Mula Lay – Staff Writer

Drag Queen Bingo is an upcoming event on February 20 taking place in Lund. The event will be hosted by returning Twin Cities queen Victoria DeVille, who hosted the previous BINGO night, and will introduce a new queen, Sunny Kiriyama, to Gustavus. Similar to the Drag Bingo earlier this fall, the upcoming event will feature bingo for those who attend, but this time around it will also feature performances from the two drag queens.
“We wanted to present the students with an opportunity where they could participate in bingo and have fun […] and also being able to have the drag show that we haven’t had for a couple of years because of COVID, so we wanted to put these two things together and are hoping that it’s really popular and successful,” Junior and Late-night and Weekends Executive for the Campus Activity Board (CAB) Julia Simms said.
The event will happen in two shifts. One from 9 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. and the other from 11:15 p.m. to 1 a.m.. Within each shift, there will be ten rounds of bingo for the students sitting on the bleachers and in between the bingo rounds the Queens will put on a performance of lip-syncing and dancing.

As a first year student, I think that it is very easy for me to forget that part of CAB’s purpose and student orgs on campus is to bring fun and exciting events to students to make campus life not just about school, but about community and building new relationships and just having fun.”
–Claire Lind

“Most of our prizes, at least a good chunk of them, are going to be gift cards or items from shops and boutiques and stores here in Saint Peter itself,” Sophomore and CAB’s Social Media Executive Emma Thompson said.
The prizes are meant to engage the students to interact with the small businesses of Saint Peter and will not only be a good way for the students to explore Saint Peter but will also be a good way for students to connect with the Saint Peter locals. The prizes come in gift cards to boutiques, stores, and one of the CAB members were particularly excited about is a succulent basket.
Due to COVID restrictions, there will be strategies implemented to mitigate close contact. The bleachers will be set up in a way that will have attendees sit six feet apart and only 217 students will be allowed in for both shifts. The event is on a first-come, first-serve basis and the first ten students to be allowed in will get a Gustavus pride sticker.
Although there will not be any student performers like before COVID times, this event is a good way to bring back a sense of normality, and also introduces the first-year class to a popular event on campus.