‘Who doesn’t love drag and chicken and waffles?’: Pride Month drag brunch wows Graton casino crowd

Drag queen Princess P wore a pink gown that was short in the front and draped down to the floor in the back. Sparkles lined the middle part of her dress, just below where it was open to show her midriff.

Long, bouncy blonde hair, black see-through gloves, a headband and glitzy jewelry added to the outfit and shone across the room as she walked by the attendees of “Wigs and Waffles,” a Sonoma County Pride drag brunch at Graton Resort & Casino.

As Princess P lip-synced Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” making brunch-goers giggle and dance, she also collected the dollars they offered up as tips.

Sophia Coysh, an Oakland resident who traveled with her wife to see Sunday’s show, smiled and stared at Princess as the queen paused in front of her to lip sync.

“My father yells, ‘Whatchu gonna do with your life?’” the music played. “Oh, daddy dear, you know you're still No. 1. But girls they wanna have fun.”

Coysh said she and her wife Kate Coysh, who attended Sonoma State University, were excited to see that the casino was hosting an inclusive event and wanted to kick off Pride month by going to the brunch.

“It’s creating an environment where we can feel comfortable and safe,” she said. “Normally a brunch wouldn’t be catering to such an awesome environment.”

The event, which began at about 11:45 a.m. Sunday and ran until 1 p.m., featured performances by three drag queens — two of whom grew up in Sonoma County — along with a final group number, during which the crowd got up, danced with the performers and threw cash in the air.

Princess P, who is from Petaluma, hosted the brunch with featured performers Kochina Rude, who has lived in multiple cities in Sonoma County, and Mary Vice.

All of the entertainers performed a style of drag popularized by Black transgender folks in which performers present themselves using an exaggerated feminine — and sometimes masculine — persona and put on a show, Princess P said. Developing this alternate identity can include donning giant wigs and lavish fashion, painting on layers of makeup and putting glitter in facial hair.

Vice had the crowd roaring as she began her performance by marching down one of the rows, dressed in a wedding gown and veil to a Celine Dion mashup that started with “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.”

During a second Celine Dion hit, “My Heart Will Go On,” the graceful and classy drag performer stood on a chair with her arms out like Rose from “Titanic” just before the well-known lyrics, “You're here, there's nothing I fear. And I know that my heart will go on.” Princess P held her waist from behind.

At then end of the number, she folded some of her tips into her veil.

Rude performed in a black and white clown bodysuit to “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus, bopping back and forth as the audience “put their hands up” to the lyrics. She donned a small and sparkly outfit for her lip-synced rendition of Julie Andrews’ “My Favorite Things” from the musical, “The Sound of Music.”

Rude’s lips matched every syllable and sound as some of the lyricswere skipped or changed, giving the song a very different tone from the original.

“I simply remember my dog bites and then I feel, then I feel so bad,” the song played.

Santa Rosa resident Gorge Marrero, who wore a blue wig to the occasion, said he loved all of the performances and wished he could party with Rude.

Jennifer Pham, who is married to Marrero, wore a lavender wig. She said her favorite parts of the performance were the fashion, interacting with the performers and seeing everyone interact and dance.

“Everyone gets down, it’s not only the performers,” said Pham, who is gender fluid and bisexual. “Everyone is here to have a good time.”

Mitchell Walker, a Rohnert Park resident and Sonoma County Pride volunteer, said he was looking forward to seeing the performers’ artistry, creativity and makeup.

“I’m a huge makeup fan and the transformations that these women do is amazing,” Walker said.

Kevin Burton, a Santa Rosa resident, who said he walked in Saturday’s parade with Providence Medical Group, attended the drag show with friends.

“Who doesn’t love drag and chicken and waffles?” he asked.

Christopher Kren-Mora, president of the Sonoma County Pride Board of Directors, said the event was especially important this year given the increased number of bills banning drag performances and limiting the rights of transgender folks.that have been introduced and passed in state legislatures in Tennessee, Indiana and Florida.

The three days of Sonoma County Pride events also included drag performances during the festival and the after-party Saturday night at the Flamingo Resort and Spa.

“We thought it would be very appropriate and great timing to have a drag-heavy calendar this year,” Kren-Mora said.

The Sunday brunch was also a fundraiser for local LGBTQ+ organizations, Kren-Mora said.

“We’re helping out our LGBTQ community and we’re bringing out awareness of a performance art,” said Kren-Mora, who grew up in Rohnert Park and said he never believed as a kid that an event like this could happen in Sonoma County.

Greg Sarris, the tribal chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, which owns and operates the Graton Resort & Casino where Sunday’s drag brunch was held, said he wanted to host the event at the casino because it is another way the tribe can practice its mission of social justice and environmental stewardship. Also, he added, because it is a great show that is good for business.

“When we do things like this it signals to the community ... that importance of acceptance,” he said. “We’re going to use our economic influence and who we are to help make a better world and this is just one way to do it.”

Princess P, whose name is Clark Bernard, said it’s important to remember that while Pride can be fun, it began as protests, including the Stonewall riots of 1969. So, it is important to stick up for the community during June and every month.

“Our community is under attack, particularly drag performers and trans people,” Bernard said. “If people are going to say they are allies and they support our community, then they have to show it. They have to be vocal and they have to take action and not just love us when it is a party and forget about us when things get hard.”

Bernard said he chose to perform at “Wigs and Waffles” because he could see that Sonoma County Pride workers care about the community and respect the art form of drag. He also wanted to bring his almost 10 years of drag experience to a place where Pride is especially important.

“Big cities are always going to have that backing,” Bernard said. “It’s these smaller areas that are really important and that need a Pride and that need these kind of organizations.”

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @madi.smals.