Vanity Fair

We have already given you the chance to meet Vanity Fair in our Who's Who: Queens of Edmonton series article on her, but here's a quick summary of who she is, of what the court means to her, and what she hopes to bring to the position of Empress.

1. Tell us briefly about your past involvement with the ISCWR and what this organization means to you.

My involvement with the ISCWR began shortly after I came out and moved to Edmonton just over 15 years ago. I began by performing in court shows in my early years doing drag. I have become more involved over the years holding the titles of Mz. Gay Edmonton 12 and 22 and Entertainer of the year 2000 and 2010. During that 10 year span I continued to perform at court functions and attend meetings. This past year I have held the title of Imperial Crown Princess 36. While I admit my involvement over the early years was kind of superficial not really getting to involved in the inner workings of the organization this past year as Princess has taught me a great deal about how the organization functions, what is required of upper house title holders and has inspired me to want to be Empress of Edmonton. I have attended every coronation from reign 21 to 36 and Empress is a title I have aspired to since the first coronation I attended back in reign 21.

2. Why now? Why 37?

My main reason for wanting to be Empress of this great city is to give back to a city and community that has done so much to support me and make me the person I am today. I moved to Edmonton at the age of 21 from a small town and didn’t know the slightest things about gay life. Edmonton embraced me and through friends, drag and ISCWR I have become a well respected member of the community. I am not looking for fame or a big crown on my head, I have learned over the years that those things mean very little in the grand scheme of things.

reign 37 because now is the right time in my life to make this goal a reality. This has been a personal goal of mine for quite a few years now and it it has been put on hold several times because i was simply not in a place in my life to commit it 100% There is very little going on in my personal life right now to hold me back or interfere with success this year. No man in the way, no feeling torn over drag or spending time with someone. I can give it everything i have and make it an absolutely amazing year.

3. What are some of your plans, if elected?

If elected my plans are quite simple and straight forward. It is my goal to see the upper house and members of the organization working together as a team to put on fewer events, but much better quality events. I really want to raise the bar and the quality of entertainment at court events. This can only be achieved through hard work and dedication so i am hoping i have what it takes to inspire others to work along side me to make these goal happen. I would also like to see us working more with other organizations in Edmonton to help them achieve there goals whether it be fundraising or simply volunteering man hours.

4. What are your proposed charities and why?

As Empress I will continue the tradition of supporting our regular smaller charities such as Camp Firefly and the youth scholarships were award every year. I would like my main charity for the reign to be the Pride Center of Edmonton. I donated $3000 to the Pride Center during my first reign and Mz. Gay Edmonton and believe it is one of our cities most unappreciated organizations. After doing some research I have learned the Center is struggling after the fire they experienced last year. They have incurred a lot of expenses reopening and establishing in a new location. The Pride Center does receive funding from other sources but after speaking with a volunteer there I have learned they really can never have enough money. The more they have the more good they can do by offering more in the way of counselling services, expanding their resource library and being more involved in other community events. I would love to see the majority of the money we raise go directly back to the community that supports us. We ourselves may not rely on the Pride Center in our everyday lives but people coming out, moving to Edmonton and people with struggles in our community we are not even aware of rely on the Center and the vital services it provides. By strengthening the individual members our our community the community as a whole becomes stronger. Over the past few years I have seen a lot of money go to charities that have the whole world raising money for them, too many smaller local charities get overlooked.

5. Some people might say that the court system is in danger of becoming archaic and obsolete. What changes would you like to see happen in the ISCWR and the ICS ? Where does the court NEED TO go in the future to stay exciting and relevant?

The ISCWR is most definitely a viable organization in today’s community, there is no doubt in my mind about that. The organization as a whole has been changing and evolving over the past decade and we have come a long way. I do believe though that the dynamics of Edmonton’s gay community are changing and we are going to need to start re evaluating how we raise money and find different ways to reach out to the community. When I came out you only went to gay bars and establishments because it was not safe to do otherwise. Nowadays gay youth and people don’t feel the need to separate themselves, they go out and party and do things where ever they like. We don’t have a captive audience like we once did, we need to try and do new things to bring people into our events. We do have a small very loyal following but our circle of impact could be so much greater with a few changes to the ways we operate.

I am always amazed at what we accomplish each and every year. Edmonton has worked very hard to raise our court to a level of respect and function that makes us very successful. Leaving a lot of the pettiness and bitching out of things helps immensely and i think a lot of other courts could learn from our example. I have seen a lot of courts lately elect monarchs then spend the year trying to pull them down or stifle them rather than get behind them and help them achieve their goals. If you believe in the ICS and our organization you show support regardless of who is elected. It is a volunteer position and that is to be respected regardless of whether you like a person or not.

Stefan "Stiffy" Steele

1. Tell us briefly about your past involvement with the ISCWR and what this organization means to you.

My past involvement with the ISCWR has involved almost 3 years of volunteer work with the organization, started off when I met my partner Lj Steele. Shortly after we met he became the 35th Emperor of Edmonton. During his reign I supported him by attending/helping with his events and had made the choice to get further involved becoming a performer. In my first year with the organization I stepped into a lower house title of King of Hearts and within the 6 months after that I was on the campaign trail again. But this time for myself; to become the Elected Imperial Crowned Prince of the 36th reign in, which I have been heavily involved with over the last year. Planning fund-raisers, attending events both for our organization as well as other organizations in the community. The organization, for me, is great chance to give back to the community through charity work and fund raise while doing something that I enjoy.

2. Why now? Why 37?

Well it's been an amazing couple of years of involvement and after being Imperial Crown Prince this year it just seems like a great experience to go that next step further. I have a great job and support system for my ambitions with the organization, and for me the timing just seems right. I had a great learning year and experience with the 36th Reign that has given me the drive and determination to do it all again, and have the opportunity to put my own spin on things. I have some new ideas that I’d like to try and excited to see what happens.

3. What are some of your plans, if elected?

I don't want to just focus on the bar shows as fund-raising but look outside the box. I want to look at donating money and time to help charities. Such as volunteering to help out at another charities event; creating involvement between the two groups. I want to work more with some of the youth charities here in the city. Pride Center, HIV Edmonton, Womonspace, etc.

4. What are your proposed charities and why?

Some proposed charities I have are HIV Edmonton, Pride Center, Stollery, Little Warriors. Becoming an uncle to two amazing kids, they have strengthened my belief that we today need to make things better for the kids of tomorrow. Some of the charities like the Pride Center I would have liked to have access too when I was first coming out in my home town. The Stollery is one that stands out for me, the first few months of my life I was all but raised in a children's hospital because I was premature, so places like the Stollery, Janeway Hospitals (NFLD) have always held a spot close in my heart.

5. Some people might say that the court system is in danger of becoming archaic and obsolete. What changes would you like to see happen in the ISCWR and the ICS ? Where does the court NEED TO go in the future to stay exciting and relevant?

Even though some people may have the feeling that the ISCWR and ICS are becoming archaic and obsolete I believe that our Court Chapter have been taking the steps to bring fresh ideas and perspectives. We are making a conscious effort to re-invent ourselves, to keep things inviting and supported by the community and other chapters. Yet at the same time remaining true to the ideologies that this organization was based upon in the earlier years. We have been successful with gaining new memberships during my time of involvement and the fostering of new performers shows great pride and admiration for what we do. And as long as we keep this happening I believe that we can be around for years to come.

JJ Velour

1. Tell us briefly about your past involvement with the ISCWR and what this organization means to you.

I have been a part of this organization for 3 years now and during those years I have held 3 titles; Prince of the Realm, Imperial Duke 35, and King of Hearts.

The ISCWR is a terrific place to learn more about yourself and meet some amazing people. It helps the community not only financially but emotionally as well for some. I believe in its mission statement and know that the ISCWR is and will continually help and support the community in any way.

The mission of the ISCWRSA is to raise funds, through activities by the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose, for charities and other organizations which either provide direct services to the GLBT community of Edmonton or those which work to promote an accepting attitude to gays and lesbians in the community as a whole.

2. Why now? Why 37?

To be frank, I hadn’t actually planned to run until next year. But someone in the organization mentioned that this might be a good year to run and that she was willing to back me. I thought about it and realized that she was right and that I was ready. To me, it’s not about the number but where my heart is and that I do want to make my footprint in this organization.

3. What are some of your plans, if elected?

• Gay friendly Businesses Dinner

• Play party Weekends (associated with Wares and Wear)

• Baseball Tournament

4. What are your proposed charities and why?

Pride Centre

• they are a staple in the community by providing a venue where GLBT can go for support, information and help
  

5. Some people might say that the court system is in danger of becoming archaic and obsolete. What changes would you like to see happen in the ISCWR and the ICS ? Where does the court NEED TO go in the future to stay exciting and relevant?

Don’t focus so much on the amount of Drag Shows done. People will get tired and bored if its the same old thing they saw the weekend before. Make the Drag show an event; Bigger numbers, more group numbers. And try to think outside the box of what type of fundraisers we can do.