Monroe was crowned Miss Gay United States in 2012, making her the first national titleholder in drag from Fayetteville. Miss Gay America 2025, Ivy Dripp, sat next to her in the dressing room. “This is the coolest Pride experience I’ve had,” Dripp said. “And I just came back from World Pride, which was really, really cool.”
Dripp rolled through the parade earlier that afternoon on the back of a red ’89 Mercedes convertible. She sported a black and gold sequin dress, a red curly wig, big black sunglasses, and, of course, the crown from her national title. She said hearing her name announced during the parade as Miss Gay America 2025 was a special moment: “It’s crazy. It’s the coolest, most beautiful gift I think I have ever gotten.”
NWA’s Pride celebration involved six events across the weekend, including Glitterville and the parade. It started with a trans march and rally, followed by a two-day festival, a drag show brunch, and a teddy bear contest. There was even a high tea and pool party on Sunday.
The history of gay visibility in the area is steeped in protest. In 1977, the Arkansas legislature proposed a bill to declare all homosexual acts a misdemeanor punishable by a year in prison. The community reacted with a series of marches led by University of Arkansas students, residents, and local businesses—such as George’s, which has been around since the ’60s.
Dripp, 35, who hails from Cut Off, Louisiana, is certainly familiar with the challenges of growing up queer in a southern state. “My roots are back home. My family is back home. I want to be around for my nephews and all of that,” Dripp said. “So, to feel like I have to leave in order to be myself and miss out on that entire aspect of my life wasn’t an option.”
On the other side of the dressing room, Monroe said she remembered when Fayetteville Pride drew just a couple hundred people. (At 41, she is the oldest regularly performing drag queen in Arkansas.) “We preach tolerance and acceptance and love for our community so much here,” Monroe said. “And now we got it.”
Fayetteville Pride almost didn’t happen this year. After Glitterville, Porter noted that NWA Equality struggled with a significant funding gap back in December, amid rollbacks to DEI efforts across the country under the Trump administration.
“Like a third of our budget could have been wiped out,” Porter said. So, NWA Equality participated in a local fundraising weekend called NWA Gives. In years past, they hadn’t raised more than $10,000. This year, they raised $36,000.
“We explained to the community, this is what has happened, and we need you to step up,” Porter said. “They did, and it was amazing. A lot of people stepped up to make sure we were still able to do this.”
Before the drag queens made their way to the stage for Glitterville’s opener (an iconic riff on Wicked), blue lights and smoke poured over the crowd as Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” came over the speakers. The crowd fell silent in anticipation. Then, when the beat dropped and the queens appeared, the room erupted with cheers, whistles, fan clacks, and screams.
“We’re cherished here. We’re loved here,” Monroe told me before stepping out. “That’s what’s really special about this area.”
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