Tales From The Panzy Craze [MDhistory.gay]
Thu, Oct 16
|The Club Car
MEET THE QUEENS OF 1930S BALTIMORE!! Come to The Club Car on Thursday, Oct. 16 to get a brand new zine & learn some drag history, followed by an amazing lineup of queens hosted by Stealya-Manz Blue!
Time & Location
Oct 16, 2025, 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
The Club Car, 12 W North Ave, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
About the event
No RSVP needed.
THE PANSY CRAZE was a nationwide obsession with drag during the Jazz Era of the 1920s and 30s. Some queens headlined shows on Broadway, others made it big in Hollywood. But the biggest local events were happening in West Baltimore, where Black drag queens were hosting multiple “Pansy Balls” each year. It’s time to tell their story.
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Pansy balls were held throughout the country, but got shut down by police in DC, Philly, and other cities–Baltimore’s never were. And while most newspapers refused to cover “immoral” events full of queer people, one sent reporters and photographers: The Baltimore Afro-American (now the AFRO).
Their articles weren’t exactly supportive. But together with the photos, they show a little bit of the slang, fashion, and lives of Black queens of the era. They even ran an article by one of the most popular queens in DC defending himself and other “Pansies.” More recently, the original pictures were found by the AFRO Archives, meaning you’ll be some of the first people in 90 years to see the queens in all their glamour and glory. After the zine release, there will be an incredible show hosted by Stealya Manz, featuring some of (modern) Baltimore’s most glamorous and talented queens!
Proceeds will benefit @blaqequitybmore. Come hear about their incredible work and how you can support them!
This event is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council (msac.org).