Community TANTRUMS
& TIARAS Babette Schwartz On The Battle Of
The Bar Queens by bill biss
LAST YEAR, WE HAD A HORSE. WE ALSO HAD A DONKEY ONE YEAR; THEY HAD TO WAIT
LITTLE CROWDED AND A LITTLE SMELLY.”
BACK STAGE WITH US! (LAUGHS) IT GOT A
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”
That is… it’s time again forTantrums & Tiaras, a signature fun-d-raising event for the San Diego LGBT Center. Hostess with the mostess, Babette Schwartz is contributing her fiery wit and humor as five contestants (as of print time) strut their sparkle, sequins and sass to compete for this year’s title win. The hitch? These five men all work at the following establishments [Flicks, Gossip Grill, Baja Betty’s, Martinis Above Fourth and Rich’s] and will discover their compulsion to compete and their inner “beauty queen.” Babette Schwartz enthuses, “I’m very proud to be able to host it and make people laugh. To stitch it all together and keep the ball rolling. I’m always excited about this show. It’s a very fun show to do. It’s great that we’re raising such huge amounts of money for The Center. The contestants are all a hoot! They are young and energetic and full of life. It’s just a really positive environment to be in.” These contestants “don’t have to do it alone.”
To prepare for the competition, as Babette tells The Rage Monthly, “They all have some form of sponsor or fairy godmother-type of thing helping them out.” Thank goodness for that as there are three tiers of competition toTantrums & Tiaras. To win that “tiara” they must compete in a bathing suit competition, a sashay down the runway in evening
gowns where each one will be asked by Babette, the proverbial question, “World peace, anyone?” and the always entertaining, talent competition. Babette adds, “They come out, introduce themselves and have some sort of outfit on that represents who they are and who their character is.” It’s been noted over the years thatTantrums &
Tiaras strives to be as fun and un-politically correct as possible. Yet, Schwartz recognizes the dedication to achieve that crowning achievement and time and effort found within each contestant. “There is all sorts of rehearsal and that’s going on right now. They all try hard and they all do a really good job. It is like a real pageant but then again, it’s not like a real pageant, of course. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a real drag pageant but those are serious and really cut-throat. This whole thing is just fun and campy from start to finish!” With a title such asTantrums & Tiaras, it’s
easy to imagine the frenetic backstage antics of a reality show such asToddlers and Tiaras. Just add testosterone to the mix and the vanity of the male peacock mixed with a gay sensibility… Well, as Tantrums & Tiaras spoofsToddlers in its title, there is, as Babette says, “Always the opportunity for amateurs to really knock it out of the park.” The Cockettes [who took the name in honor of the original “Cockettes”] are on-hand to entertain and
work the crowd for donations. At least a dozen of these fabulous femme-fatales have been rehearsing since last October to present a “spectacular, spectacular” musical number during the evening’s proceedings. Over the years, there have been quite a few animals (of the four-legged variety) getting into the “talent” portion of the proceedings, asking Babette if there’s ever been a python involved yet? “No... No snakes. Last year, we had a horse. We also had a donkey one year; they had to wait back stage with us! (Laughs) It got a little crowded and a little smelly.” In 2015, this “fun-for-all” reached their fundrais-
ing goal of close to $50,000 with a handsome donation of $10,000 from the Observatory North Park. 2016’sTantrums & Tiaras is being held once again at the Observatory North Park and Babette Schwartz is very proud of the organizers for the event. “The people who put it on… Ian Johnson, Matt Ramon and Chris Barone; everybody who works on it meshes and complements each other really well.”
Tantrums & Tiaras will be held at the Observatory North Park onSunday, February 21. For tickets and more information, go
totantrumstiaras.org.
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RAGE monthly | FEBRUARY 2016
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