Ken’s Kings and Things Night Celebrates Two Years of Shows
Drag show and queer open mic showcasing alternative drag and queer art.
What: Ken’s Kings and Things Night 2nd Anniversary Showcase
When: 7-9:30pm, Friday November 27th, 2026
Venue: Blackbox Theatre
Ken’s Kings and Things Night is celebrating its two-year anniversary with an incredible showcase of local drag talent plus an extra fabulous queer open mic presented by Inspired Word Café. This show will celebrate KENDONTCRY and the vibrant drag king and thing scene here in the Okanagan; a full night of gender-bending, ridiculous masculinity, and queer art.
This showcase will feature a queer open mic with a focus on gender expression, plus drag performances by Bummer, Walter Wilcox, Other Nature, Jovian, Stud Sparkles, Catastrophe, KENDONTCRY, and Vancouver drag legend, SKIM!
SKIM is a nonbinary trans masc Korean Lesbian Drag King, artist and filmmaker. He often thinks about disturbing masculinity, eating oysters and all types of lesbians! He is the only son of the House of Rice, Founder of King Sized, a BIPOC focused drag king show in so-called Vancouver and the Director of Long Live Kings, a YouTube series on Drag Kings. SKIM holds a MFA from UBC and can you believe he grew up in Armstrong? Yep population of 5000, population of Koreans, his family. He recently had a residency at Centre A exploring the myth of the first Shaman – Baridegi, has shown artwork at SUM gallery, Alternator gallery (Kelowna), Open Space (Victoria), The Polygon and has performed in various cities including Saigon, Seoul, Busan, Berlin, Glasgow, Winnipeg, Toronto and Vancouver.
For the past two years, KENDONTCRY has been hosting monthly drag shows solely for drag kings and things to great success at Unicorn Lounge (formerly Friends of Dorothy’s). These shows have given a stage to alternative forms of drag that aren’t typically celebrated in mainstream media.
“We don’t get a spot on Drag Race, and some people don’t even know what a drag king is, so I thought… let’s show ‘em!” KENDONTCRY says about why he started Kings Night, “Where drag queens exaggerate femininity, drag kings exaggerate masculinity, and drag things exaggerate the whole gender spectrum.”
Ken’s Kings Night has been home to over 35 performers across its two-year run, and boasts one of the most successful monthly drag shows in Kelowna. For its two year anniversary, KENDONTCRY has teamed up with Inspired Word Café to bring an extra special show to Blackbox Theatre.
“I got my start as a drag king by hosting open mics with Inspired Word Café, and my first time on a big stage was at Blackbox Theatre at the 2022 PONY! Cabaret, so this collaboration just made so much sense,” says KENDONTCRY.
The open mic portion of the evening will feature music, storytelling and poetry, all with a focus on queerness, identity, and gender. These performances will be mixed alongside numbers from local drag performers who are bringing their best and biggest to the Kings Night stage. From local legend KENDONTCRY, to brand new group numbers from the CRYBABIES (Bummer, Catastrophe, and Stud Sparkles), to the cultural and artistic flair of SKIM, this will be one of the greatest 2SLGBTQIA+ centred events this year.
For full event details and tickets please visit tinyurl.com/KKNA2.
Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. This is a 19+ event.
Inspired Word Café is supported by the City of Kelowna and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan.
