On Nov. 19, 2022, Colorado Springs resident Wyatt Kent celebrated their birthday by performing drag at a local LGBTQ+ bar called Club Q.
The dolled-up performer, stage name Potted Plant, did an energetic number to a Dean & the Weenies song before the venue, filled with friends and chosen family, sang “Happy Birthday” and the newly 23-year-old blew out candles on a cake.
There was dancing, there were bottomless drinks. Kent’s partner, Club Q bartender Daniel Davis Aston, gifted them flowers and fruit and a basket of French fries topped with Tajín – Kent’s favorite.
Amid the merriment, a gunman entered Club Q and opened fire, killing five people and injuring 22. Bartender Aston was among the victims who lost his life.
In the following days, a grieving Kent packed their drag costume in a bag and tucked it out of sight, unsure if Potted Plant would ever return to the stage.
“That’s where that night stayed for a minute. I took that trauma off, so I was afraid to put it back on,” Kent said. “When I did, it was miraculous.”
On New Year’s Eve, barely a month after the shooting, Kent stepped on stage during a show in Kentucky, shaking from head to toe. When the music started, they felt the presence of their late partner and used it as fuel to reclaim their title as the Comedy Queen of Colorado Springs.
“It was a night of resilience, power, and it felt grounded in where I needed to be,” Kent said.
Kent is now channeling that resilience in the form of a monthly drag show called Blossom Party, which has sprouted on the first Friday of every month at The Block Distilling Co. (2990 Larimer St, Denver). Potted Plant hosts and provides a stage for up-and-coming artists, many of whom are transgender and BIPOC performers, to work a more intimate room before they sashay onto bigger venues.
Blossom Party is an evolution of Kent’s previous series, called Garden Party, which was a mainstay at Club Q. After the tragedy, the show became nomadic, popping up at various venues along the Front Range.
“After the shooting, I thought how can I make drag a bigger thing in Colorado Springs, a safer thing in Colorado Springs, and still highlight trans performers, BIPOC and Black performers, and others who are younger?” Kent said. “That fizzled out, we didn’t have too many opportunities and spaces to work it out consistently.”
That changed last year, however, when Kent connected with Z Williams, an activist and co-director of Bread & Roses Legal Center, a self-described social justice center specializing in legal services, mutual aid, and advocacy. Williams had thrown fundraisers for the victims of Club Q at The Block and could attest to the inclusive environment there.
The two decided to collaborate and sow the seeds of Blossom Party in hopes of creating a safe space for local drag and the LGBTQ+ community – one where individuals didn’t have to fear being anything but authentic.
The Blossom Party made its debut in June 2023 and “it’s only gotten bigger and better and more chaotic,” Williams said endearingly of the event. “Every show feels like complete magic.”
Part of The Block’s allure is its size. The distillery transforms its 1,000-square-foot tasting room into a makeshift black box where performers get up close and personal with attendees, sometimes even dancing on their tables. The space can hold about 50 patrons, The Block’s co-founder Kraig Weaver said. If the weather is nice, staff will open the garage doors and seat the patio, upping the capacity to about 100 people.
Because it’s cozy, drag stars aren’t typically doing “huge Bjork actions,” Kent said. But it allows them to take the vibe down a notch and sing or do lounge-style numbers you might not otherwise see at a large nightclub.
“My favorite thing to do is open the show with the Pledge of Allegiance. I have everyone stand up and, of course, it’s the gay Pledge of Allegiance, which is ‘Seasons of Love’ from ‘Rent.’ We’re able to be in the space together and it changes the dynamic completely,” Kent said.
The intimacy also lends to the safety of the venue. Williams, who identifies as transgender, has been involved in the Denver drag scene for several decades, but stopped attending certain shows “because they felt unsafe or even downright antagonistic.” In one recent example, they went to a club in New Mexico where the emergency exits were noticeably obstructed by chairs, a red flag in the post-Club Q era.
At The Block, the performers’ dressing rooms are discreetly tucked away, the exits are clearly marked and accessible, and all show participants know the back way out of the building. Williams also keeps a “drag daddy suitcase” on hand, complete with eyelash glue, wig caps and tools to fix a broken nail, as well as first aid in case of an emergency.
Additionally, Williams monitors social media chatter as show day approaches to see if there are any protests planned in the area.
“At the Block, for especially our trans and gender non-conforming siblings, it is so much of a let-your-hair-down space,” Kent said. “Z and I have heard directly back from our cast members and the people we choose to rotate through our cast that are trans, BIPOC and Black that they feel directly safe walking in the door presenting trans, presenting however they choose. That’s so directly important in cultivating a space, that’s got a power to it.”
It’s also especially important as the Club Q tragedy fades from public memory and the news cycle. In the shooting’s aftermath, Kent and Williams described an outpouring of support from greater Colorado, much of which has evaporated. And yet, queerphobia has remained, even escalated, they said.
“That first year of grief was us kind of trying to cover it with rainbow flags. And now it’s going to be these next couple years when we will see what the real effect of the Club Q tragedy is,” Kent said.
“We’re seeing people reeling and I think reeling in a different way than they were last year. The need is still very profound for support and mutual aid and solidarity and community and safe space,” especially in Colorado Springs, Williams added.
The Blossom Party’s monthly gathering is cathartic for those involved and a show of solidarity for those who attend. The next takes place on Friday, April 5. It’s always free to attend — RSVPs via Eventbrite encouraged — but don’t forget a stack of $1 bills to shower performers.
“Life is insanity and life is chaos, but this is the one show I will say I regularly look forward to and consistently just love. It’s magic,” Kent said.
