What to know
- International Drag Day is celebrated on July 16, honouring the artistry, creativity and cultural impact of drag performers around the world.
- Three special drag events are happening in Toronto tonight, including drag bingo, a Canada’s Drag Race viewing party and an interactive Queereoke show.
- Looking for more? Toronto offers drag entertainment year-round, with weekly brunches, cabarets, bingo nights and celebrity impersonation shows across the city.
July 16 is International Drag Day — and Toronto is the perfect place to celebrate.
International Drag Day, celebrated every year on July 16, recognizes the artistry, creativity and cultural impact of drag performers around the world. The day honours drag kings, drag queens and other drag artists who use performance to entertain, challenge gender norms and celebrate self-expression. It also shines a light on drag’s deep roots in LGBTQ2S+ history and its role in fostering community, visibility and activism.
Now everyone knows that Toronto is the Queer capital of Canada, and as such, the country’s drag hub. Without further ado, Queer & Now has rounded up three drag events happening in the city this evening to help you mark the occasion.
3 drag shows happening in Toronto tonight
Messy’s Campy Dirty Bingo
Where: 2522 Queen St. W.
Calling all Bingo lovers with dirty minds, Messy Margaret is bringing back her iconic drag event, a unique game with a campy twist. Starting at 7:00 p.m., the event features four rounds of Bingo, with sexy prizes from Loveshop, Cottage Springs and more.
Meanwhile, the Toronto powerhouse will be delivering belly laughs and good times all night long with her triple C style: Camp, Comedy and Cringe. Individual tickets are around $21 each, but can be purchased at a discounted price when bundled.
Canada’s Drag Race All-Stars Viewing Party
Where: The Drink, 459 Church St.
Start your engines and head to The Village for a Canada’s Drag Race Allstars viewing party, featuring local superstars Jada Shada Hudson and Priyanka. Enjoying hosting from Hudson, while Priyanka, who is judging this season of the popular reality show, graces attendees with a performance later in the evening.
Doors open at 8:00 p.m., while the episode starts at 9:00 p.m.
Queereoke
Where: Three Dollar Bill, 1592 Queen St. W.
Enjoy an interactive drag performance at Queereoke, over at the Three Dollar Bill in the Queer West neighbourhood. At this unique event, the audience sings the tunes, while the queens lip-sync alongside them.
Sign up is on a first come first serve basis, with two sets of two performances from queens Kanna Worm, Polterguy, Lady Nova, and Mac N Cheese. This is a masked event. Event tickets are $15 ahead of time, and $20 at the door, with a pay-what-you-can option available.
There will be a raffle collecting funds for Help Sondos, a grassroots mutual aid and community campaign founded by Kanna Worm to help Palestinian hairstylist Sondos and her family survive and relocate from Gaza. Raffle tickets are priced at $3/ticket, 2/$5, and an arm’s length for $10.
5 running shows in Toronto to check out
While International Drag Day is July 16, Toronto is a city where you can check out a drag show any day of the week. From storytelling events to brunches, cabarets and diva impersonators, drag queens and kings take over the town with glitter, wigs, and electric energy seven days a week. Here are five running shows that you can check out in the city.
Fabulous Saturday Drag Show
Location: O’Grady’s, 518 Church St.
Church and Wellesley is the hub of drag performances in Toronto, and O’Grady’s knows how to put on a show. Every Saturday from 12:00-3:00 p.m., talented queens strut their stuff while the kitchen preps and serves a delicious brunch, with vegetarian options available.
Tickets are about $12, and each Saturday features a different collaboration of performers. You can find the lineup for each brunch on the pub’s Instagram.
But if brunch is not your thing, O’Grady’s has also been hosting the Drag and Dinner Comedy Cabaret Show for over ten years now, running every Saturday (and Friday!) from 7:00-10:00 p.m., with tickets set at $5. Hosted by Jordana Myles, the event menu features charcuterie boards, salmon dinner, mac and cheese, and plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and halal options.
Illusions The Drag Queen Show
Location: 575 King St. W.
If celebrity impersonation drag is your thing, you have to check out Illusions. Running most Fridays and Saturdays, the show is known for its imitations of iconic women from the screen and stage.
Described as a combination of spectacular burlesque-style drag and comedy performances, the show features some of the best celebrity impersonators in the industry and the funniest local drag queens.
Attendees can look forward to impersonations of stars like Madonna, Cher, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Liza Minelli, Joan Rivers, Beyoncé, Pink, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Rihanna, Amy Winehouse and more. Tickets start at $35.
Illusions also offers brunch seating on most Saturdays and Sundays; these tickets also start at $35.
Miss Moço’s Drag Brunch
Location: The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W.
Self-proclaimed as Canada’s longest-running drag brunch host, Miss Moço takes over The Drake Hotel every Saturday for a brunch event you won’t forget. And it’s for a good cause; this year she has partnered with Egale Canada, an organization supporting the creation of a world without homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and all other forms of oppression so that every person can achieve their full potential, free from hatred and bias.
A pillar of the local drag community, Miss Moço has built up a dedicated community that shows up and shows out to her weekly events religiously, so make sure you snag your tickets well in advance. Tickets are set at $15, and purchase of a brunch from the prix-fixe menu, set at $38, is mandatory for all guests. The performance is all ages, and shows start weekly at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Lotta Bimbo Bingo!
Where: The Drink, 459 Church St.
Head to The Village on Thursdays for their weekly Lotta Bimbo Bingo, an opportunity to try your luck at winning some sexy prizes from local sex and novelty shop Men’s Room.
The show is hosted by superstar queens Carlotta Carlisle and Bella Bimbo, and tickets are only $5. The Drink hosts various weekly drag shows Friday-Wednesday; you can find tickets for all of the shows on Eventbrite.
Glad Day Drag Brunch
Where: Piano Piano
While the iconic Glad Day Bookshop left The Village in 2025, moving to a smaller space on Queen West, the shop’s drag brunch series continues at a new venue. Taking over Piano Piano, every week organizers curate a show featuring different guests, a delicious brunch, and immaculate vibes.
Seating starts at 11:15 a.m., with the show beginning at 12:00 p.m. and wrapping by 1:30 p.m. Tickets start at around $9 for a seat at the bar, and for a table seat. Drinks and food are not included in this show fee.
All ticket proceeds go to pay performers and support Glad Day Lit, a non-profit that works to amplify the power, freedom and imagination of 2SLGBTQ+ people through culture and story.
