North Texans gathered this weekend for another drag brunch at Hamburger Mary’s, a bar and grill located on Cedar Springs Road.
The eatery, reportedly owned by franchisee Arthur Hood, hosted the Betty & Friends Drag Brunch on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Performers at this drag brunch included four members of the Sisters in Action group: Ginni Beefeater, Betty Sisonnet, Aunt Marge, and Shantae Morgan. The drag show also included a debut performance from Claire Annette. Proceeds from the event were donated to Mama Bears Giving Circle, an advocacy group dedicated to supporting LGBTQ individuals.
Patrons gathered in groups outside the venue and were let inside shortly after 11:00 a.m. before being seated at tables and the bar. Drag queens roamed the room, interacting with guests as they ordered alcoholic drinks and brunch items.
Shortly before noon, the performances began, with drag queens dancing around the room lipsyncing to music while guests offered tips in various amounts. The first performance was by Claire Annette, which included an actual clarinet solo. Another performer dressed as the Disney character Maleficent danced and lipsynced to the 1956 song “I Put a Spell on You.”
One performance by Aunt Marge included several older women joining the drag queen on the stage to dance with her.
Although the event was adults-only, host Betty Sisonnet made a point of saying, “There’s no children here.”
As reported by The Dallas Express, all-ages drag shows prompted protests in Dallas and other cities around North Texas in recent years.
Drag shows have also spurred criticism for purportedly being “derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny.” That was the opinion of the president of West Texas A&M University, Walter Wendler, who canceled a drag show on the campus in March 2023, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
