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Church fundraiser? It's kind of a drag

By Susan Thurston, Times staff writer
In print: Friday, April 11, 2008

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It's not your average church fundraiser.

Then again, the organizer is not your average churchgoer.

Tiffani Middlesexx is a drag queen who attends Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa. Last year, to raise money for a new kitchen, she put together a drag show starring her and her female impersonator friends. The event was such a success, church members called for an encore. The second Dare to Dream in 3D: Divas, Dinner and Dance is Saturday at the church, 408 E Cayuga St.

Leaders expect the show to be bigger and better, with more drag queens and more glitz. Kitty Meow, Stephanie Shippae and other queens will strut a red carpet. Guests will wear their Hollywood best.

Putting their talents to work was the least Middlesexx, a former drug user and barfly, could do for the church that changed her life. "Church didn't seem that relevant to me until I went to that church,'' she said. "The atmosphere was so inviting. It's the highlight of my week.''

The 36-year-old Tampa church serves the area's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. An average of 220 people attend Sunday services.

It's one of the few, if only, area churches to host drag shows, said the Rev. Phyllis Hunt, MCC's senior pastor. In St. Petersburg, King of Peace Metropolitan Community Church recently began gay Bingo nights, featuring drag-queen numbers callers and hostesses.

Last year's drag show raised about $8,500, which went toward new kitchen appliances and cabinets. It also raised awareness about drag queens and their contributions, Hunt said. All of the performers donated their time.

"This is a way for us to honor a community of people who have spent their lives entertaining with very little honor,'' Hunt said.

Middlesexx was nervous about performing because most people hadn't seen her in drag. She usually attends church as a man but goes by Tiffani and answers to "she.''

"A lot of them had never seen a show like that,'' she said. "A lot of them were curious.''

Proceeds from Saturday's fundraiser will go toward paying down the church's deficit. If successful, it could become an annual event.

Middlesexx offered this advice to the drag queens not accustomed to performing in a place of worship:

"I had to tell the girls, 'Remember, it is a church.' ''