Before the parade passes by

Regatta is just a few weeks away!!!! Last year, DRAGALUTION had a float in the Regatta parade and we won Presidents choice!!! It was quite the fluttering of emotions that day. I have the trophy hanging in the drag lab and each time I look at it I remember how exciting it was to put myself out there with my friends and allow everyone to see us in our happy glory; expressing our inner sparkle and waving at our friends and families as we rolled on by. It reminds me that everyday can feel that alive. All I have to do is bring it.

I signed up DRAGALUTION for a float again this year! And then I hesitated. You may wonder why. Well, let me tell you. I was told we could do the parade again but there could be no puffy vagina shirt and it can't say daylight cums because that is too offensive. Ok....I said thanks for letting me know and I just chose not to react to the situation. I thought about it a lot. " Nobody sensors me" was looping through my head. 

All of a sudden, I flash back to country fair about 6 years ago when I was wandering around in the dark and this army of white floating orbs came bouncing by being carried by people dressed in white satin with black balls clown suits and this woman was wandering with them shushing people loudly so that everyone would be quite as we watched the white balls bounce.... WELL... I was having none of that. No one shushes me I muttered to my friends as I took off running through the bouncing balls with my kimono fluttering behind me as I was consumed with uncontrollable laughter...

And then, I was pulled back to my present thought of just not doing the parade this year. This debate went on for a month. Mostly in my head but I did talk about it too because I just found it so silly. Maybe because I just didn't see anything wrong with the big pink fuzzy vagina. Most of us came out of one, it's familiar. The cums I get totally. Honestly, we didn't even have that until the last minute when a sign was made to stay 'DRAGALUTION' and the website: www.daylightcums.com was written in maybe 2 inch high letters at the bottom.

People don't get bothered or offended by men with guns marching down the streets but the gay guy with the fuzzy vagina that is just wrong. Wrong. Wrong I tell you:)

No one mentioned that it was the first time drag queens were in the parade, and we won. Nope. Just the fuzzy vagina. I think it is kind of sweet. 

The first thing you should know is I never set out to offend. I may enjoy pushing buttons and make people pause and think, but never offend. And the person and buttons I push the most are mine. It is no easy thing to walk out and be me. I get scared a lot, but I will not let that stop me. And being a big ol queen takes a whole other set of balls and they don't usually feel too good;)

Anyway(sssss), we are doing the parade!! There will be no fuzzy vagina or cums.  Our float is even better than last year and our dance will be more open and loving than you can possibly imagine. 

This float is about our DRAGALUTION, about our courage to march to the beating of our drums and allowing people to drink in our beauty no matter how shy or awkward we may feel. As always, I open my arms in invitation, if you feel like you want to sparkle with us in the parade, come join us in celebration of everything fabulous in our town!!! If you need help with costumes, Garbo's Vintage in Astoria is Co-sponsoring the parade and if you go in and mention you want to join us she will give you a deal!!!! 

I am just so excited about these next few weeks and getting to share some time with you all!! Catch you out there 

Love,

Daylight

My OCF upgrade

I have been trying to wrap my brain around the soul shift I have experienced this past week at the Oregon Country Fair.  I had anticipated the reunion with my fair family and was so anxious to have the time to reconnect with my essence.  For myself, going to the fair is being given the opportunity to shine more brightly than I normally get to and to flutter as I wish I could on a daily basis.

I went down a few days early so I could meet with some mentors and guides of my own and get some perspective. Monday evening, while visiting with a very dear friend and talking about a few others over whiskey and ginger, I was able to talk about my friend Jack Watson and how much I loved working with him and the wonderful shows we built together. 

The following morning I found out that he had passed on that night....I....he taught me so much and trusted in my strange and odd movement choices for choreography:) 

I had a coffee date with another guide and while sharing our stories several people that I worked with along side of Jack happened to come in and we were able to pay him tribute and share our loss together. 

I spent a lot of my pre-fair prep waiting for others to get their things done so that we could go and prepare for an intense undertaking for this year. Namely, we were taking over a very popular coffee booth for this year because it's organizer had passed on two weeks prior to the fair. It was exciting and so sad all in the same breath. 

The thing that go me was that not many people had heard of her passing so as we were building a new counter, rethinking the space and trying to keep our shit together on the cusp of a full moon in an incredible world known as the fair, we had to watch faces shift from pure joy to wavering and heart sick sorrow and shock. The falter and faint is always hard for me...having grown up in a household of underlying sorrow and being an altar boy at funerals I have learned to be around people in total grief. I learned not to react as I held the plate under quivering chins of mascara smeared faces walking two by two to receive communion. I learned to be ok with not being scared to death walking into the nursing home every weekend to see my grandma, I was taught to be a caregiver from a very young age and I have always lived to be of service to anyone in need. It is a gift I cherish deeply.

So, my fair went in a completely different direction than I thought it would. The crazy thing was that I was surrounded by so much tension and sorrow and all I had within me to give was joy. I was so full of love and patience and calm. It was the strangest thing, really it was.

And.... Our booth was a TOTAL UPGRADE!!! We had a balcony that was so cool.  My favorite part was on Saturday sitting up there with Melanie, Lillian and many other friends and blasting people down below with squirt guns filled with ice water to cool them off on the extremely hot day. People begged for it! Then, there was the fishing pole that we attached cookies to and had people catch them with their mouths. It was AWESOME and it made so many people stop, look up, participate and laugh.

Friday was incredible too! I got all Daylight dressed up, I even wore my heels for many hours and fluttered thorough the masses of people. I stood for many photos and had shared moments with hundreds of people, all of whom hugged this big old queen wandering the forest in search of other like minded spirits; I was surrounded.

The one thing that played over and over in my mind was a fight my mom and I had my summer before my senior year of high school. She told me I just walk around with this huge chip on my shoulder and I just need to let go of it. Hadn't thought of that in many years, and while I was strolling I tried to recall what put that chip there.

You see, the chip was really a means of hiding all of the pain and suffering I was going through because I couldn't stand the thought of making my mother worry or suffer any more than she already had.

I couldn't let her know I was being beaten up every day at school, that I was afraid for my life to be anywhere alone and that I not sure how I could possible survive another day in this scary world. 

So for me, the fair has always been my time to go and find a deeper means of strength so that I can be fueled up and have the strength and courage to stand within my being and shine without shame. This is no easy feat. Shame has been the under layer to most of the outfits of my life and in that forest I don't need my under things of shame.

This fair was a big one for me. I stepped way beyond any place I had ever hoped to be able to. I swished my little gay ass through that wonderful maze of people and I shared myself eye to eye and heart to heart with everyone.

And I realized that my DRAGALUTION is just such a mission in life. It is about finding the courage to be and to be fierce and fabulous and raw and beautiful and dirty and free and open and alive and peaceful.  We are so blessed to get to share our lives together, highs and lows and to listen, observe, participate and grow. I want you to see me in all of my light and darkness. I want to share my humanity and my mystical magical spirited self with you, everyday. 

All my love,

Daylight

Oregon Country Fair is calling

It's that time of year when my spirit gets really excited about making its journey to the Oregon Country Fair to re-charge and flutter with other spirits of the worlds:)

I always have a sign. It is a dragonfly. For the last year one finds me and spends a bit of time circling me and it's wing vibrations hit my ear drum with a, "we are so excited to be with you again! May you find what you are in search of and my the light always shine upon you." I get chills and warm and gooey each time it happens:)

This year, not only did I have an excited circling of dragonflies, yes plural, all vibrating the same thing, "Daylight... Daylight... It's important for you to be there this year. Bring your wings and fly with the Elders." I also unwrapped a perfectly preserved dragonfly from my head of butter lettuce that my friend, Teresa at 46 North Farm, had cut for me. He is proudly being held by a piece of amathyst on my altar.

Then, Isa stopped me the other day asking if she could use a pair of my wings at fair for her lawn dance with the elders at opening!!! Ah, the Universe does unfold in the most glorious ways. I was already planning on bringing my gold wings, and now I shall bring a few more and flutter with the Elders:) as you wish.

The fair has always assisted in helping me break free of the constraints I have about my image, spirit and the general way I find to hide myself from a true full view of who I really am. I am accepting the shadows of my being, they help me to see the glorious beauty of my light. What I love best is the open eye contact and heart to heart hugs without keeping the pelvis suspended behind, held by a fish hook in midair. We all know that hug. We want to embrace, but we keep our root chakra out of the way because we have been conditioned to keep those from getting near another. Heaven forbid there be actual contact. I have been a pro with this embrace for years. It's only been in the past 10 years that I have stopped holding back I my hugs. And I giggle each time I have a new hug do that... It is just so sweet and innocent in so many ways.

The fair is also where I learned to feel comfortable with my shirt off, especially while sitting down. And the last time I was there I went to the Ritz with my best friend Melanie and her daughter Lilian and we steamed and showered together with the rest of our fair family and it was one of the most soul cleansing, body opening experiences of my life. I can't even begin to tell you:)

Anyway(sss), this year, I have no expectations. I am not going to try to relive any particular moment. I will do as the dragonfly whispered, I will bring Daylght and together we will flutter or spirit song amongst the spirits of the fair and keep our hearts and eyes open as the path opens before us!!!

If you are at fair, I hope our paths cross so we can have a heart to heart hug and giggle. I'll be over by the liberty cup if you care to ask around.... Or follow the beat, we will collide.

Love,

Daylight