Runners, drag queens and roller derby skaters will take over Armory Park on Saturday, Oct. 24, for the first-ever Big Gay 5K, the centerpiece of a weekend of queer events across Tucson.

Big Gay Weekend runs Friday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Oct. 25, with drag bingo, a pool party, a drag brunch, a movie screening and more. Race director Lee Collenberg said she wanted the run to give people a reason to stick around for more than one event.

“There are a lot of interesting, creative, queer-focused events in town, but a lot of times it feels like they pop up and then they go away and you just got to wait for a while for another one,” Collenberg said. “I really liked the idea of the 5K anchoring a weekend of other things to do.”

The main event happens Saturday morning. The 5K starts at 9 a.m. at Armory Park and loops through the neighborhood before finishing back at the park. Runners of all skill levels are welcome to go at their own pace, and everyone is encouraged to dress up. Drag queen Lucinda Holliday, the weekend’s official announcer, will provide commentary along the course.

According to the race website, TC Tolbert, a former Tucson poet laureate, will open the race with a poem instead of an anthem. The website says every 5K participant gets custom Big Gay socks instead of a race shirt.

Registration for the 5K and High Heel Havoc is available through RunSignup.

The second race, High Heel Havoc, is a one-block dash in heels for prizes that kicks off at 10:30 a.m. Before it starts, Holliday will size up the competition at a heel check at 10:15 a.m.

“Instead of a weigh-in, like a boxing match, we’re going to have a slay-in where Lucinda will kind of analyze each participant, make sure their heels are high enough, see how high their hair is,” Collenberg said.

The dash is held in front of Armory Park, and spectators can watch without running. The race website says about three-quarters of High Heel Havoc registrants were men.

As for the course, most races use lead bikes to keep runners on track. The Big Gay 5K will have one lead bicycle for the fastest runner to chase, with Tucson Roller Derby skaters handling the rest of the course.

Collenberg said the skaters are “one more safety mechanism where they’re another group that just can look around and make sure nobody’s pulling out of a driveway.”

Off the course, Jay Baker, performing as the Glitter Goblin, will run the beer garden with the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, which gets 25% of all proceeds. Collenberg called Baker’s character the event’s “official agent of chaos.”

The race partners with five community groups: Building Out Safer Spaces, Desert Voices, the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, Southern Arizona Senior Pride and Tucson Roller Derby.

“So, those five groups really, to me, represent unique complementary pillars of a queer person’s life,” Collenberg said. “You know, it’s the arts, it’s physical activity, it’s health and wellness, it’s true safety and skill-based learning.”

Interest in the race extends beyond Tucson. About 10% of registrants live outside Pima County, and runners from 13 states have signed up, including a strong group from metro Phoenix.

" I'm kind of hoping to bridge a little bit of that I-10 life where they have so many queer-focused events up there and I feel like we got some cool stuff too that they should check out," Collenberg said.

The weekend also comes as Tucson has been without an official Pride event since its last one folded after repeated delays.

“I do think it’s so important for every town to have a true pride organization and have a true Pride festival,” Collenberg said. “I think it’s also important that that pride organization is active year-round. It shouldn’t just be that they pop up for one event and go away.”

Big Gay Weekend isn’t meant to replace a Pride festival, she said, but to give the community three days to see each other and rebuild connections. Collenberg said she thinks “community is hungry for it.”

The weekend kicks off the day before the race, with two events to choose from. The Kickoff Kiki runs Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. at Highwire. Runners can pick up bibs, meet partner groups, make signs for the route and grab happy hour drink specials. Expect Halloween activities and some chaos from the Glitter Goblin.

OWLS Night runs Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Owls Club. The social event is aimed at older, wiser lesbians over 40.

On Saturday’s race day, the party doesn’t stop at the finish line. After the races, the Big Gay After Party runs from noon to 3 p.m. at Owls Club West.

Also Saturday, Tuxon Hotel & Shady Cactus Swim Club will host the Big Gay Pool Party from 1 to 5 p.m. with DJ Gbaz. The host hotel is offering 10% off its standard rate of $189 plus tax for the weekend.

After her announcer duties are complete, Holliday will host Big Gay Benefit Bingo at Bumsted’s at 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Proceeds support 93 foster children in Southern Arizona who have not been placed in homes.

“With all the cuts across the board within government they won’t enjoy the Christmas season without help,” Holliday said.

Donations can also be made through the 93 Wishes GoFundMe. Holliday said she plans to work the room, chatting with players and picking on a few.

“If I can make one person smile each day, I’ve done my job,” she said.

On Sunday, QueerAF and Playground will host their 40th drag brunch from noon to 3 p.m. on the rooftop, with the show starting at 1 p.m. The brunch, themed heroes and villains, is free and open to all ages, with performers Isis De Frost, Kriis Dikay, Desire Amore and Roxi.

Harlow Gardens is also hosting Prickly & Proud, a make-and-take succulent workshop, at noon. The $39.99 fee covers plants, a container, soil and instruction from Bobby Silverman.

The Loft Cinema is screening “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar” at 2 p.m.

Jeff Yanc, program director at The Loft, said the theater regularly hosts queer-themed films and events, including “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” for the past 48 years, so joining Big Gay Weekend was a natural fit.

He said the 1995 comedy is “obviously a hoot” with a serious side and a message about self-acceptance and belonging. The film stars Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo, with an appearance by RuPaul.

The Loft often screens the Australian film “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” and Yanc said he thinks of “To Wong Foo” as the Hollywood version.

“I think you can’t underestimate the value of watching a fun, engaging movie with an audience and sharing the experience,” Yanc said.

Marlon Bedoy is a Pima Community College student and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact him at marl.star.nn@gmail.com.

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