Drag queen and social media personality Pattie Gonia is known for exploring the great outdoors while sporting 6-inch heels, and soon she will be trekking Colorado trails and hosting dance parties along the way.
First, the queen will sashay through Telluride’s Mountainfilm festival, May 23-27, for a music video screening followed by a free drag show and dance party. Then on June 20, she hits The Gothic Theatre in Denver for Save Her! Disco, billed as an environmental drag show and pride performance.
Pattie Gonia’s trip to Telluride, specifically, has been four years in the making. In 2020, Mountainfilm’s lineup featured a 30-minute documentary, “Dear Mother Nature,” which stars an Oregon-based environmentalist named Wyn Wiley, a.k.a. Pattie Gonia. The documentary dives deep into the plastics industry and potential solutions for remedying its impact on the world’s oceans and marine life. Pattie planned to attend the festival for the movie’s screening before COVID-19 shifted the event entirely online.
This year, Mountainfilm will show “Won’t Give Up,” a music video for an original tune by Pattie Gonia, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and indigenous musician Quinn Christopherson. The song was originally written as a somber requiem for the planet’s melting glaciers, Pattie said. But the trio revised the tone to be more of a call to action – an anthem to bring people together to fight climate change rather than accept defeat against it.
“If we accept defeat, climate polluters, big corporations, dictators and world governments that aren’t taking action for people and planet win,” Pattie said. “It was a chance to show the beauty of nature, the beauty of collaboration. And also we’re singing we won’t give up on this planet and we won’t give up on each other, so it’s another nod to intersectional environmentalism.”
The music video was shot in Christopherson’s home state of Alaska, near the Holgate and Exit glaciers, which have retreated significantly due to climate change. Some production crew members and indigenous individuals who provided cultural guidance for the music video will also attend Mountainfilm, Pattie said.
The watch party takes place on May 25 at the Telluride Conference Center (580 Mountain Village Blvd., Mountain Village), and serves as a warmup to the drag show and dance party. The event is free and open to the public, and does not require a festival pass. (Mountainfilm pass holders get priority entry.)
“We do these things called Save Her! discos, which are a mix of a drag show and a dance party, because why not? It’s the perfect duo. It’s fun, it gets people dancing,” Pattie said. “The cast of the show is drag queens and kings and things, and it’s going to be a gay old time.”
Fun is an essential piece of Pattie’s mission. She began hiking in heels in 2018 as a way to celebrate both her queerness and passion for the outdoors, and has since completed hikes in excess of 10 miles in heels — with no broken ankles, she is quick to note. Many times, she’s doing so in glamorous outfits made from recycled materials and trash to turn heads and raise awareness about her cause. One of her signature looks is a silver gown made from a tent.
With every step, Pattie has helped mobilize a diverse community of recreation and sustainability enthusiasts. She also co-founded The Outdoorist Oath, an organization that aims to bring BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and other individuals into the outdoors through education and events.
While climate change is a serious issue, it’s too often shrouded in depressing news and statistics that can make it a challenge to galvanize support. Pattie aims to infuse fun into the movement and to build a culture around environmentalism that reflects the world she wants to live in.
“Joy is important,” Pattie said. “That’s just as important as saving the trees, that’s just as important as advocating for our ocean — making sure our human ecosystems are built on that sustainable joy.”
Founded in 1979, Mountainfilm is an apt platform to spread that message given its core tenets include inspiring activism to create a better world. This year, the festival will feature about 100 films, including many world premieres, alongside panels from filmmakers, hikes with professional athletes and networking opportunities. One of the biggest perks of attending is having the chance to bump into your heroes on the streets of the tiny mountain town, organizers say.
Pattie Gonia’s involvement helps further the festival’s mission to make the outdoors more accessible, said executive director Sage Martin.
“Every year, we have a dance party on Saturday night, so this just made sense to have the film, have a drag show and roll right into a fabulous dance party,” Martin said.
Over the years, Mountainfilm has developed several partnerships and programs designed to include voices from demographics traditionally underrepresented in these spaces. One example is its collaboration with the Reciprocity Project to bring works by indigenous filmmakers to the festival. Mountainfilm also subsidizes a small number of “diversity passes” each year for people who might not otherwise be able to attend because of the cost.
“Mountainfilm is really a wonderful showcase of not only filmmakers but also (for) social and environmental justice,” Pattie Gonia said. “Every chance we can get we should be diversifying spaces like that, so I’m excited to bring queerness to make space for not just Mountainfilm but the general public via this party.”
The Mountainfilm festival runs May 23 to 27 at multiple venues throughout Telluride. Pattie Gonia’s screening, drag show and dance party happens on May 25 from 8 p.m. to midnight at Telluride Conference Center, 580 Mountain Village Blvd., Mountain Village. Passes to the festival range from $200 to $400 or more for those who opt to make a tax-deductible donation. The dance party and drag show are free to attend. Find the schedule, passes and more information at mountainfilm.org.
