by Jas Keimig, photos by Susan Fried
On the evening of Friday, Nov. 17, Paccar Hall at the Olympic Sculpture Park hosted the eighth annual Legendary Children. Featuring the superstars of Seattle's drag and ballroom scenes, it is an annual celebration of Indigenous, Black, and Brown queer and trans people and legacies that's been going strong since 2015. On this night, attendees arrived in sparkly tops, sky-high heels, bright-pink fur coats, and perfectly coiffed 'dos to show off on the public runway and to each other. The event was co-organized with The Seattle Public Library (SPL) and the Seattle Art Museum, and the crowd perused SPL tables, sipped bevvies, looked at books from the Legendary Children library courtesy of Loving Room, and hooped and hollered the house down.
Hosted by CarLarans, Goddess Briq House, and Aleksa Manila, this year's edition of Legendary Children starred tons of talent from the Seattle area. And also a lot of Beyonc. Highlights of the night included Aaliyah Sphora bringing her own fan to her dance number; drag artist Hailey Tayathy's lip-sync critiquing the lack of Native art at the Sculpture Park; CHamoru queer art collective Guma' Gela' teaching the crowd how to say "Hello!" in CHamoru (Hafa Adai!); and commentator Notorious Tori 007's incisive emceeing.
The most emotional moment of the night came during the tribute to the late Dr. Stephaun Elite Wallace. One of the original founders of Legendary Children and a public health and social justice advocate, Dr. Wallace passed earlier this year, dealing a huge blow to the ballroom and public health communities.
To honor his legacy, Legendary Children had an altar for Dr. Wallace's chosen family and community to reflect on his life and the lives of other queer and trans people who have died. They also gave out a cash award to four community members continuing Wallace's work: Aaliyah Sphora, Ms. Teen Pride 2022; Louis Shackelford, acting director of external relations, HIV Vaccine Trials Network and COVID-19 Prevention Network at Fred Hutch; Randy Ford, aka Asha Noir, executive director of the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas and ballroom legend; and Julian Everett, the acting director of the Dr. Stephaun Wallace Advocacy and Community Engagement division.
"We are so honored to keep Stephaun's legacy going," C. Davida Ingram, Legendary Children co-founder, told the audience that night.
Check out pictures from the joyous celebration from photographer Susan Fried.
Editors' Note: This article was updated to correct the date of the Legendary Children event.
Jas Keimig is a writer and critic based in Seattle. They previously worked on staff at The Stranger, covering visual art, film, music, and stickers. Their work has also appeared in Crosscut, South Seattle Emerald, i-D, Netflix, and The Ticket. They also co-write Unstreamable for Scarecrow Video, a column and screening series highlighting films you can't find on streaming services. They won a game show once.
Susan Fried is a 40-year veteran photographer. Her early career included weddings, portraits, and commercial work — plus, she's been The Skanner News' Seattle photographer for 25 years. Her images have appeared in the University of Washington's The Daily, The Seattle Globalist, Crosscut, and many more.She's been an Emerald contributor since 2015. Follow her on Instagram @fried.susan.
📸 Featured Image: Aaliyah Sphora dances during a performance by Legendary Children on Nov. 17 at the Olympic Sculpture Park. (Photo: Susan Fried)
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