Tea Time with Drag Queens

by Kevin Yohn/Alysin Wonderland (He/They)

Some people, when they think of Community, they think of their closest family, their neighbors that help out when things get rough. When I heard about a letter that was not only sent to Andora's Bubble Tea downtown I was furious. It's 2020, there's a lot more issues in the world to be concerned with and what trends to 'cancel' I posted publicly that I wanted to show my support , by painting up a mug and going to buy my FIRST Bubble Tea. I looked for assistance on who wanted to join and got the Idea to have a Tea Time event with Drag Queens. I reached out via Facebook to Andora's Bubble, to ask if they would like the support of me and my Sisters to help boost business, and show the individual who wrote the letter that "Yes, in fact that the LGBTQIA+ Community is big and strong enough to support them" So on, July 29th, Debbie, Pissi Gabune, Priscilla Godzilla, Rebecca Mae and Alysin Wonderland gathered at the shop to pose for pictures and accept donations for the NWPA Pride Alliance. The turn out was AMAZING. There were no less than 20 people at a time throughout the day. We raised over $250 for the Alliance and when I spoke with the owners after our event ended, they said that there were TONS of new patrons, some who have never heard of the place or had Bubble Tea. Even while talking with some of the patrons, they heard about it through coverage on Erie New Now and the Facebook event. There were even a few people who stopped by to see what was with the crowd and were awestruck that we came together for support. It was nonstop. When I spoke with a few of the patrons who attended, one woman said that while there and talking "It felt like Family" and was very thankful for us coming together and organizing a get together. The general consensus from all who participated would LOVE to have a gathering of the queens again. I spoke with one of the workers and she told me that she didn't know how much exactly they made in sales, but it was definitely the BUSIEST day they've ever experienced, and that the owners loved everything about it and would love to host the event again and maybe make it reoccurring thing. It was a great time for everyone. There were even comments made that since people couldn't interact with us at Pride this year, that this was just as amazing and fun. Photos by Andrea Shaffer.

Photos

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