Aurora Pride Performer Spotlight: Dixie Krystals

Denver drag staple Dixie Krystals has been dazzling audiences for over 25 years, and we cannot get enough of her.

Described as your sweet, Southern gal who loves to sing show tunes and make people happy, Krystals began her career in drag when she was working as a performer at Walt Disney World. Trained in musical theatre, her live vocals and tremendous comedic talents is undeniable, but it’s her passion for community that drives her to excellence. Krystals is well-known for her outstanding and consistent work with nonprofits, and she encourages every drag artist to give back to the community in some fashion.

Krystals will be a headlining performer at this year’s Aurora Pride on August 5, and OFM caught up with the fabulous hostess with the mostess to talk more about what we can expect, her passion for community, and other entertainment projects such as being featured in the newest season of OUTtv’s Camp Wannakiki.

How excited are you to perform once again at Aurora Pride?

Oh my gosh, I’m super excited! I love doing Aurora Pride because I live in the city of Aurora, so it’s really fun. Most of my neighborhood comes. I think this is my fourth year performing at Aurora Pride, and it’s a lot of fun to have a show because this is still a small event, but it continues to grow every year. It gives opportunities for people that live on this side of town a place to go and have fun, and there’s a beach, water, all those things.

Is that why this event is so special to you?

Yeah, it’s really one of my favorites to do because it’s in my own city. I feel there’s a bigger connection with that.

Can you give us a hint as to what we can expect from your set this time?

We have lots of fantastic entertainers; we’re kind of mixing it up across the board. We have drag kings, live music, story time for kids, and we also have a band that’s going to be coming out from my home state of Pennsylvania. They’re from Pittsburgh, and their album release happens to be that specific day. When I found out I could have a live band during my set, I was like, oh, I know exactly who I’m going to reach out to. So, they’ll have a 30-minute set within the timeframe. I love being able to offer all different types of things so that we have everybody covered across the board.

For those who don’t know, how did your journey with drag begin?

Gosh, it’s been 26 years now. My best friend and I used to dress up all the time because we were working at Disney, making very little money, and you could get into the nightclubs for free if you dressed in drag. We were like, hey, that’s a no-brainer. Let’s do that! That then kind of spiraled to what it’s grown into today. Obviously, things change over the years for the reasons why you do it. I’ve always been in entertainment of some sort, whether it be on stage with theatres shows or touring groups. Now it’s the art of drag, which is just a wonderful thing.

Besides performing and seeing this event continue to evolve, what else are you looking forward to the most about this year’s Aurora Pride?

I’m very excited to see what type of vendors there are because we get new vendors every year, which is wonderful. They also have volleyball tournaments on the beach, which is a lot of fun to watch as a spectator because I don’t need to get sand everywhere, and it’s just great to see how the community comes together. We live in such a divided space right now when it comes to the art of drag and queer rights in general. I think it’s amazing to see how many people show up, whether it be in favor or against our community. I love to have healthy conversations. So, I’m looking forward to seeing people enjoy their time at Aurora Pride and not giving into all the hatred that’s happening out there. Coming out, living their best lives, and having a good time.

What do you think makes the Denver drag community unique and stand out from other drag communities?

One of the big things about Denver drag is that there’s so many people. We have so many entertainers in this town that there’s a space for everyone. I work in cities across the country, and that’s not the case everywhere. There may be five or six cities that have such a huge drag scene, but we have the spaces for people to perform. In smaller cities, they don’t have drag shows during the weekends because that’s not their busy time, or they don’t have them during the week because that’s not their busy time.

It’s very hard for people to become full-time entertainers in some other cities because they just don’t have the spaces to do it, and they don’t get paid enough. Unless they’re traveling all the time, it’s not that big of a draw for them. In Denver, at any given time, you can go to a drag show any day of the week. There’s no day off; you can’t get away from it. So, that makes Denver very unique, and I think that is a draw for many entertainers from other cities to come and do pop-up performances in our city.

You’ve said that drag is much more than just performing, and your passion for community is what drives you to excellence. Can you talk more about that?

As I get older in my drag career, it’s not so much about performing anymore. It’s about hosting, making sure that we’re invited to spaces that wouldn’t normally have drag entertainers, and giving back to charitable contributions. I love to do things for nonprofits. I love to host and MC. I love to draw that barrier and mold it together from communities that don’t understand what we do. They think it’s one thing, but we’re actually showing them what it is.

It’s interesting to do a story time at an adult show because people are like, “Why are you doing this?” Because it’s important for you to experience it, so that way, when people start talking about it in a negative way, you can tell them what happens in a story time. Things have become so ridiculous when it comes to youth and queer youth. If they don’t have representation just like every other sector of the world, then they don’t see themselves being able to do those things.

I love mentoring youth and being in their spaces because then they can ask questions. Parents kind of get upset when their kids ask me crazy questions, but I’m like, there’s no question that’s crazy. Ask me anything. I’ll answer all your questions. They should be asking questions, as long as they’re not derogatory. Ask away. Sometimes it’s simple as, “Are you a man?”Kids are inquisitive, so for me, it’s all about trying to educate people more to make them know that drag entertainers are not bad people.

What are some ways for drag performers to help their communities with or without performing?

I always say that every drag entertainer should be giving back to the community in some fashion, like volunteering for an LGBTQ nonprofit within your city. Be an activist. Drag started because we were activists, and that hasn’t stopped over the years. So, get involved in your local government agencies. If you see something that you don’t like, you’re a voter, and your vote matters, so speak up, and talk about those things. I always encourage younger entertainers, and people that have been doing it for a while, that there are opportunities where you can give back. Look for those so that you can make sure that people are getting exposed to your talents outside of the bar scene.

Are you still doing your podcast, Spill’n the Tea with Dixie?

I am! I do it about every two weeks, and then whenever the mood hits (laughs). I need to get myself in a better routine where I just take all my equipment with me when I travel. I always feel like I have the most downtime when I travel, so it’s like, I should be recording an episode. I have so many people out there asking, “When’s the next one? When’s the next one?” I’m like, “OK, great, make me feel guilty.”

You are also in the newest season of OUTtv’s Camp Wannakiki. What was that experience like?

Oh my gosh! I grew up in the rural woods of Pennsylvania, so it was just like home. A twin bed and all. I had such a great time because I really didn’t know what to expect. They take 10 drag entertainers and throw them in the middle of woods in Wisconsin for two weeks, and they’re like, “Have fun!” Like, what can absolutely go wrong? The beautiful part was that I got to meet so many people from around the country, and we talked about what their drag scene is like. They learned about what ours is like in Colorado, so it was wonderful to build those friendships because I now get to travel to those cities, and I’m bringing some of them here to Denver to perform. It’s been very, very lovely.

There are also super fans, just like every drag competition show. As soon as you get a Drag Race Wikipedia page made about you, everyone’s got an opinion. Then there’s so many people that just love you for the craft of campy drag because it’s not shown enough. We don’t see enough of it, and that’s the beautiful thing about Drag Race. You’re seeing more of this campy drag come to the surface, but it’s been around forever. It’s how drag originated. It doesn’t always have to be about doing splits in the air and jumping down to the ground. A good theatrical campy moment is what I love, and that’s my style of drag, which I love so much.

Have you done TV projects before?

Yes, I was a part of Generation Drag that came out last June. That’s now on HBO Max, and I’ve also done some Comedy Central stuff when the whole drag queen thing came up about six or seven years ago, and Jim Jordan came out against it, so they did a fun little skit with Jordan Klepper that was based around the evilness of drag. We got to do a fun segment here in Denver at the BookBar, which was a lot of fun.

Would you like to do more TV projects in the future?

Oh, yes! I love it, and I’ve been recently talking to people about some other projects that are happening. That’s the nice thing about doing shows. You get the exposure. Like I said, I’ve done this gig for 26 years, so it’s like, okay, it’s time to do the things.

What are some other future goals you hope to accomplish with your drag career and platform?

One of the things I’m really starting to focus on now is trying to build a speaker series that I can take to universities and colleges across the country. Speak to students about the importance of drag entertainment and queer history within colleges and universities, and it’s not just for people who are part of the LGBTQ community but having allies within those universities as well to be able to speak openly, freely, and safely about how they’re feeling.

Also, being able to educate people on our own history. I find that we lose a lot of our own history during Pride because we, as queer people, don’t know it all. So, I’m trying to build a speaking series where I can go and talk to people and say, this is where we started; this is where we came from, and this is how we can continue to go forward. College students are impressionable, and they are our future, so it’s up to them to be able to change what the future hold for us.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Krystals by following her on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @dixiekrystals, or visit dixiekrystals.com. For more information on Aurora Pride, visit aurorapride.com.

Photos courtesy of Jeremiah Corder