Representational Image. Twitter/ @MayorBowser
The streets of Washington DC turned all things bling as drag queens and kings donned their best heels to participate in the annual 17th Street High Heel Race. This was the 35th year of the pre-Halloween tradition that featured a quarter-mile dash in Dupont Circle. From rocking the shimmery ensembles to dressing up as their loved celebrities, thousands of competitors participated in the annual high-heel race decked in their finest glam. This after Columbia’s Mayor Muriel Browser made an official announcement and the community members on Tuesday, 25 October at 7 PM to the Dupont Circle neighbourhood. Now, after the successful celebration of the event, Mayor Muriel took to her official Twitter account to share a glimpse of the race.
The mayor dropped a series of pictures and thanked all who were in attendance to support the LGBTQ+ community. While sharing a series of photographs, the Mayor wrote in the caption, “Thank you to everyone who helped make the 35th Annual 17th Street High Heel Race a success! Whether you raced, cheered, or just came out to support our LGBTQ+ community, you made it a night to remember!”
Apart from exhibiting the participants enjoying their hearts out, the picture also shows the Mayor posing with the participants decked in their glamourous best. The last picture shows people taking part in the race to celebrate their city’s queer history. While inviting the citizens and detailing the race, earlier, the official website of the Mayor wrote, “Community members are invited to the Dupont Circle neighborhood to cheer on costumed drag queens, drag kings, and community members as they race down the historic 17th Street NW. The race will cover three blocks and last less than 10 minutes, but festivities will occur throughout the evening.”
For those who don’t know, it was reportedly in 1986 when the race was started as a wager between the 25 drag queens, who in a bid to win a bottle of champagne, raced from JR’s Bar on 17th Street to Annie’s Paramount Steak House and then back to JR’s Bar. Therefore till 2018, the historic event was organised by the JR’s Bar, however, in 2018 it was adopted as an official mayoral event. And since then it has been hosted by the mayor’s office of LGBTQ affairs. Several took to social media to share legions of videos and pictures of the event.
Meanwhile, in her conversation with WTOP News, Mayor Muriel said that the race is a “city-wide event,” to which millions of people look forward. Muriel added, “There are a lot of beautiful people out here who are interested in having a good time and celebrating our city.”
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.