POSH BALL 2024

DOORS 5PM > LSS 6PM > END BY MIDNIGHT

The Legendary MikeQ

Iconic Overall Father Dashaun Basquiat

Iconic Overall Mother Miss Shalae Basquiat

Be our guest, be our guest, put our SERVING to the test! A step up from our regular Kiki programming in the city, this will be Vancouver's first ever Mainstream function - which means bigger cash prizes, more dramatic moments and only the best of Ballroom on the floor. Make your reservations today, because you'll definitely want a seat for this fabulous feast for the eyes, and don't forget to tip your servers ;)

This years POSH BALL features the a star studded night be international Ballroom excellence: The Legendary MikeQ on the decks, Iconic Overall Father Dashaun Basuquiat on the mic, and extra special performance by the truly most fabulous Beyonce impersonator of the world Iconic Overall Mother Miss Shalae Basquiat!

$35 Online Ticket

$$ Door Tickets (cash + cc accepted)

TBC - Tables

If you are unable to pay for a tickets and would like come to the ball please email [email protected] and we will find a way to get you in (require 72 hours notice before the ball).

Commentator VS Commentator - $200 Sponsored by (Updated Jun 19, 2024)

ORDER UP—Give us a chant that will make us say “YES CHEF” for your 10s. Must wear all white from head to toe.

OTA BODY (MF, FF,) - $200 () - An accessible genderfluid skincare line to cleanse & nourish functioning skin (updated June 4, 2024)

We want to see the most perfectly prepared BODY, nothing underdone or overcooked… well basted and glistening with all the right garnishes in the right places. Bring that juicy body with a garnish of your choice and make us savour every moment and make us want to take you home for later.

Hands Performance - $100 Sponsored by (Updated June 20, 2024)

You're working in front of the house tonight and checking every table, shelf, chair for dust - bring your hands performance in a white glove and tell us a story.

New Face - $$

Serve your face on a silver platter! Only the most beautiful dishes are reserved for silver - bring your most delectable face in a silver effect.

OTA Face (BQ, FQ, BQID, Women, Transmen, Butch, Legends, Icons) - $$$

Bring it as the Maître d' and show us what's on the FACE menu for the evening. All walkers must bring a PRINTED MENU with their face qualification on it and be given to each judge. Effect must give Maître d' aka manager of the establishment - think suit tailoring.

Beginner Runway - $$

You took an extra busing shift to show off to the manager you got what it takes - bring it in an apron and show that you can walk the talk.

Beginner Performance - $$ (Updated June 4, 2024)

Bring it in a fast food chain inspired restaurant uniform and don't forget to add all those 5 elements in the order!

Performance (BQVF, FQ, RWT, Womens, Drags, Trans Man, Butch, GNC, Legends, Icons) - $1000

Vegetables and Fruit always bring a great POP of color to any dish, give your best performance in your vegetable inspires color below:

BQVF - Eggplant Purple

FQ - Tomato Red

RWT - Corn Yellow

Womens - Carrot Orange

Drags - Rhubarb Pink

Trans Man - Spinach Green

Butch - Blueberry Blue

GNC - Mix of vegetables/colors of your choosing

Legends - Potato Beige

Icons - Cauliflower White

Pop, Dip and Spin - $300  Sponsored by (Updated Jun 19, 2024)

La cuenta por favor! The bill is up, how are you gonna pay? Bring it in an effect inspired by either Cash or Card - and must include fake money or fake credit cards.

OTA Runway (European- Small Boys, Tall Boys, Big Boys, Women, BQID, FQ, GNC, Legends, Icons (All American- MF, FF, GNC, Legends, Icons) - $1000 (Update June 10,2024)

Your on the line on a busy night with multiple covers back to back, don't get CHOPPED and show us why you deserved those 3 Michelin stars. Bring it in a fashionable chef inspired effect from the likes of the iconic culinary tv show IRON CHEF or other well known culinary master!

*Must bring a reference on phone or printout

OTA Realness (School Boy, Pretty Boy, Executive, Thugs, Everyday, BQID, FQ, Legends, Icons) - $$$

You made reservations at your favorite restaurant, but they double-booked you! Dress up and look for option B for the night out, whether that's a steakhouse, a cocktail bar, or Popeye's!

OTA Best Dressed (MF,FF, GNC) - $300 sponsored by (Update June 19, 2024)

YOU’RE A FOODIE OF THE WORLD with STYLE TO BOOT. Bring it in your most amazing cultural *inspired garment from where YOU ARE FROM.

*Please no forms of cultural appropriation in these effects, and we will be asking you where you’re from for your 10’s

OTA Sex Siren (MF, FF) - $$$

Let them eat CAKE! Saving the best for last, bring it in a delectable confection to satisfy the panel's sweet tooth!

Bizarre - $$$

BLACK BOX is known in the culinary world as a way to push a chef's creative juices by creating a dish with a surprise ingredient, a la Iron Chef! Bizarre effect has to reveal the mystery ingredient.

1. Please come prepared knowing what to expect. If you are walking in a category for the first time.
2. Please do your research and understand that there can only be one winner per category.
3. Look up videos on YouTube, come to a VVJ session, look at the resources on www.vanvoguejam.com, reach out to us by e-mail or on Instagram. Please use the resources around you to be prepared. We also encourage you to ask us for feedback before you compete so that you feel strong going into the ball.
4. We want everyone to have fun, to feel they were able to serve their best, and we want everyone to have a fair chance at competing but you WILL be chopped during your 10s and unable to compete if you are unprepared.

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.

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).

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.

Please contact VVJ for more information at [email protected]

Event Venue

Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, 1000 Burrard Street, Vancouver, Canada