Seventh Annual Legendary Children Celebrates QTBIPOC House and Ball Communities

by Patheresa Wells

Legendary Children, a multi-arts party celebrating queer and trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC) communities, returns with its first in-person event in two years. Taking place at Olympic Sculpture Park from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23, the event will also be available via live stream. This year is the seventh anniversary of Legendary Children, which has been held annually since 2015, including two years of virtual offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Legendary Children is an all-ages, free event. If you are queer, trans, Black, Brown, and love creativity, this is your space.

"Seattle is many different things. It's a music city, and it's a literary city. It's also a city that I would say is very much queer and trans. When you look at the queer and trans community through a racial equity lens, the thing that gives Seattle its heartbeat is oftentimes Black and Brown, queer and trans artists. So that was kind of the DNA of Legendary Children in 2015," said Seattle Public Library's former Public Engagement Programs manager and event co-organizer Davida Ingram.

As a multi-arts program, Legendary Children taps into the heartbeat of the community with live performances, DJs fueling an outdoor dance party, and offerings from the Pacific Northwest's house and ball community and premier drag royalty. QTBIPOC arts leaders at The Seattle Public Library, Seattle Art Museum (SAM), Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas, and Seattle Office of Arts & Culture work together to coordinate the event. Community curators are also appointed each year to help facilitate the event and center QTBIPOC voices from the community. The 2022 community curators are Carlarans, Julian Everett, and Momma Nikki.

Event co-curator and media producer Momma Nikki said in a press release: "Legendary Children is like runway mixed with a family reunion showered in Black & Brown queer love and joy. Where fam knows they are welcome and know they are going to have the best end-of-the summer kickback they've been needing."

House and ball artists performing this year include The Royal House of Noir, The Legendary House of Mattel, House of Khaos, and House of Lyon. There will also be entertainment from DJ Riz, Kween Kay$h, Ms. Goddess Briq House, DaQween, Hot Pink Shade, Mx. Pucks A'Plenty, and others!

Mx. Pucks A'Plenty, a burlesque producer and performer, was the stage manager for the hybrid show last year. This year Pucks will also be performing at the event for the first time in addition to stage managing. They said, "Getting the opportunity to show up, not only as a performer but as a stage manager makes me feel truly seen. It means the world to be considered to perform, especially in an artistic community that has so many talented QTBIPOC performers."

In addition to fantastic performances, there will be many ways for attendees to bring brilliance and build bonds. For example, The Seattle Public Library will host a photo booth and provide reading lists focused on trans and queer Black, Indigenous, and People of Color authors. A vaccine booster clinic will also be onsite, courtesy of Public Health — Seattle & King County. And then, there is the public runway where participants can strut to show off their outfits or dance moves on the runway, reminiscent of a soul train line.

Dr. Stephaun E. Wallace, co-organizer, said that when looking at the event's history, "[Legendary Children] is about preservation of culture, it's about centering culture, it's about interacting with this question of how do we honor and acknowledge the house and ball community? … And the QTBIPOC communities here locally, through drag, through pageantry, through all of the other ways in which community shows up and deserves to be celebrated."

Learn more about the event on the official Facebook page, where the event will also be live streamed.

Visit the Seattle Art Museum Legendary Children website to register for the event. RSVPs and early arrival are encouraged.

Editors' Note: This article was updated on 09/22/2022 to clarify that Davida Ingram formerly worked for SPL and to correct a transcription error.

Featured Image: The Royal House of Noir is a featured house at the seventh annual Legendary Children, an annual celebration of Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC) communities at Olympic Sculpture Park on Friday, Sept. 23, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Photo: Momma Nikki)