Turning Palmerston North into the 'capital of drag' in Aotearoa

Provincial cities are not normally thought of as hotbeds of drag culture, but Palmerston North is staking a claim as the nation's capital - thanks to its popular Palmy Drag Fest, which returns in a fortnight.

As performers glitter up for the big show, the brains behind it, Ricky Beirao, is rehearsing his own part in the main event - a Saturday night drag show in the Regent on Broadway Theatre.

When he arrived in Palmerston North three years ago there was not much of a drag scene, so he changed that.

"I moved from Melbourne after doing drag a lot over there. When I came here, there was absolutely nothing. So I decided to create the festival, to help turn Palmy into the capital of drag in New Zealand.

"It was also an opportunity for the local drag queens, who all didn't have much experience, to learn from the other people coming from abroad."

The Drag Fest pulls in talent from far and wide for what was usually a final-night sell-out, and tickets were already selling fast for the 5 October finale this year.

"As Ricky, I'm the main producer and come up with the plan. I'm the artistic director of the whole festival," Beirao said. "As Rhubarb I'm the MC and also a performer. I'm involved with heart, soul and blood. There's a little bit of everything in there."

Rhubarb is Rhubarb Rouge, Beirao's stage name. A friend suggested the moniker.

"I thought Ru, from RuPaul, and Barb, because my mum is Barb, and rouge, because I'd just seen Moulin Rouge and thought 'that's cool'.

"It wasn't until two weeks later that I went to the supermarket and found out what a rhubarb was. Then I saw a big, red, sticky vegetable pointing at me."

It was a catchy name, as many drag ones were. Beirao said some included clever puns, such as Courtney Act, playing on caught in the act.

As well as the main show, the Drag Fest had evolved into a wider event.

"It's about all things drag," he said. "We have drag bingo, which people seem to love. We have Spankie Jackzon's full show that she's toured Australia, and doing the New Zealand premiere here.

"On the Friday night, we decided to give it a twist. People usually complain about drag storytimes for children, but we're doing the sassy adults' edition."

The Drag Fest was not immune from online detractors either, despite its popularity and what Beirao said was a generally accepting attitude in Palmerston North.

He would often message people making hateful comments, and would even sometimes get an apology when people looked into the issue.

"We do sometimes get a lot of the online keyboard warriors who say we're trying to attack children or being sexualised or doing wrong things.

"I think a lot of the time they don't know what drag is and the art form that it is - how it takes three hours just to put makeup on, and we've been rehearsing for over three months.

"A lot of people have this idea that drag is just lip syncing and dressing up like a woman, but we have different types of drag. It's actually a full-on huge production, so we have people doing acrobatics on the roof. We have people singing live. We have 15 dancers joining us."

He said the show was probably a PG13 rating, and performers are cheeky - not sexualised.

Beirao moved to New Zealand from Brazil as a teen. The 37-year-old was introduced to drag in Wellington 17 years ago and became addicted to performing.

This week he was rehearsing for the show under the watchful eye of choreographer Ashleigh Hoera, who was also putting together the finale and acting as a DJ at the main show.

"When everyone arrives at Drag Fest they'll walk in to me playing the sounds and getting the hype going," she said. "It's a mixture - a bit of JLo [Jennifer Lopez]. That got everyone going last year. A bit of Shania [Twain]."

As well as the party, the Drag Fest has a serious side in giving young queer people a chance to find a community.

Nineteen-year-old stage manager Jack Tankersley had that experience. He grew up in Palmerston North and had been involved every year.

"From coming straight out of high school then moving down to Wellington, I found I could be myself down there. But with Drag Fest, with getting to meet performers from across the country, I could be myself, be who I wanted to be."