Love – and hairspray – were in the air Wednesday at Fort Lewis College.
A drag show – complete with kings, queens and paper hearts – celebrated love in all its forms.
“Drag can show you that love looks different,” said Durango drag icon and the show’s host of five years, Aria Pettyone. All kinds of singles and couples – queer and straight – attended the show, she noted.
“Love looks like anything. It’s 2026 – love can look like whatever,” she said.
The show featured a two-faced tango dancer, a clown and odes to Britney Spears, Olivia Rodrigo and Keanu Reeves. One drag king delivered a particularly popular and high-energy tribute to the queer hockey series “Heated Rivalry,” performing as one of its gay lead characters, Shane Hollander.
The annual drag show, which took place in the Student Union Ballroom, has been held at FLC for close to a decade, Pettyone said.
Fort Lewis College students and couple Kenneth Garness and Mason Olson attended the show Wednesday as part of their Valentine’s Day celebration.
“The current state of the world is a little bit sad, and every time I’ve ever been to a drag performance it’s just pure joy – everybody’s just happy,” Garness said. “That’s why I wanted to come today.”
People can learn a lot about life and love from drag, Olson said.
“Drag has such a special place in my heart, because for the LGBTQ community, historically, we’ve just been so oppressed and fighting just for the right to exist,” he said. “So, coming to a drag show for an average person could be very eye-opening in the sense that we’re just people too. It’s just art and fun and a sense of community.”
While some drag shows can be political, this one was about cultivating a reprieve from a politically fraught world and celebrating love in all its forms this Valentine’s Day, Pettyone said.
“Drag is just fun. That’s what it is,” she said. “We’re not making some huge political statement – we’re just a bunch of people dressing up and entertaining.”
Seasoned drag performers Mix Trix, Natti, Miguel Thee Stallion and Tabatha, along with four Fort Lewis College students took to the stage alongside Pettyone. The FLC performers were sourced from a drag workshop series taught by Pettyone last year.
For some FLC students, the annual show serves as an outlet for expression that may not be accessible in their home or family lives, Pettyone said.
“The students love it, especially because for a lot of them they don’t get to do this back home,” she said. “Some of them aren’t really ‘out’ back home.”
FLC student Lycoris Lopez, who took part in the student drag workshop last year, attended the show to support friends from the program. She said the world can feel heavy for the queer community and that the show was a way to let loose this Valentine’s Day.
“I feel like, unfortunately, there’s a lot of queer-centered things that are very emotionally charged in a negative way at the moment,” she said. “But events like this are really fun because it’s just like a fun little celebration, and there (aren’t) any huge stakes.”
FLC student Sidney Nance said the show was the only Valentine’s Day event on their calendar.
“If I wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be celebrating Valentine’s Day,” they said.
Pettyone, who recently celebrated eight years of marriage to her husband, said drag can also teach couples and singles to prioritize enjoyment – this Valentine’s Day and beyond.
“Take time for joy,” she said. “Especially nowadays, it’s so important more than ever to fill your time with stupid, fun stuff. ...I think people can learn a lot from drag about being in the moment, and experiencing pure joy and not overthinking it too much.”
epond@durangoherald.com
