D.C.'s biggest drag show is its best-kept secret
Axios · Anna Spiegel ·
For nearly 40 years, the Miss Adams Morgan Pageant has been a Halloween spectacle between friends. These days, the massive party is strutting into the spotlight.
D.C.'s famous High Heel Race takes over Dupont Circle on Tuesday. But the city's biggest night in drag might be the Halloween extravaganza you've never heard of.
Why it matters: The Dupont Social Club's 38th annual Miss Adams Morgan Pageant draws around 1,500 revelers to the Washington Hilton for an outrageous drag competition and costume party — a decades-old D.C. tradition that's only recently strutted into the public spotlight.
Flashback: The pageant began in 1988 with a group of friends at LGBTQ+ landmark Annie's Paramount Steak House, born partly out of defiance after its founders experienced a homophobic attack while in drag.