House of LeMay
Encyclopedia
The House of LeMay is a drag
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...

 performance team founded in the early 1990s by Bob Bolyard (Amber LeMay) and Michael Hayes (Margaurite LeMay). The other regular member of the team is Johnnie McLaughlin (Lucy Belle LeMay). The House of LeMay is based in Burlington, Vermont
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....

, but in their act they say they are from "The Hot Dam Trailer Park in Beaver Pond, Vermont".

Work

The House of LeMay performs throughout the year, and they often raise money for charitable causes. They organize and host the annual "Winter is a Drag Ball", one of the largest drag balls in New England. This event raises thousands of dollars for the Vermont People With AIDS Coalition, and sells about 1000 tickets each year. Members of The House of LeMay have also performed repeatedly in Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...

 at the annual drag brunch, a fundraiser for Help Our Women. More than once, The House of LeMay has been a part of a public school fundraiser for the drama department at Edmunds Middle School.

The House of LeMay is the subject of the 2008 documentary, "Slingbacks and Syrup". This documentary explores the first 15 years of The House of LeMay, and illustrates how they rose from being an unknown act to widely accepted members of the community. "Slingbacks and Syrup" had its world premiere at the Vermont International Film Festival in 2008.

The House of LeMay appeared on Logo (TV channel)
Logo (TV channel)
Logo is an American digital cable television channel owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division. Launched in June 2005, the channel's programs are geared towards the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community...

, when the gay travel show Bump! visited Burlington, Vermont. This episode is a part of Bump! season 4, and first aired in February, 2010.

In 2011 the House of LeMay was featured in the phone app, "Ask Some Drag Queens." This comic phone app allows the user to receive answers to their questions from The House of LeMay. The app features over 60 original photos of the members of the House of LeMay, as well as almost 100 comic answers. 10% of any profits from the phone app are donated to The I'm Too Young For This Cancer Foundation.

Awards

In 2009, the Honorable Bob Kiss, Mayor of Burlington, Christopher Neff, Executive Director of Outright VT, Mark Redmond, Executive Director of Spectrum Youth & Family Services, Phil Fiermonte of US Senator Sanders’ office, and the staff of the RU12? Community Center gave The House of LeMay a certificate for the "Vermont GBLQT Lifetime Activism and Performing Arts Achievement Award for Outstanding leadership and commitment to bettering and entertaining the community."

Lucy Belle LeMay has repeatedly won awards in Provincetown, MA at the annual Drag Bingo fundraiser. She was named "Best Drag Queen" in 2001, and won "Biggest Hair" in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007. In 2008, Margaurite LeMay won "Most Outrageous Drag Queen" at this event.

In 2009 and 2010, the House of LeMay won a Daysie award for “Best Vermont Blog, non-political,” from Seven Days, the newspaper that runs the annual awards.

In 2011 at the 13th Annual Queer Community Dinner in Vermont, The House of LeMay was named the recipients of the 2011 Queer Volunteer of the Year award.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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