Heat radiated out of Fantasy Nightclub, 3641 N. Halsted, on the night of Nov. 11. Chicago’s fourth annual Gaggys had begun.
This year’s awards, once again hosted by drag icons Abhijeet, Alexandrea Diamond, Bambi Banks and Lucy Stoole, celebrated the best of the city’s drag and nightlife with the theme ‘Garden of Gaggy Secrets.’ The awards show was punctuated by performances from Entertainer of the Year nominees and last year’s winner, Helvetikah Blak.
Neutral Gena was named 2026’s Entertainer of the Year; it was her third nomination for the prestigious award. During her acceptance speech, she spoke about the importance of failure and doing drag for joy.
“I just think it’s so important that you fail and lose and just come back better every single time that you can,” she said. “Always be in the biggest competition with yourself.”
Neutral Gena said that drag has become her whole life.
“This community has saved my life 100 times, my drag family has saved my life 100 times and everybody behind me has saved my life 100 times and given me so many opportunities,” she said, gesturing to the Gaggys hosts.
The Gaggys for Drag Queen of the Year and Drag King of the Year went to Starr Banks and D’Cameron May respectively.
Throughout the night, attendees and winners talked about how important Chicago has been for the drag community.
“I’m the drag queen I am because I’m in Chicago,” said Galilea, who won best Newcomer Queen. Best Newcomer King was awarded to Sebastian Black.
“Thank you for making this my home,” said the winner of the Best Wig Stylist category, Ben Infinite, who moved to Chicago two years ago to start their wig business.
Attendee Briar Rose has been doing drag for three years, and this is her first year in Chicago after moving from Dallas. She said that she hasn’t heard of any other cities with award ceremonies like the Gaggys.
Stardust Summer, another first-time attendee, said seeing familiar performers celebrated for their hard work was the best part of the night.
“I used to live in areas where drag wasn’t super accessible to me,” they said. “Even though I see it all the time now, I’m never gonna take it for granted.”
Attendee Pegatron said that at this time in politics, it’s especially magical to engage with a large and outspoken queer community.
“It’s a privilege not many get to have, and we are truly blessed with some of the most diverse, talented, smart, kind, loving, crazy queer individuals,” they said.
Other winners of the night included Clue U for Performance of the Year; Death At The Drag Show for Best Drag Show; and the recently-opened Chicago Eagle for Best Club. Brooke Lynn Hytes, the host of Canada’s Drag Race presented the Tajma Hall of Fame Award to Maya Douglas, the legendary performer who helped shape drag before it became culturally mainstream.
“I love having a room full of 21-year-olds listen to the 40, 50 and 60-year-olds of our community talk about how they got to where they are,” said Gaggys co-host Abhijeet after the event. “It gives us a moment of hope for the future, it gives us solidarity to be with each other.”
She also said that every day when LGBTQ+ artists get up and do something, they’re making queer history.
Before the final awards were presented, the packed room took a moment of silence to honor people the Chicago nightlife community has lost this year. Many speeches and performances were dedicated to those who have passed, including Entertainer of the Year nominee Sativa Diamond’s tribute to Indica Saphira Divine.
Tracy Baim, who is owner and co-founder of Windy City Times, won this year’s Gaggys Legacy Award.
Presenting the award was last year’s Jojo Baby Life of the Party Award recipient, Kristen Kaza. Kaza talked about the importance of journalism that uplifts voices in the queer community, especially during the 1980s AIDS epidemic.
“While the mainstream papers turned away, [Windy City Times] told us who we lost and who we could fight for,” she said. “It’s how you found your people.”
In her acceptance speech, Baim said the DJs, queens and dolls of the 1980s saved the queer community.
“We couldn’t have made it out if it was all about the pain. We had to know that there was something to live for,” she said. “And you in this room tonight, you are proof to your ancestors that it was worth fighting for.”
