hello my darling angels... well, some of you are angels

from Pink Loerie Magazine 2017

poof! but not a disappearing act

Hello my darling angels… well, some of you are angels! By Betty Bangles

I cannot believe it is time again for us to flock to Knysna for the 17th annual Pink Loerie Mardi Gras and Arts Festival. My feet still hurt from last year’s street parade! I think we can all agree that last year’s festival was a bunch of fun, with sprinkles on! Well, this year will be no different. In fact, we might just have sparkles with the sprinkles at this year’s event!

This year will also see the third chapter of Wigstock! There will be daily drag shows performed by some of the best. The “Queens of Wigstock” for 2017 are Jett Joans, Charné Churchill, Olivia Mae, Victoria Styles and yours truly. We will entertain you and have you on the floor with laughter, during these daily drag shows. In the evenings, we will be your hosts at Zanzibar for a little bit of a party. Little? Oh, who am I kidding! We will probably all have to crawl out by the end of the night!

I’m sure everybody knows by now that STRIP - Coca Cola.pdf 1 2017-04-10 7:47:17 PM Priscilla Queen of the Desert FINALLY parked the infamous pink bus on the Teatro stage at Montecasino and Artscape in Capetown. OMG!!!!!!! I am beyond excited. Of course, I couldn’t help myself and went for an audition, and they actually offered me a part………….to play the bus! I politely declined.

Anyone who knows me can confirm that I am slightly more obsessed with musical theatre than the average gay person. To give you an idea: I have seen CATS 109 times, Phantom of the Opera 7 times, Mamma Mia 9 times and the list goes on and on! So you can imagine the excitement that is brewing in me for my upcoming trip to Broadway in New York City where I will see the divine Bette Midler in Hello Dolly. Apart from a few other Broadway shows, I am also very excited to see Cher and Celine Dion in Las Vegas! I wonder if Cher will miss a wig or two? God knows I won’t fit in her “Turn back time” outfit!

2017 is going to be MY year! I can finally reveal that I have my own reality TV show! The show follows me as I help three drag princesses to transform into worthy queens! The final episode will see the three queens braving the stage in the Miss Mardi Gras competition. Will one of them possibly take the crown? Tune in on the 7th July 2017 for the premiere of “Betty Bangles” on Via TV channel

147. I hope that with this show we can show South Africa that drag queens are normal human beings and that drag is an art form. I also hope it will bring the drag community closer together. When I think back to when I started doing drag, I remember a sense of family. I think of queens like Nomi Perron, Miss B, Sizzling Sue, Sally Selacious to name a few. They were sisters but most of all mentors! These days I feel like it is every queen for herself. We need to come together again as one big happy GAY family! We can’t ask people to accept who we are if we do not accept each other!