Nation's first 'drag laureate' kicks off Pride in San Francisco

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/12/ [login to see] /pride-san-francisco-drag-laureate
Getting D'Arcy Drollinger ready for her first official appearance as San Francisco drag laureate was a production.

The artist, night club owner and newly appointed government official stood in the living room of her San Francisco apartment as two helpers grappled with a set of bejeweled, custom-made artificial nails and wedged her into a pair of white patent stilettos and a tight, pink skirt suit. Finally, Drollinger stepped out of the house, and into a very busy schedule.

"I am speaking at the San Francisco Arts Commission," Drollinger said. "I'm also on the same day speaking at the Entertainment Commission. I'm also going to speak at a high school. I'll be in the parade with the mayor."

The word "laureate" is most often attached to the winner of a Nobel Prize, or a poet whose job it is to mark official occasions in verse. But a "drag laureate" is something new.