The Grand Marshals for Provincetown’s 46th annual 2024 Carnival Parade have just been announced by the host organization, the Provincetown Business Guild, and, drumroll please, they will be Mass. State Rep. Sarah Peake, fashion designer Kevin Aviance and drag queen extraordinaire Sapphira Cristál.
Carnival takes place this year Aug. 17–24 with the theme of Renaissance X Revolution. The parade will roll down Commercial Street on Thursday, August 22.
Sarah Peake is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A Democrat, Peake has served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 2007 and will retire this December after 17 years of service. Her work has impacted Cape Cod and the state on key issues, including the preservation of marriage equality, gun safety, and access to safe and legal abortions. She was also instrumental in the creation of the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund.
Kevin Aviance is a fashion designer, singer, and notable drag superstar of the 80s and 90s club scene in NYC. He has collaborated with DJs and producers, including Junior Vasquez, Basement Jaxx, Deep Dish, Johnny McGovern, and Ari Gold, and has performed alongside Cher, Mary J. Blige, Cyndi Lauper, Janet Jackson, Bette Midler, and more. A member of the House of Aviance, one of the most well-known vogue-ball houses in the U.S., Aviance reemerged when Beyoncé sampled a 1996 dance hit of his in “Pure/Honey,” from her album “Renaissance.”
Sapphira Cristál is an American drag queen who was runner-up and Miss Congeniality on Season 16 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” A classically trained opera singer and composer, Sapphira also holds 14 pageant crowns, including Miss’d America 2020/2021. She is the drag mother of Provincetown’s own drag entertainer extraordinaire, Qya Cristál under the House of Cristál. In addition to entertaining, Sapphira is dedicated to working with young people and charitable organizations. Her personal mission is to uplift, encourage, and inspire those around her.
“This year’s theme spotlights an inflection point of the current socio-political climate,” said Trevor Pittinger, executive director of the PBG. “Queer people have a history of making change using diverse forms of artistic expression. Our beautiful and powerful artist colony at the tip of Cape Cod is filled with tastemakers, changemakers of culture, as well as revolutionaries. We are excited to showcase the fusion of those forces with parade floats, events, and entertainment. Our parade Grand Marshals also exemplify this theme through their decades of impactful work on and off the artistic, advocacy, and political stages.”
The 2024 Provincetown Carnival will include more than 15 events produced by the PBG, including F@g Bash at Sea, a mashup of the always popular Carnival Cruise and the revolutionary weekly party, F@g Bash, and the centerpiece of Carnival Week: a show at Town Hall starring parade Grand Marshal, Sapphira Cristál. Plus, dozens of events produced by local businesses in Ptown. The Carnival Week schedule will be released later this month.
More: ptown.org
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