Appeared in Outlook News

On the heels of an MTV documentary, appearances on Queer As Folk and various talk shows, drag kings and other gender performance artists will participate in IDKE 4, the annual International Drag King Extravaganza Oct. 18-20.

Drag kings and queens (and their fans) from across the country and abroad will come together in Columbus when Fast Friday Productions and H.I.S. Kings present a three-day conference of artistic and academic collaboration, networking and performance. Events and workshops will be held at the Ohio State University and other venues throughout Columbus.

"In the next five years, IDKE will be in a different city each year," said Fast Friday Productions owner and drag performer Si'le Singleton. "Since this is our last time in Columbus for a while, we're going to send it on the road in style."

Events will include:
Dragdom
Oct. 18, 8 p.m.
Like a drag open mike, this tradition is open to all performers.

Showcase
Oct. 19, 9 p.m.
Last year, 75 performers representing 22 different states, three Canadian provinces and Germany participated in this show of the 30 best and brightest acts.

Conference
Oct. 19, 9:15 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
More than 25 panels and presentations on such diverse topics from how to start a drag king troupe to learning new dance styles; the expanded, interactive Drag King Science Fair and Fancy Pants Traveling Road Show, where performers swap tips and techniques with one another on everything from packing to facial hair application; a film festival; closing keynote speech and vendor fair.

Sunday Brunch
Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
The closing keynote speech will feature Annie Toone, an internationally known punk rock artist heading the 80s sensation the Bloods, who is a grandfather historian of drag king culture. She will offer an in-depth view of the intersection of second wave feminism, masculinity and gender.

Erin O'neil, critically acclaimed photographer, will display her touring exhibit, Kings of the Road, in the Ohio Union Gallery and give a presentation on her work.

Aurora Rheinhard will come from Finland to screen her film BoyGirl. The film festival will include the Sundance festival winner Last Call at Maudes, a documentary of butch fem dynamics from the early 20s until Maude's doors closed in the late 70s.

Imani Henry, an American-born first generation Jamaican transman, will perform his multimedia piece B4T: Before Testosterone, during the brunch.

For more information, visit www.idke.com.