West Liberty University’s (WLU) Pride Club put on their third annual Drag Bingo event in the Student Union Ballroom on Tuesday, Oct. 10, which featured three local drag queens, around 200 students, and a multitude of prizes including Beat Solo3 Headphones.
WLU’s Pride Club, dedicated to fostering a safe environment for LGBT+ students and allies alike, was able to feature three local drag queens, Leia Way LeStat, Chi Chi DeVivre, and Dixie Surewood, all from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to host the event in celebrating National Coming out Day and Hispanic Heritage Month.
Leia Way Lestat has been doing drag for six years and was a three-year winner of Miss PTown from 2019 to 2021, Miss PA Queen of Beauty Plus 2022 and most recently won Ohio National Showgirl At Large 2023.
Chi Chi DeVivre has been doing drag for four years and has won the title of Miss Steel City Softball 2022.
Dixie Surewood, Miss Comedy Queen 2018 and recent winner of the title of Best Drag Performer in the Pittsburgh City Paper, has been doing drag for almost nine years and was the main host of the event. This is her third year returning to the Hilltop and loves coming to the campus.
“This is one of my favorite gigs to come to every year. All the students here are always so fun and are so gracious when we come.” Surewood said.
The President of Pride Club, Emma Beatty, said that Drag Bingo “gives students a chance to interact with that side of the community that they normally don’t get to,” and added that this event welcomes all groups of students.
Around 200 students gathered in the Student Union for the free event at 7:30 p.m. in hopes of winning prizes and enjoying Pride Club’s take on everyone’s favorite event on campus– Bingo. Freshman Tyler Kidwell is one of the many students who joined in for the event.
“I feel that Drag Bingo is a good idea to bring the community together but also give a safe space for people with different identities to get together while having a fun time,” Kidwell said.
The queens hosted over five games, including one hosted in Spanish by DeVivre to honor National Hispanic Heritage Month. In between games, the three queens danced, twirled, and dropped to songs “Working 9 to 5” by Dolly Parton, “Man! I Feel Like A Woman” by Shania Twain, and “Waiting For Tonight” by Jennifer Lopez. The event concluded with a student lip-sync competition to the song “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift to win the second grand prize, an HD Smart TV. Over ten students participated for the chance to win the second grand prize.
Beatty described the event as “amazing” and added, “I think everyone had a really good time.”.
This year’s Drag Bingo was sponsored by the Social Work Club, the Student Government Association, and the Campus and Community Diversity Committee.
