Meet Six Colorado Drag Families Keeping You Entertained This Pride Month

The LGBTQ+ community often emphasizes the importance of “chosen family,” a support network many queer people create outside of the traditional family structure. Some folks build chosen families out of necessity, after being rejected by or estranged from their biological families, while some are formed by the strength of a shared experience or interest.

Drag families, also called drag houses, fulfill both these roles. Especially for newer drag entertainers, being invited to join a house not only connects them to a group of mentors with more industry experience, but also provides the love and nurturing that not all queer people get from their blood relations. As in traditional blood families, it is customary for a drag performer to take the surname of their drag family. So if you see an overly long drag name, it's likely that the performer is part of several different families and their name represents all of them.

Drag family members are there to offer each other advice, encouragement, friendship and the occasional borrowed wig. As Felony Misdemeanor, mother of the House of Misdemeanor, explained last June, "We're there to hype each other up and have each others' backs. If there are any issues, we're here to talk about it. I really envision family as your support system, no matter if they're chosen or blood."

Here are six Colorado drag dynasties that have birthed some of the Mile High City's most iconic entertainers:
Haus Alnite
Haus Alnite is perhaps the largest drag family in Colorado, and continuously introduces new members. It was founded in 2017 by drag entertainers and real-life couple Rayven Alnite (house mother) and Brock N. Alnite (house father), who wanted to share their skill sets and passion for performance with other artists. They officially became a family after adopting the gloriously goofy Lulu Alnite, but opted for a less traditional route when building the rest of the house. Many of the Alnite children started as friends who helped contribute to the Alnites’ drag but never considered performing themselves. As a result, this eclectic family includes professional musicians, dancers, costume designers, wig stylists, actors, comedians, makeup artists and even a color guard performer.

There are thirteen Alnites in total: Rayven, Brock N., Lulu, Sophie Lynn Shivers, Manique Depressive, Jack, Connie Carlson/Hoff, Ben Ova Bitch, Weird Al Spankabitch, Canari, Arabica Grindz and newest additions Finish Hymn and Betty Swallows. The diverse group of performers represents the full gender spectrum, with kings, queens and “quings” of all gender identities bearing the Alnite name. Haus Alnite is best known for elaborate full-family productions that revolve around a specific theme or narrative, such as its popular Drag Queen of Thrones show, which parodies Game of Thrones.
House of Douglas
The House of Douglas is the true definition of a Colorado dynasty. Founding mother Ginger Douglas is the daughter of three Colorado drag legends: Barbie Blake, from the House of Blake; the late Kiera Sexton, from the House of Sexton; and Nina Montaldo, from the House of Montaldo, whom Douglas credits with teaching her the history of Colorado drag (and who is still performing in Colorado in her seventies!). Ginger started her own family around 2009, and although she is now based in California, the entertainers she mentored are still keeping the Douglas name alive in Colorado. She only has one requirement for potential house members: Be authentic.

Eight of Ginger’s children are currently active in Colorado: Victoria Sexton, Alexianna Leigh, Porsha DeMarco-Douglas, Mona Kunt-Douglas, Amya Kunt-Douglas, Alexandria Douglas, IzzyDead MotherFucker and Ophelia Peaches. A few of these entertainers have continued to expand the family tree by adopting their own drag kids, and Ginger is also considered the mother (or grandmother) to Colorado’s House of Shearz, so there are many additional Douglas descendants who don’t necessarily carry the house name.

House of Misdemeanor
The House of Misdemeanor, also known as the Misdemeanor Crew, is one of Denver's most prominent drag families. House mother Felony Misdemeanor started her career in her hometown of El Paso, but has been gracing Mile High stages for nearly twenty years. About fifteen years ago, she introduced her first-born, Minor Misdemeanor, and has since adopted seven more drag children: LeeLee the Twirling Tech Goddess, Juiccy Misdemeanor, Miss Zarah Misdemeanor, Anne-Michelle Misdemeanor, Michelle B. Misdemeanor, Rias Jey Misdemeanor and Victoria Sexton, plus the late Roxy Misdemeanor.

Much like the house's namesake, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, the Misdemeanors are famous for their high-energy choreographed dance numbers, with Sebastian Mazur (Minor Misdemeanor) acting as their in-house choreographer and artistic director. You’ll find the group performing pretty much anywhere in Denver (and we don’t just mean LGBTQ+ venues), but especially at X Bar, where three of the Misdemeanors host monthly shows: Juiccy’s X Factor every first Friday, Miss Zarah’s XYZ every second Friday, and Felony’s Cellblock M every fourth Saturday. This close-knit family spends a lot of time together in and out of drag, so if you see a Misdemeanor performing, there’s a good chance that a few more are getting ready backstage or cheering enthusiastically from the audience.
House of Sexton
The House of Sexton was created by the late Kiera Sexton around 2000. After she tragically passed away in 2019, the title of house mother was passed down to Aurora Sexton, who continues to honor the legacy that Kiera built. The Sexton family has expanded exponentially, and now includes kings and queens specializing in glam, horror, alternative drag, comedy, live singing and more. There are nearly thirty Sextons spread out between L.A., New York, Pennsylvania, Las Vegas, Florida, Mexico and Colorado, with Denver’s current roster including Vandy J Sexton, Angel Sexton, Victoria Sexton, Eva La Rey Sexton and Manny Sexton. Although Aurora now lives in Los Angeles, she still oversees the whole family across the country, with the help of other “Sexton Elders” such as Vandy J, Ginger Douglas, Manny (who specifically mentors the Sexton boys), Miroslava, Joseph, Victoria, Alexander and Kiana.
House of Spanic
The longest-running house on this list, House of Spanic, is a family of powerhouse Latinx performers. Founded by Kassandra Spanic in 1999, the family was taken over by Mariah Spanic in 2006 after Kassandra moved to Mexico and retired. There are eight active members of the House of Spanic in Colorado: Mariah, Enzo, Carrie Madison, Camila, Eddie, Victoria, Natasha Soto and Krystina. Mariah, who will celebrate her twentieth drag birthday this year, has several other drag children of her own, but not all of them have the Spanic name. As a former Miss Colorado USA, Mariah imparts the polish of the pageant world to all of her children, emphasizing the importance of backstage etiquette, professionalism and, of course, eye-catching sparkles. The Spanic kings and queens all share a love of glitter and glam, feathers and fringe, and over-the-top showgirl-inspired costumes. You'll find the Spanics twirling all over town, but most often running the show at El Potrero, the area's only LGBTQ+ club specifically catering to the queer Latinx community.
StaxXx Navy
The House of StaxXx, known as the StaxXx Navy, was established by Mia and Gia StaxXx in 2012. Currently, the StaxXx Navy includes Mia StaxXx, Andrea StaxXx, Ayonna StaxXx, Luna Vibez, Adryanna StaxXx, Arial StaxXx, Alysia StaxXx, Kelela C. StaxXx, Alexis StaxXx, Faraiyah StaxXx Bloomee, Sapphire StaxXx Bloomee and newbie Marishka StaxXx. While the StaxXx girls each have their own look and style, they share a penchant for sexy, form-fitting outfits, high-femme makeup, showstopping dance performances and the signature, heavily padded “StaxXx ass.” The StaxXx Navy also has a reputation for being the party girls of Denver, so all new recruits have to be able to #PartyLikeAStaxXxGirl. You can catch them at Charlie’s, where entertainment director Andrea StaxXx hosts Wednesday and Saturday night shows, or across the street at X Bar, where Kelela C. is general manager and Mia hosts StaxXx on Colfax every second Saturday. This family is extremely close and protective of each other, so if you start something with a StaxXx girl, be prepared to face the whole Navy.