown to include Event Coordinator and Promotor Karley Cop; Queen Manager, Event Coordinator and Promotor Tara Hole; and Photographers and Editors Randy Morain and Amber Andre.
Queens of Louisiana is constantly trying to come up with new ideas and events to keep the love for drag alive. Though each member has their own role, everyone is always ready to lend a helping hand to each other, which is why you might see Hole bartending in full drag with Cop to ensure a drag brunch runs smoothly.
“Our dynamic flows very well,” Andre says. “If somebody is slacking or needs help, there’s always one of us who’s right there to pick it up for them.”
Prudhomme says the growing local interest in drag has allowed her little fan club to grow and flourish into what it is today.
“I think an even bigger wave of growing acceptance is coming,” Andre adds. “It has been coming for a long time in this country, and just took a little bit longer to reach our city. Almost everybody I talked to was so interested in it, even people that I never would have imagined. I hope that it’s kind of a foreshadowing of more acceptance in this area.”
Going forward, the team hopes more drag artists reach out to work with them.
“It would be really awesome if it grew into something like a Yellow Pages for drag,” Morain says.
Prudhomme stresses that all artists are welcome to be a part of the Queens of Louisiana club.
“We don’t just work with established artists. We also work with new and upcoming ones,” she says. “We do take on a lot of new talent. We take people who’ve never done things like drag before.”
In fact, you don’t even have to be a queen to be a part of Queens of Louisiana—it has worked with drag kings, too. That’s one more way this group is trying to break the ice between the performer and the audience—and move forward to a new age of acceptance. queensoflouisiana.com
PHOTOS COURTESY QUEENS OF LOUISIANA
—Amber Andre, a photographer and editor at Queens of Louisiana, pictured here on the right. From left to right are Queens of Louisiana team members Heather Prudhomme, Karley Cop, Tara Hole and Randy Morain.
Don’t be a drag, just be a queen
Drag show dos and don’ts: advice from a drag queen
DRAG SHOWS ARE a one-of-a-kind experience. It’s the type of event you have to see for yourself in order to truly understand. Baton Rouge has its own culture of drag performance art, with performers ranging from queens who can do backflips and splits in the air to performers who lip-sync slow songs and dress as baby dolls.
LSU alumnus Jack Stallard started his drag career in Baton Rouge before taking his talents back to his hometown of New Orleans. Stallard started performing drag in 2017 under the stage name Carina Von Tuna.
The name came from a Facebook bot that sent him a friend request while he was trying to think of a drag name, and he stuck with it.
He has performed and produced drag shows throughout Baton Rouge at LSU events, Splash Nightclub, George’s Place, private events and local bars.
Here’s everything you need to know before attending a drag show—straight from the queen’s mouth.
—CYNTHEA CORFAH
Tell us what people who have never attended a drag show should expect?
The tallest women you’ve ever seen, some of the most normal-sized women and the most beautiful women you’ve ever seen. There’s nothing to be nervous about. If you’re unsure about whether you’re going to have fun, you will. People love to let loose at shows. We want you to sing, scream and laugh. The energy is better when everyone is there to have fun.
We’re not dolls; we’re not celebrities; we’re performers. If you had an amazing time watching us, we want to hear that. It’s really nice to connect with people after the show. This is not something just for gay people. It’s for everybody. It’s entertainment.
What are some must-knows about drag shows?
1. Bring cash. The bar is only going to have so much cash (for tips). 2. Make some noise. 3. If a drag queen asks you to do something, just do it.
How can someone best prepare for a drag show?
Have open-mindedness, and be ready to challenge yourself. If drag is thought-provoking, it’s a good thing.
COURTESY ERIN ARLEDGE TAYLOR
Let’s talk about etiquette. What should the audience avoid doing?
Keep your hands to yourself, and do not touch us. We might interact with you, but we typically don’t touch you, so please don’t touch us. Don’t try to come onstage unless you’re asked. We have a show to run—please don’t try to talk over the MC or host. Don’t take yourself that seriously. If jokes are made at your expense, don’t get offended.
Tell us about drag brunches.
It’s the most accessible way to enjoy drag since it’s not in a club environment. It’s nice to see us in the daylight. It’s a great way to introduce kids or younger people to drag. This is a way to demystify drag. It
makes it very real and normal.
Why would you recommend attending a drag show?
No one is going to “If drag is thought-provoking, assume you’re gay just it’s a good thing.” because you went to a drag show. Watching —Carina Von Tuna someone else be so much themselves that no one really can be every day is a priceless experience. There’s an energy exchange that happens. It really makes people feel good the way that we look good. It makes you feel more confident. ‘You don’t walk away loving us more; you walk away loving yourself more.’ That’s a Lady Gaga quote.
Where are some go-to Baton Rouge places to attend drag shows?
Splash Nightclub, Brickyard South, Caliente, Red Stick Social, George’s Place.
Who are some of your favorite Baton Rouge drag performers?
Alexa Milano, Lady D Andrews, Dani Pax, Laveau Contraire.
ARTIST’S PERSPECTIVE
Cara Kearns’ ‘The Origin of Yedusa’
“THE SUBSTANCE OF my recent work is narrative, using creatures and stories drawn from fiction, mythology and sometimes real life that I feel a connection to.
‘The Origin of Yedusa’ (2020, mixed media) is the backstory of a character I created in 2019, the love-child of Medusa the Gorgon and a yeti named Fred. I gave it the flavor of both a scroll and an illuminated manuscript because I wanted it to appear historically relevant.
The piece is hand-embroidered on a woven background using natural and synthetic fiber. The ceramic details are hand-built using midrange white stoneware and both commercial and homemade glazes. I got distracted by the pandemic, but my intention has always been to continue fleshing out Yedusa’s character, using both fiber and clay. So look for that in the future.”
—AS TOLD TO POET WOLFE
ARIANA ALLISON
About the artist
CARA KEARNS is a Baton Rouge artist who became passionate about art in second grade, when she won a Frisbee in a drawing contest. After earning a degree in ceramics at LSU, Kearns started applying for art shows and working as a studio monitor and teacher at Red Hot Center for Clay. When the local business permanently shut down, Kearns continued to apply for art shows while working from her home studio.
In 2017, she taught herself how to embroider, weave and freeform crochet after no longer feeling challenged by ceramic work. Most recently, her piece “The Origin of Yedusa” was featured in the 14th annual edition of Baton Rouge Gallery’s Surreal Salon exhibition. carakearns.com
“The Origin of Yedusa” (2020, mixed media)
COURTESY CARA KEARNS
Chance for the rappers
Returning from a pandemic hiatus, the recurring Bandeaux events have become a ‘mecca’ for artists to watch
BY ZANE PIONTEK
Michael Armstead is a regular performer at The Bandeaux.
ARSH / COURTESY THE BANDEAUX
BACKSTAGE AT THE BANDEAUX,
the rafters shake with thumping bass. Between hits, you can hear the buzzing chatter of an electrified, wallto-wall crowd.
Slouched on a caramel-leather sofa, Baker rapper Quadry gargles water in preparation to take the stage, taking a moment to reflect on what this recurring art showcase signifies.
“It’s very encouraging to everybody who’s an artist and who’s in the Baton Rouge rap community,” he says. “It’s showing, like, if we can show up for ourselves and have good artists do good sets, and the crowd loves it, we don’t really need the outside validation.”
Overseeing the happenings somewhere on the other side of the stage is Patrick Harrington, better known as Bandeaux Pat. He organizes events in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, including the weekly Taceaux Tuesdays at Culture Reggae Club on Oklahoma Street and, recently reinstated after an almost three-year hiatus, The Bandeaux.
During this bimonthly showcase of local art and music, the stage is populated by both burgeoning and platinum-plaque rappers, and the floor and gravel lot outside by artists and clothing brands.
At tonight’s mid-April Chelsea’s Live show a roughly 20-foot plywood canvas is slowly being transformed into a graffiti mural by Baton Rouge artist Zero2. DJs like Harrington himself and his brother Dave, also called DJ Love Yourself, present turntable stylings.
Characteristically spare of diction and, at the moment, preoccupied with the manifold moving parts of the event, Harrington keeps succinct his thoughts on The Bandeaux’s revival.
“It feels good,” he says. “It’s just different; there’s really nothing out here like this.”
Harrington is most proud of the space the event gives artists to diverge from the traditional Baton Rouge sound that dominated the scene a few years ago.
“At first, you knew a Baton Rouge artist just by the beat and what they talk about,” he says. “But then, I feel like once I started (The Bandeaux), it just opened up the gates.”
But it took a few mutations to bring The Bandeaux to its current form.
In 2013, Harrington was organizing weekly ’90s nights and DJ parties at the North Gate Tavern, a bar that used to occupy the building to the left of Insomnia Cookies on East Chimes Street. After a few events, he enlisted the help of friend and collaborator
CARLOS SANCHEZ / COURTESY THE BANDEAUX
—Quadry, a Baker rapper who performed at a recent Bandeaux event
ARSH / COURTESY THE BANDEAUX
Ricky Andretti, a local art enthusiast and organizer.
Together, the two created Joker Art Night (later called Paint Out the Bandeaux), combining Pat’s DJ parties with an artistic twist. They scrounged up already-painted artworks and invited local artists to paint over them.
When the Tavern closed its doors in late 2014, the event relaunched in the fall of 2015 at Spanish Moon.
“Once I brought it to the Moon,” Harrington recalls, “that’s when it really started taking off.”
With a larger stage and venue—and more parking, notoriously scarce in the North Gates area—came larger crowds.
But after the Spanish Moon closed down, things seemed bleak for the rap extravaganza. Harrington managed to wrangle a few one-off shows at the Varsity Theatre, but then the pandemic struck.
So when events started trickling back, and then Chelsea’s popped up on Nicholson with its sparkling new space, it felt like the miracle Harrington had waited for.
Looking back on those early days, Harrington says he never anticipated the event would take off as it has.
“All I knew was, I just wanted to do something different, ’cause I got tired of going to clubs and (seeing) the same thing,” he says. “I just told myself I was not stopping.”
Now, he can fully appreciate the effect his events have had on the rap scene in Baton Rouge, whether it be in the cheers of the crowd, the energy of the performers or interaction with up-and-comers trying to get on the roster.
One of those performers is rapper Michael Armstead, a longtime friend of Harrington’s and a staple performer at The Bandeaux. He says he once performed at the event seven months in a row back at Spanish Moon.
“A lot of artists don’t get the chance to perform, especially in the demographic of hip-hop in this city, they don’t really get that chance. So I think this is the perfect place,” he says of the event. “And then you get to hone your skills and practice to see what works and what doesn’t in front of a nice-sized crowd, which, once again, artists don’t get in this city.”
It’s a close echo to Quadry’s sentiments, and it seemed to be shared by everyone I spoke to at the event.
They all say The Bandeaux is a breeding ground for—and showcase of—rap talent in Baton Rouge. A “mecca,” in Armstead’s words. Wherever The Bandeaux may be, it’s the place to be—if you don’t mind a slight ring in the ears. Find
event updates on Instagram at
@bandeauxpat2.
ARSH / COURTESY THE BANDEAUX
—Patrick Harrington, founder of The Bandeaux
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Game stops
Baton Rouge’s tabletop card game community provides a ‘second family’ to players
By Domenic Purdy
MORE THAN JUST Monopoly and Scrabble, analog games are attracting players and fostering community, despite their more complex rulesets.
And with shows like Stranger Things and Critical Role bringing Dungeons & Dragons to the masses, and celebs like Logan Paul and Joseph GordonLevitt normalizing collecting Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering cards, respectively, it’s no surprise.
It is all about providing a place where all feel welcome, whether they play Dungeons & Dragons regularly or can’t name a single Pokémon. “We want to make sure we have a community for everyone,” say The Rogue Games owner James Daquanno.
Originally founded in 2013 as an e-retailer, The Rogue Games opened its brick-and-mortar off Airline Highway in 2017. Inside, visitors find walls dotted with game posters, as well as wallpaper adorned with scans of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.
Most days, the shop is home to friendly chatter about what color dice it has in stock, in addition to casual Dungeons & Dragons games that see old and new players alike welcomed with open arms.
And while it specializes in trading cards, Daquanno says the store is open to any tabletop game. The Rogue Games even hosts tournaments for Yu-Gi-Oh! and Super Smash Brothers, plus weekly meetups for Cardfight Vanguard.
“As long as we have a free space, if you want to come in and play D&D, a board game or just a card game ... you’re more than welcome to,” he explains.
Daquanno’s passion for card games stretches back to when he was about 6 years old and was shown a Charizard Pokémon card for the first time. He worked at various shops before opening his own. This world has been his “entire life when it comes to hobbies and interests,” he says.
The pandemic started around Pokémon’s 25th anniversary, as interest in the game began to peak again with celebs buying old packs of the cards.
“People would come in saying ‘Oh I used to collect Pokémon when I was a kid,’” Daquanno says. “They see the other games we stock and tell friends.”
The surging popularity of Japanese anime culture has also played a factor. Card games from franchises like Dragon Ball Super and a soon-to-release game based on manga series One Piece have brought fans of the anime and manga series into the store.
For players like Martin Dampier, an LSU computer science junior, games provides “a solid structure to social situations.” Participating in 8-bit-gaming-inspired games like Magic and Boss Monster for about eight years has been a great way to make friends.
“For someone like me who is very socially awkward, it helps me avoid the tension that comes from social gatherings,” Dampier explains. “It can also be a great way to practice social skills.”
Picking something simple to learn and then introducing it to friends is the best way to broaden the community, he adds.
“We want to provide a place where people aren’t judged,” says Mason Blake, Daquanno’s business partner at The Rogue Games.
Rogue regulars also come together for lock-ins to raise money for local animal shelters, children hospitals and The Trevor Project, an organization focused on suicide prevention for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Members of the LGBTQ+ community themselves, Daquanno and Blake say they hope to cultivate an environment of togetherness—a safespace where no one feels left out.
“It’s kind of like a second family, as cheesy as it sounds,” Daquanno says. “We’re just here to play games and have fun.”
—The Rogue Games’ Mason Blake —The Rogue Games’ Mason Blake
GAMING DESTINATIONS
A few places around Baton Rouge to buy and play games:
Little Wars
7517 Jefferson Highway littlewars.com
Gamer’s Paradise
11222 N. Harrells Ferry Road gamersparadisela.com The Rogue Games (pictured here) 10330 Airline Highway, #10-B theroguegames.tcgplayerpro.com
ARTS BEST BETS
ALL MONTH Head over to Louisiana’s Old State Capitol to see “Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman,” an exhibit displaying cartoons and exploring the complexity of creating editorial cartoons in today’s climate. Admission is free, and the exhibit is open to the public. louisianaoldstatecapitol.org
JUNE 5 Watch Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre’s Youth Ballet perform in “The Great Candyland Adventure” at the Old Governor’s Mansion. In addition to the ballet performance, there are plenty of familyfriendly activities like face painting, balloon animal creations and more. Feast on yummy food, and of course, sweet treats as you mingle with ballet performers after the show. batonrougeballet.org
JUNE 17 Don’t miss out on seeing everyone’s favorite ogre take the stage for a fun performance of Shrek the Musical performed by Theatre Baton Rouge. Join Shrek, Donkey, Princess Fiona and friends as they navigate through the misfit fairytale we all know and love. theatrebr.org
JUNE 18 Laugh with James Gregory as he delivers a hilarious comedy show at Chelsea’s Live. This comedian brands himself as “The Funniest Man in America,” (the nickname stemming from an entertainment reporter in the ’80s), and he’ll have you cracking up with funny jokes and fun stories. funniestman.com ALL MONTH Bring your best vinyl for the Record Party at The Breaks Bar hosted by Spoke & Hub. Every Thursday, Spoke & Hub is giving guests the opportunity to host their own DJ set. All you have to do is bring your own records and get ready to blast vintage jams. It’s sure to be a rocking time. spokeandhubbr.com
JUNE 10 Hear a blend of country, rock and R&B music as singer-songwriter Jimmy Wooten takes the stage at Beauvoir Park. Enjoy an evening outdoors and listen to live music from Wooten as he plays songs like “Lay You Down” and “Shine.” Find Beauvoir Park on Facebook
JUNE 17 Baton Rouge musician CJ Solar returns to his hometown for a fun show at The
Texas Club. Along with Solar, Louisiana musician Alex Smith will take the stage. It’ll be a good night of rocking country music from two celebrated local acts. thetexasclub.com
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