On February 18, Seasons Brasserie's upstairs event space will be transformed into a cabaret for Take me to the Drag Show produced and hosted by Oakville's Katie Purdy.
While this is a first for Seasons, Purdy (She/Her, They/Them) is betting it won’t be the last.
For the pansexual Oakville native and Oakville Trafalgar High graduate, performing was a given, having grown up dancing, singing and acting.
"I was always allowed a lot of freedom and never felt like I wasn’t allowed to be myself. So, I never had an official coming out. I just sort of picked up pieces along the way," Purdy told Oakville News.
Purdy, who goes by the stage name Danny Bailey, never had a connection to the queer community until she got into cosplay in 2018.
Purdy says, within that community, "It’s almost hard to find someone who doesn’t identify as 2SLGBTQIA+. It opened a lot of doors to figuring myself out and learning so much more about what being queer means to me."
The 2020 COVID lockdown gave Purdy time to learn more about herself and to watch every season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. But, because most contestants on Drag Race are AMAB (assigned male at birth), Purdy didn’t realize doing drag was possible as an AFAB (assigned female at birth).
That all changed in the summer of 2022 when Purdy went to work for Vision Drag Artists, a drag talent agency. Since then, Purdy has immersed herself in the drag community and performed as Danny Bailey at open stage nights to establish themselves as a drag performer.
Purdy’s New Year’s resolution to produce and host their independent show made them realize that there are virtually no regular drag shows west of Toronto until you hit Hamilton. That was the impetus for bringing drag performance to their hometown.
"We’ve got a rainbow crosswalk in Oakville, but no recent drag shows and no pride celebrations. Producing this show is a way for me to dip my toes in and see if it’s something that’s wanted here," said Purdy.
"If this show goes well, I hope to do more and possibly work up to something to bring Pride [on a smaller festival scale] to Oakville."
While Purdy often assumes a more masculine appearance and is often referred to as a Drag King, they don’t limit what drag can be.
"I prefer to refer to myself as a drag artist rather than a Drag King or Queen, simply because maybe today I want to dress as a man for a performance, and tomorrow I’ll want to dress hyper-femininely. I’m simply using it as an art form and a way to express myself and perform songs I really love."
In addition to Danny Bailey, the night’s entertainment will include Drag Queen Adrianna Exposée, another Oakville native who now calls Ottawa home, Drag King Krēme Inakuchi and Drag Queen Tash Riot from Toronto. Dj Doll will be taking care of the music.
Purdy is excited to collaborate with Seasons Brasserie because it’s an Oakville restaurant that has stood the test of time, and the upstairs event space is perfect for the performance.
Tickets for Take Me to the Drag Show are $33.28 and are limited to 18+.
Beverages and a limited menu will be available for purchase during the event.
Doors open at 7 p.m. The show begins at 8 p.m.