Join us on Thursday 16th February for our event in homage of World Pride and in collaboration with Kings of Joy. This event will include a panel and a safe, informative space for people to ask anything they want to, with the opportunity to learn more about the LGBTIQA+ and for those that care about allyship.

Ask any questions in advance to our amazing panel who are willing to answer anything. No topic is off the cards and everyone is welcome. Hosted by Danica Lane, Founder of Kings of Joy.

Our panellists joining us:

🌈 Danica Lani - Kings of Joy
🌈Steph Sands - Capgemini
🌈Jeremy Mah - Macquarie University
🌈Abbey Pantano - Seed Spaces
🌈 Nicholas Steepe - Out for Australia

Every one is welcome and we are raising money to support our LGBTQIA+ friends living in Block 13, Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. You can find out more here. Why not bring your team? This feel good event will leave you and your team all warm and fuzzy as you connect with amazing humans!

The event will take place on Thursday 16th February 2023 at 6:00 - 9:00 pm at The Working Kind Collective in Stanmore.

There are limited spaces, so be quick as we know this is going to be a popular one.

Entertainment

Felicia Foxx

Proud Kamilaroi and Dunghutti Sistergirl, Felicia Foxx is a high energy diva, Model, MC and Sydney icon who shares her story through the art of drag. A young powerhouse with titles as prestigious as Miss First Nations, appearances on stage at Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and headline acts at the Broken Heel Festival, Felicia Foxx is a strong figure head in the community championing visibility and empowerment for other Indigenous queer young people. She’s appeared on Australian Fashion Week Runway & appeared in VOGUE, Harpers Bazzar, Marie Claire, ABC, SBS “Hey stranger” (redefining beauty) and channel 7’s Andrew Denton’s Interview

Malaika Mfalme

Malaika Mfalme {Angel King} is a non-binary singer, songwriter, guitarist, and event producer creating on Gadigal Land. Malaika writes immersive and evoking music that focuses on black love, self-acceptance, grief, and the journey of being loved and sometimes lost. Malaika is here to create a safe space focused on healing with a powerful message of kindness, acceptance, and reflection that vibrates through every one of their sonic outputs. Mfalmes ink stained fingers play sweet melodic guitar alongside strikingly smooth vocals layered with a looping pedal; reminding you their name is Angel for a reason.

Kings of Joy

Kings of Joy is a community initiative that gives first-time Drag Kings the opportunity to perform in drag and lean into the masculine in a supported, group environment. The values that Kings of Joy uphold are joy, fun, inclusivity, anti-racism, non-toxic masculinity, a celebration of all gender expressions, and what’s possible when we encourage and support each other.

Kings of Joy is the brainchild of Danica Lani and was born out of her spouse, Chris McAllister’s performance event for trans and gender-diverse artists, Queers of Joy. Danica and Chris met in a Drag King group and both experienced first-hand the fun, friendship, and sheer elation of performing on stage with a Drag King crew. They wanted to give this experience away to other people in the queer community.

Queers of Joy began in December 2020 and is now a bi-monthly show co-produced by Chris, Malaika Mfalme, and Gabriel Angel. The debut Kings of Joy group was offered a free experience for first-time Drag Kings to learn a routine together and perform on stage at Queers of Joy. Queers of Joy pay Danica Lani a small fee to run this program, aptly named, The Kings of Joy Gold Stars (ie. first-timers, never done drag before. Gold Star is a lesbian reference for someone who has only ever slept with other women.)

Since then the Kings of Joy Gold Stars program has developed into a full 6-week program. Each participant is a first-time Drag King and many have never performed on stage before. Together, they go from zero to hero to invent a Drag King name, backstory, persona, costume, and makeup, and perform together in a group. This process has taken individual Drag Kings 3+ years to do by themselves.

After community consultation, the Kings of Joy Pay It Forward program was implemented to keep Kings of Joy Gold Stars barrier-free for all members of the queer community and to create a sustainable model for continuing the program. It costs $300 for each participant to go through the program. No one is required to pay and all are given the choice. They can pay at the beginning of the program or pay it forward for a future King at the end of their program, or simply receive a paid-for place.

After completing the Kings of Joy Gold Stars, many of these emerging Drag Kings want to continue their journey. Some go on to become solo Drag Kings independently, some have done solo Drag King coaching with Danica and some prefer the group environment. Danica created the Kings of Joy All Stars, a 12-week program to deepen the Drag King persona, to fulfil this need. This is a paid program with pay-in-full or payment plan options. Originally, participants performed at her Showcase, in parallel with her Diva dance group ‘Show Ponies’. This has now been rebranded as Drag Kingdom where many of the Kings of Joy Gold Star groups perform on the same night.

To date (19/11/22), Danica has facilitated 14 Kings of Joy groups (including the All-Stars and a group done online from Melbourne) and mentored and produced 64 brand-new, first-time Drag Kings.

Thank you to the sponsors of this event:

The Working Kind Collective

Young Henrys

Kings of Joy

Stories that Stir

VA Media

Food by Jamaican Delight