{"id":70418,"date":"2025-12-14T16:37:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T16:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/70418\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T16:37:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T16:37:29","slug":"rupauls-queens-stop-by-logan-squares-drag-race-the-experience-for-meet-and-greet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/70418\/","title":{"rendered":"RuPaul\u2019s Queens Stop By Logan Square\u2019s &#8216;Drag Race: The Experience&#8217; For Meet-And-Greet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>LOGAN SQUARE \u2014 Chicago holds a special place in Darlene Mitchell\u2019s heart. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s where Mitchell came out and where she saw her first drag performance \u2014 and this week, she returned to the city as part of her \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u201d season 18 press tour.<\/p>\n<p>Mitchell, who lived in Chicago 2009-2013 while attending Columbia College, is one of the 14 queens battling for the \u201cDrag Race\u201d crown this season. On Thursday, Mitchell and her fellow contestants stopped by Drag Race: The Experience in Logan Square to promote the latest season, which premieres Jan. 2.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI loved my time in Chicago. I feel like I really found myself and learned what I was capable of here,\u201d said Mitchell, who grew up in north-central Indiana.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\/2025\/09\/22\/drag-race-the-experience-bringing-rupauls-world-to-logan-square-in-november\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Drag Race: The Experience opened at the end of November at Exhibition Hub Art Center<\/a>, 2367 W. Logan Blvd. The immersive residency was originally set to end Dec. 30, but it has been extended through the end of February. It features interactive challenges, exclusive unseen footage from the show and recreations of iconic locations like the Werk Room.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6579-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-962473\"  \/>Drag Race: The Experience is at  Exhibition Hub Art Center at 2367 W. Logan Blvd. through February.  Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n<p>Ciara Myst, a season 18 contestant from Indianapolis, said walking through The Experience felt \u201cfresh, but also somehow very familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt looks just like the Werk Room we know,\u201d she said. \u201cThey got it down to everything but a lipstick message from some diva who just left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chicago\u2019s Drag Race: The Experience is the first of its kind. In a statement, Bailey and Randy Barbato, the co-founders of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldofwonder.com\/#lp-pom-block-437\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener external nofollow\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">World of Wonder<\/a>, the company putting on the experience, said they chose Chicago to be The Experience\u2019s first stop because the city is \u201chome to some of America\u2019s most celebrated drag queens, and during these challenging times we wanted to spread the light and joy of drag.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Drag in Chicago <a href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\/2023\/06\/22\/the-art-of-drag-a-tribute-to-chicagos-vast-beautiful-and-creative-drag-community\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">dates back more than a century<\/a>. Bars like the <a href=\"https:\/\/blockclubchicago.org\/2025\/09\/23\/leather-bar-chicago-eagle-taking-over-baton-show-lounge-but-drag-shows-will-continue-owners-say\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">former Baton Show Lounge<\/a> and Charlie\u2019s Chicago became known as drag staples, and many Chicago queens have competed on \u201cDrag Race\u201d over the years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6592-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-962472\"  \/>Drag Race: The Experience is at  Exhibition Hub Art Center at 2367 W. Logan Blvd. through February.  Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n<p>During the Thursday event, five fans got to meet the season 18 contestants. Fans were selected after tagging their friends in a post on social media. Carlos Ortega, who lives in Little Village, said he was \u201cstarstruck\u201d when he found out he won.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s so crazy that this is the actual size of everything in the show. I almost feel like we are in the TV,\u201d Ortega said.<\/p>\n<p>Ortega, who performs drag under the name Ada la Mu\u00f1eca, which loosely translates to \u201cfairy doll,\u201d said it\u2019s important to support Chicago\u2019s local drag scene. Some of his favorite drag spots are Roscoe\u2019s Tavern in Boystown and Fantasy Nightclub in Lakeview.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDrag is super fun and super inspiring,\u201d Ortega said. \u201cTo have queer joy represented on TV is really cool to see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tickets for Drag Race: The Experience can be bought <a href=\"https:\/\/signup.wowpresentsplus.com\/experience\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener external nofollow\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">here<\/a>. General admission starts at $59, and VIP tickets, which include a meet-and-greet with a \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u201d queen, start at $177.<\/p>\n<p>Check out more photos from inside Drag Race: The Experience:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6637-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-962471\"  \/>Drag Race: The Experience is at  Exhibition Hub Art Center at 2367 W. Logan Blvd. through February.  Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6569-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-962476\"  \/>Drag Race: The Experience is at  Exhibition Hub Art Center at 2367 W. Logan Blvd. through February.  Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6552-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-962477\"  \/>Drag Race: The Experience is at  Exhibition Hub Art Center at 2367 W. Logan Blvd. through February.  Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6598-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-962479\"  \/>Drag Race: The Experience is at  Exhibition Hub Art Center at 2367 W. Logan Blvd. through February.  Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6575-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-962474\"  \/>Drag Race: The Experience is at  Exhibition Hub Art Center at 2367 W. Logan Blvd. through February.  Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n<p>Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOGAN SQUARE \u2014 Chicago holds a special place in Darlene Mitchell\u2019s heart. It\u2019s where Mitchell came out and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4982,620,9,24,63,122,124,123,904],"class_list":["post-70418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-arts","tag-featured","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}