It’s funny, I’ve been living here for a few weeks now and have starting picking up the ‘Dusseldorf ways’ of living. Being re-immersed into the world of a tourist this week has been an absolute blast. It helps me remember what my first impressions were like coming to the city of Dusseldorf.
Like how funny it was to say ‘Dusseldorf’ for the first time as a native English speaker, or how wild and naughty it felt to walk through the streets with a freshly open bottle of beer while waving hello to the police.
The best part of it all was realizing that these first-timers to Dusseldorf will now leave the city with a wild impression of men in drag shaking their booties and waving crotch in their face. Hey, no one said it was a bad thing!
I’ve been in Germany for almost 10 months now and have been waiting for this time to come. The countdown to Dusseldorf Karneval has finally come to an end and the games have only just begun!
It was a wonderful Valentine’s Day spent with new friends and bloggers at the Nachtresidenz for the Drag Queen Races.
Drag Queen Races | Nachtresidenz Sponsored by Air Berlin
I have to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect for the evening, but it definitely was far from anything I had anticipated. There wasn’t so much a ‘race’ as I had read from previous years, but more like a cat walk. The drag queens would come on stage, strut their stuff, have their heels measured and have their hilarity compared. It was a whole lots of glitter, make up, feathers and confetti.
Following was one of the most traditional performances in Dusseldorf and a beautiful proposal – one of those proposals I’ve watched on TV and wished I had of been there. It was a folk dance group preforming incredible routines on stage in traditional folk wear. One of the gentleman in the group jumped into a surprise flash mob only to propose to his new fiance on stage, February 14th for the world to see. [A little off topic here, but I had to show you — take a look at this adorable video I caught on stage]
Back to the drag queen bit of the night, throughout the procession the crowd screamed out “TUNTE, LAUF” translated into English as “DRAG QUEEN, RUN!”… or walk in this case. The spirits were high, the crowed was beyond pumped up and the entire night I couldn’t figure out if all these men dressed as women in the club were legitimate about the ‘drag queen life’. I saw one making out with a natural woman.. so I think it might be a mixed event. A nice little game to play.
Historically starting back in 1995, the night of the drag queen races has now turned into one of the most popular events of Karneval. This year Dusseldorf has reached new records of attendance that all the locals seem to be jaw dropped by. Get ready world, the Dusseldorf drag queens are coming!
Despite the incredible entertainment for the night, the best part of the evening was knowing that proceeds from the event will be going towards supporting local AID charities.
Supporting and donating can be fun! Drag queen fun!
I was handed these clever little condom packs on behalf of the DEUTSCHE AIDS-Hilfe (below)… I will let you figure the translations out on your own. I prefer to keep my blogging PG.
The night ended with a few more drinks and our last good-byes until Monday where the float festivities begin! Until then!
Looking for more about travel in Dusseldorf? I’m kinda starting to become a local in this area, check out these posts:
