Drag Pageant
Step into your spotlight
This year’s Charlotte Pride Drag Pageant will be held on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, from 2-6 pm, as a component of the 2024 Charlotte Pride Festival on the Community Stage, presented by the Arts & Science Council, to increase community participation, encourage broader community awareness of drag art forms, and broaden the exposure of the talented pageant contestants.
The Charlotte Pride Pageant is a gender-inclusive drag pageant for contestants who believe in the power and importance of community service. Our pageant winners are more than title holders. They live and breathe the Spirit of Pride. They envision a world in which all LGBTQIA+ people are affirmed, respected, and included — free from any discrimination, rejection, or prejudice. They commit their volunteer work, time, and energy to the Charlotte Pride mission to enrich, empower, strengthen, and make more visible the lives and experiences of LGBTQ people in Charlotte and the Carolinas.
About
This year’s Charlotte Pride Pageant follows suit with the 2024 pageant in line with our commitment toward intentional inclusion and visibility. We have combined previously separate pageant contests, with each titled contest this year open to all performers regardless of gender.
Up to three winners will be selected, and will equally reign as the Charlotte Pride Court: Mx. Charlotte Pride, Ms. Charlotte Pride, and Mr. Charlotte Pride.
A tented and ventilated dressing room near the stage will be available for all contestants.
FREE to compete or attend as part of the 2024 Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade weekend.
Contestant Criteria
Contestants must meet the following criteria in order to participate in the 2024 Charlotte Pride Pageant:
- Contestant must be at least 18 years of age.
- Contestant must reside within a 100-mile radius of the Charlotte, NC.
- Contestant must not be a current or former Charlotte Pride titleholder in any division.
Pageant
Categories
The Charlotte Pride Pageant will have up to three winners who will reign equally as the Charlotte Pride Court. These Title Holders will hold the titles of Mr., Ms., or Mx. and will select their preferred title via their application. In the event that no contestants submit an application for a given title, that title will not be given out. Only one winner per title will be selected.
All contestants will be judged in the following categories:
interview
Each contestant will have an interview with the judging panel. This judging panel may be different from the judging panel at the official Charlotte Pride Pageant during the Festival & Parade. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE JUDGING FORM.
Please see pageant rules and regulations for more details on each category and other requirements.
All interviews will take place ahead of the 2024 Pageant with final dates and location to be confirmed in July 2024.
Please see pageant rules and regulations for more details on each category and other requirements.
The interview will be used to determine finalists for competition if more than three contestants register to compete for a single title.
Please see pageant rules and regulations for more details on each category and other requirements.
show your pride
This category is intended to allow participants to showcase their creative interpretation of what Pride means to them.
Please see pageant rules and regulations for more details on each category and other requirements.
Contestants are encouraged to choose one or more colors from a chosen Pride flag (Gay, Bi, Trans, Nonbinary, Bear, Pup, etc.) and present a creative costume displaying what Pride means to them.
Please see pageant rules and regulations for more details on each category and other requirements.
On-stage questions will function as a quasi-interview with hosts, who will ask questions that pageant winners will likely answer during their reign as a Title Holder.
Please see pageant rules and regulations for more details on each category and other requirements.
talent
Any type of talent is acceptable, except those that are illegal, or which may cause personal injury to the audience or any other person. This includes but is not limited to the use of fire, liquids, etc.
Please see pageant rules and regulations for more details on each category and other requirements.
- Talent is limited to seven minutes.
- All music for the talent category must be submitted via email to the Drag Pageant Committee at [email protected] by Friday, August 2.
- All participants must also bring a hard copy of their music on a flash drive to the performance itself. It is also recommended that contestants have a backup option in case of any technical issues.
- Each contestant will be allowed up to two (2) dancers.
- Stage restrictions also restrict the use of props. For questions about prop use, please reach out to Charlotte Pride staff.
Please see pageant rules and regulations for more details on each category and other requirements.
Please see pageant rules and regulations for more details on each category and other requirements.
For questions, comments, concerns, etc. regarding the pageant, please reach out to the Drag Pageant Committee at [email protected]
