Sneak peek: The 38th Annual Miss Adams Morgan Party

It's glam and support for the LGBT community in D.C. this weekend for Halloween. The 38th annual Miss Adams Morgan Party is the district's longest-running amateur drag competition. It hits Washington Hilton Ballroom October 31st, and we have a sneak peek at the massive party and the mission behind it. And we are excited today because D.C.-based drag queen and current Miss Adams Morgan is here. Donna Higgins, welcome on in, Don. Thank you. So what does it take to become the queen? Wow. I'd like to say it takes talent. I'm not sure that's entirely. Oh, come on. I try to be humble about these things. You know, it's a real experience. It takes a lot of work, to be honest with you, a lot of rehearsal, and sometimes a lot of luck. Okay. Luck's always in it. But luck comes after you do the work and you're prepared for it, right? That's where the two kind of meet and you can find a certain success. Sure, sure. And, like, the night of the event, there are a couple elements. There's a part that we call Parade of States. So you come out representing a state. I was Miss Michigan. You come out dressed in a costume that relates to your state. I was dressed as an apple tree. And then there's also the performance element. So each contestant has the opportunity to perform about approximately a four-minute number. So it's a lot of just kind of, you know, tactics involved in choosing the right music and the right performance and the right theme. Having been in pageants myself, I understand that. There's the walking, there's the presentation, there's the performance, there's the nerves you have to get over as well. putting yourself up for the judgment of others and then coming through being like, okay, we did that. 38 years this pageant has been in the running. How many years have you competed? Is there like a moment that stands out to you from the others? Sure, sure. This was my fifth year competing. We have had queens who've done it in their first year. We've had queens, we have one queen who took 17 years competing before she won. But yeah, I definitely have some special moments over the years. This past year winning was very special to me. I really enjoy numbers that leave a mark and leave the audience thinking something. I mean, it's a lot of fun, but it's also, I think, even more of an accomplishment when you can leave people thinking about something. So I did a number one year that I was really proud of that was about gay teen suicide, which is not a party topic usually, but it was really meaningful to me to be able to put on a number that people responded to and found meaningful. To that point, just when you mentioned that, my heart kind of just went a little bit heavy for somebody that would have to feel like they'd have to go to those links because they can't survive in their skin for this. How have you found that your work is received? I think it's been received very well. I have people who came to me after that number to tell me what it meant to them. There were people after my performance last year, which was a little political, but folks told me that they did not anticipate coming to this event and actually having a few tears through the experience. And so it's really rewarding. Okay, so there's a lot of different messages that can be brought through it as well, but overall it's to bring kind of like awareness to the community and to those that celebrate as well. So why the pageant just always falls around on Halloween and proceeds kind of benefits for it? Sure, sure. It's traditionally in October. It's always on a Saturday, so it's not always exactly on Halloween, but this year we got lucky that Halloween falls on a Saturday, so we're taking advantage of that with the theme of our show, which is Something Wicked This Way Comes. The The audience dresses up in costume for all of these events as well. But the really important part is that we are raising funds for local organizations. This year, I selected Whitman Walker Health as a recipient of the funds that we'll be raising. We give from our own budget, and then we also raise funds throughout the night through our audience. And so we're really excited about having the opportunity to give back. How many people end up coming out and celebrating with you for these? It has fluctuated over the years. At our peak, I think we had an audience of 2,300 in the ballroom. Wow. Yes. And this year we're expecting probably between 1,300 and 1,500. Okay. As we were doing, I was practicing my walk before you came on out here and the spin and the pivots and the twirls and doing it, you know, in the high heels. What is the most challenging part of competing in these competitions for you? Sure. I mean, that is one of the challenging things for sure. Not breaking an ankle. Avoiding injury. That's his number one priority, for sure. No, I think for us, the people who participate in this particular event, we're all amateur performers. None of us do this sort of as a living. And so it's something we do only a couple times a year. And so when you get back on that stage and you're in front of a 1,500-person audience and trying to stay upright in your heels, it's a combination of making sure all the elements work together. It is. It's a lot of fun, too. Don, thank you so much for coming in and shedding light on this. And again, the event's going to be coming up on Halloween, October 31st. If you want more information, there you go. Just head to DuPont Social Club. Thank you so much. And we're going to send it to McKee in the kitchen. All right. Thanks so much, Julie. Well, flavor meets comfort today in the Good Day Cafe.