On Sep. 22, the University’s Center for Student Engagement and LGBTQA+ Center hosted a Drag Queen Brunch in the Student Center as part of the Weeks of Welcome. Ivory Snow, a local drag queen with a history with the University, hosted the brunch. From 2015 to 2017, Snow was a fundraiser at the Lubin School of Business and is now a fan favorite at the University.
Organizers Grace Sallee, Graduate Assistant for Fraternity and Sorority Life, and Jade Flanegan, Graduate Assistant for Campus Activities and Orientation Leader for Recruitment, led the event. The annual brunch is a more inclusive event with a turnout of about 75 to 100 students, primarily freshmen. “Very fun; they are [the freshman] very in it this year, which is fun to see,” Sallee mentioned.
Starting with an Adele soundtrack with classic Jennifer Coolidge one-liners, Snow focused on audience interactions while putting on a show.
Delving into what brought her to the University that day, Snow started drag four years ago, doing Facebook live shows in her living room titled “Drugstore Divas.” All the tips were donated to local charities, and when the COVID-19 ban was lifted, she saw an opportunity to perform at a bar in Astoria, and her career took off there. Snow has always loved how drag can bring people together and share that energy with the audience. “Not just make money, but make people smile,” Snow shared when asked about her motivation to perform, “To me, that is the best value you can get, having people just love what you do, and it is infectious.”
From working at Planned Parenthood, the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmfAR), Women in Need (WIN) homeless shelter and currently at Doctors of the World, a humanitarian aid organization, Snow has raised money for multiple causes and worked with major donors, which she said is not much different from drag.
Performing songs from “Bring It On: The Musical,” “The Greatest Showman” and having contests for students to come up one by one on stage and dance to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” and Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” the passion Snow has for drag was clear to everyone in attendance. Each participant got to choose from either a University hat, teddy bear or a Dunkin Donuts gift card as a prize, followed by a raffle to give off the leftover winnings.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Snow claimed school events such as drag brunches were few and far between, “It is amazing that the University is doing this and giving students the opportunity to be exposed to drag. I wish it would have happened when I was younger, drag back then was very taboo,” she said.
The performer describes drag as the ability to play with who you want to be and with gender. “It is an art form…I think it is a freedom of expression that is so important, and I do not know why people are trying to limit it and outlaw it,” Snow stated. Drag is about spreading love and joy, and Snow’s humorous comments, props, sparkly outfit and audience participation help make that possible.
If Ivory Snow had to describe being a drag queen in three words, it would be “fun, dramatic and wild.” Three words that are evident in her closing performance to “This is Me.” The personal connection that Snow has built shows this will not be her last appearance at the University.
