Vancouver Kiki Awards Ball

Venue: Performance Works on Granville Island

Commentator: Legendary Founding Father Twysted Siriano

DJs: Gago 007 & Princess Ricky Andromeda

• TBA

• TBA - Table
• $10 - Online (Competitor Ticket)
• $20 - Online (Spectator Ticket)
• TBA- Door Ticket

OF THE YEAR: This function kicks off the start of the Vancouver kiki functions, where trophies will count towards OF THE YEAR AWARDS for the 2nd annual Vancouver Kiki Awards Ball in Summer 2025.

ALL AGES KIKI BALL: If you are under the age of 19 - YOU MUST HAVE A GUARDIAN PRESENT and email confirm email guardian via email at [email protected]. If you do not confirm your guardian, you will be turned away on the day of the event.

CONTACT US: If you cannot pay for tickets and would like to attend the ball, please email [email protected], and we will find a way to get you in. You must contact us by noon on March 2nd, 2024.

VIRGIN RUNWAY - 1 Trophy

I'm late; I'm late! For a VERY important date. Virgins, start this ball off right: come in a WHITE RABBIT effect that gives us wonderland in spades. Don't matter what time you show up; you gotta make it fashionable.

VIRGIN PERFORMANCE - 1 Trophy

In 3000 years, will they remember the time I missed that dip? Bring it in a SAND-colored effect to withstand the ravages of time, and give us a performance that kicks off your next era.

HANDS PERFORMANCE - 1 Trophy

Show us how precise your hands of time are with a fabulous CLOCK effect. Can your timepiece keep up? It must come with a printed reference photo.

BIZARRE - 1 Trophy

Infinity contains everything we know and then some! It winds far beyond concepts of time, space or even identity. Reach into the expanse of your mind and create a look that pulls out never-before-seen silhouettes and emotions. It must incorporate an ENDLESS LOOP in some fashion.

RUNWAY - 2 Trophies

(European, All-American)

They say a stitch in time saves nine, don't they? Let's see your handiwork in action. Prove that you know your garments inside and out by incorporating VISIBLE STITCHING, PATCHWORK, and an elegant SCULPTING OF FABRIC. Seal the deal with an accomplished walk and make this year your year in Runway.

REALNESS - 10 Trophies

(School Boy, Pretty Boy, Everyday, Thug, Executive, Transman, Butch, Fem Queen, Drags, Legendary)

If these are the days of our lives, then I'm bringing the drama tonight. Make a special guest appearance in a SOAP OPERA-inspired effect & glue us to the screen. It must come with a printed reference photo.

FACE - 4 Trophies

(Male Figure, Female Figure, GNC, Legendary)

This? This is the face of a classic in the making, and don't forget it. Replicate the effect of a HISTORIC BEAUTY and show us why your features should be remembered for years to come. It must come with a printed reference photo.

BEST DRESSED - 4 Trophies

(Male Figure, Female Figure, GNC, Legendary)

We would have nothing today without our Legends and Icons, especially our Pioneers and those who walked before such titles existed. Pay homage to a MEMORABLE EFFECT FROM BALLROOM'S ILLUSTRIOUS PAST. Make the look your own, but don't lose the polish that made it so special in the first place. It must come with a printed reference photo.

BODY - 4 Trophy

(Male Figure, Female Figure, GNC, Legendary)

Our timeline is so sensitive! The placement of some delicate wings could change the course of history forever. Bring the cause to this effect with BUTTERFLIES of any shape or size.

PERFORMANCE - 10 Trophies

(BQVF, FQ, RWT, Womens, Drags, Trans Man, Butch, GNC, Legends, Icons)

I am the future my ancestors fought for, and the future...is now. Ring in the dawn of a new age of voguing with a FUTURISTIC effect that'll make us check our calendars. Eat up the competition in your battles for a healthy New Year's bite.

POP, DIP, & SPIN - 1 Trophy

Old is gold. Pose your way through phrases of strength, precision, and symmetry to take us back to the old way, like it was yesterday. Tie it all together in a GOLD effect so we can't look away this time.

COMMENTATOR VS COMMENTATOR - 1 Trophy

Tick, tick, tick, we only have one minute to save the world. Make the alarm bells ring with a hot chant that incorporates an energized COUNT DOWN. Keep the effect simple and timeless.

CLUB KID FACE - 1 Trophy

Oh, you're saying my beat doesn't belong in a museum? Then I'll become the finest forgery there ever was! Reference an ARTISTIC MOVEMENT with an over-the-top use of makeup and create something new in the process. It must come with a printed reference photo.

We would like to acknowledge that we are coming together to celebrate on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil- Waututh) Nations.

As an organization that is founded by non Black and Latinx people we acknowledge our ongoing need to question and reflect on how we navigate practicing our ballroom scene here in Vancouver, BC. We know we do not have all the answers and are always looking to be better. We are always seeking and open to how we can better support the Queer/Trans Black and Brown folks that founded the culture we love and share through VVJ.

Creating safe space has always been at the heart of ballroom culture and we hope that this event can be a safe space for everybody to enjoy.

Oppressive attitudes and behaviours including but not limited to misogyny, transphobia, racism, fat phobia, ableism, and general bigotry are not welcome here.

Racism, Anti-Blackness, homophobia, transphobia and sexism are ongoing battles that are being experienced in America, Canada and the rest of the world. We all have a lot of work to do in the ongoing fight for equality and have compiled a list of resources to help you support, donate, educate and take action to help you wherever you may be in your continued unlearning/relearning process.

If there are ways VVJ can better create an inclusive and safe space please do inform us by e-mail at [email protected] so that we may listen to your input and improve on this for future events.

An event that hosts a series of competitive categories, each with their own focus. Having been birthed in NYC by communities of Queer Black and Latinex people out of a need for safe nightlife spaces due to the discrimination they faced, balls are typically centred around creating safe space for LGBTQIA2+ POC.

Spectators, competitors, and judges, come together to celebrate people within their communities and compete against each other in different categories. Some of the most popular categories are Vogue Performance, Sex Siren, Hands, Runway, Bazaar, and Face. Each of these categories have specific requirements, and competitors are judged by a panel on how well they accomplish them. Before competing against others, category participants are required to “walk” one by one to receive full approval from all judges, known as ‘receiving your 10s’. Competitors who make their 10s battle one on one against each other to impress the judges until there is one winner.

Ballroom culture, drag ball culture, the house-ballroom community, and similar terms describe an underground queer subculture in which people "walk" (i.e., compete), perform, dance, lip-sync, and model in different categories, which are designed to simultaneously epitomize and satirize gender constructs, occupations, and social classes, while also offering an escape from reality. Category participants are required to “walk” one by one to receive full approval from all judges, known as ‘receiving your 10s’. Competitors are judged on their abilities, “effect” (costumes, appearance, theatrics, presentation), and perceived “realness” (embodied and/or visual believability, authenticity). Those who make their 10s battle one on one against each other for trophies, prizes, and glory.

Ballroom culture emerged in the late 1960s in New York City, birthed by the Black and Latinx LGBTQ2S+ community who were excluded from the drag pageant world of white America. The development of the Ballroom scene created safe and inclusive spaces for these communities to explore and experience life styles from which they were excluded due to systemic oppression.

Vogue is a freestyle competitive dance form that utilizes 5 key elements in an improvised battle with other competitors. Currently (although open to interpretation within various vogue communities), the five popular elements of Vogue Performance are catwalk, hands, duckwalk, spins and dips, and floor performance.

“For decades, ballroom, ball or house culture has been a way for queer Blacks and Latinos to live their best lives – that is, to figure out how to respond to a society that devalued their lives and attempted to erase their presence. Through elaborate performances incorporating and commenting on race, class and gender, the ball community has historically reflected the American Dream and one’s exclusion from it.” - Les Fabian Brathwaith (Quote from Rolling Stones).

Please contact the VKBA for more information at [email protected]

Host or Publisher Van Vogue Jam Arts Society