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How To Race Your Dragon: Celebrating Chinese Culture in Richmond

Jimmy O'Keefe | August 15, 2019

Topics: altria, boat races, canoes, carmax, china, Chinese culture, corporations, cultural dances, dragon boat, events, festival, performances, richmond dragon boat festival, richmond events

Despite its corporate influences, Richmond’s Dragon Boat Festival was an entertaining spectacle of Chinese culture by the James.

A little piece of China came to Richmond earlier this month, when the Richmond International Dragon Boat Festival hit Rocketts Landing on August 3. The festival, which has run annually for the past 11 years, featured 41 teams competing on the James alongside a variety of Chinese cultural performances. 

Dragon boat festivals originated in China, and are usually held as a cultural festival around the summer solstice. The tradition of racing dragon boats dates back to the 5th or 6th century, and today the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) helps to organize rowing teams and races throughout the world. Every other year, the IDBF hosts a world championship in different cities around the globe. 

The journey to my first-ever dragon boat festival began on the GRTC Pulse. With the final eastbound stop being Rocketts Landing, the Pulse was the obvious choice for anyone seeking a quick way to the festival without hopping in a car or sweating on a bike. But for some unexplained reason, my bus stopped at the Shockoe Bottom station; passengers were informed that the bus would not be traveling any further. This was unexpected, but turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the Virginia Capital Trail was just two blocks away. The 10 minute walk to the festival along the river came complete with cool breezes and nice views of Richmond’s skyline. 

Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe

The trail took me right to the middle of the festival, which was in full swing when I arrived. A voice over the PA system narrated a race in real time as teams cheered on from tents along the river. Meandering lines of attendees led to a handful of food trucks, which provided festival-goers with all of the essentials, from funnel cakes to beer. 

Farther down the trail, crowds gathered to watch Chinese traditional dances. Conveniently, the performances largely took place between dragon boat races, so there was no need to pick between one or the other. An announcer — who couldn’t have been over the age of 10 — expertly described what was happening in each dance, and what it meant within the context of Chinese culture. Elegant and informative, the Chinese cultural performances were a definite highlight of the festival. 

Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe

In the river, long canoe-like boats containing 22 rowers plus a drummer sped through the water. While it was a little difficult to get a great view of the boats because of our distance from shore, it was clear where each of the boats stood in the race. The speed at which the boats traveled was truly impressive; none of the races I witnessed lasted much more than a minute and a half. 

Seeing nearly two dozen people working together to propel a massive boat forward is quite a spectacle. This, in combination with the cultural performances, made the festival well worth attending. But throughout my time at the festival, I couldn’t help but get the feeling that things were a little off — in the most corporate way possible. It seems as though many of the teams participating in the races were representatives from big businesses, participating in the festival for team-building exercises. Perhaps I’m being cynical, but in many ways, the Dragon Boat Festival resembled an employee playground for major corporations, who drank beer and took cool photos while superficially signaling support for the community at hand. 

Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe

Perhaps the festival would have felt less corporate if the teams had come up with names a bit more creative than “Team CarMax” or “Altria East/Spring.” I will admit, though, that “Bankers Aweigh” perfectly captured the corporate/boating feeling of the festival while making me smile. 

All in all, the Dragon Boat Festival was a fun way to spend a Saturday. While there are definitely ways the festival could feature better, more in-depth discussions of Chinese culture in the future, watching almost unbelievably long boats race down the James was definitely worth the trip to Rocketts Landing.

Top Photo by Jimmy O’Keefe

Chicki Parm: The Comedy Queen of Richmond

Allison Tovey | July 31, 2019

Topics: chase keech, Chicki Parm, comedian, comedy, drag, drag comedian, drag queen, drag shows, entertainment, extra cheese, Fallout, fallout rva, LGBTQ, local drag, local shows, performances, richmond drag queens, rupaul, rupauls drag race, trixie mattel, wicked wednesdays

Local drag performer Chicki Parm focuses on the funny, hosting a monthly comedy show in Richmond between tours across the country.

Chase Keech has turned his love of drag and comedy into a full-time career performing as Richmond’s drag star Chicki Parm. 

“I would have never guessed I’d get to be a full-time drag queen. My wildest dreams have already been shattered with drag,” Keech said. “I used to do drag goals for every drag birthday. I used to write out fifteen to twenty quantifiable goals, but I don’t even do that anymore. I would break them beyond my wildest dreams.” 

Keech was introduced to the world of drag in 2014 after meeting a drag queen at a house party. A natural-born performer, he was immediately drawn to drag. 

“It was so new to me. From there, I binged RuPaul’s Drag Race and I saw that there was a real lack in the Richmond scene of the kind of drag queen that I was always drawn to — which is a comedian, a comedy queen,” Keech said, “I saw a path for myself, started drag, and became the comedy queen of Richmond.” 

Keech had been working in IT at the DMV at the time, and he balanced his two worlds for over three years while he worked all day and performed all night. As Keech’s popularity rose and the bookings became more frequent, however, doing both was no longer an option. In November of 2018, Keech made the decision to quit his day job and to fully pursue his dreams of performing, turning his passion into a thriving career. 

“With drag, it’s only as much of a business as you make it. If you’re just doing gigs and not thinking about the bigger picture of what you’re doing, you’re not really trying to profit, then you don’t see much of a profit. Very early on into starting drag, I knew that’s what I wanted to do: do it for work,” Keech said. “I just have to be very business savvy with it all. You have to be very strategic; you can’t say yes to everything all the time. I have to be picky about what I do on the weekends because those are my big money-making days. And then I have merch — I’m able to sell a patron something besides my performance. You really have to go about it with a business mindset.” 

That ambition is what’s taking Keech all over the country as he travels state-to-state hosting and performing, as well as hosting multiple shows all over Richmond. He hosts Quenched Wednesdays every week at Thirsty’s RVA, as well as his own monthly show at Fallout, Extra Cheese, which features both drag performers and stand-up comedians. 

Keech pitched the idea for Extra Cheese when he was in the cast at Fallout’s Wicked Wednesdays shows as a drag stand-up comedian. This August 12th will be the third anniversary of the show, which falls on Keech’s 25th birthday. 

“It’s really nice to be able to have a show dedicated to the art forms I love, and dedicated to me being silly on the mic. My single favorite thing about drag is being on the mic and just killing a joke. That is better than performing or anything to me,” Keech said. “I always tell myself that my job is to be a comedian, and drag is the avenue through which I do my job. Drag is how I do my comedy.” 

Keech’s comedic chops are a huge part of the Chicki Parm persona, as well as his defined aesthetic. 

“I have tried very hard to create a brand, a color palette,” Keech said. “I want you to be able to look at me and say, oh, that’s a very ‘Chicki’ look.” 

When creating a look, Keech often draws on themes of futurism mixed with classic drag elements, like outrageous curves and head-to-toe rhinestones, all inside the strict color scheme Keech has set for himself. 

“I only wear three colors of hair: baby pink, platinum blonde, and silver. I only wear orange, blue, pink, black, and red,” Keech said. “I try to be consistent.” 

Among his influences are Bob The Drag Queen, the season 8 winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Nicki Minaj — whom Keech cites as his “problematic fave.” 

His love of Nicki Minaj is what landed him with the drag name Chicki Parm, a name that has received lots of attention recently after Trixie Mattel of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame shouted out the fun and campy name. 

“Chicki came from my boy name, Chase, plus Nicki Minaj. So I sat on Chicki for a while and then one day I was watching Parks & Rec and there’s a bit where Aziz Ansari calls Chicken Parmesan ‘Chicki Chicki Parm Parm.’ I just thought, ‘ohmygod that’s me,’” Keech said, “And there’s so much I can do with it; Extra Cheese, and my merch with the spaghetti demons. I can do Italian-inspired numbers. I love my schtick. And so does Trixie, I guess.” 

The name Chicki Parm completes the strong branding that Keech has always aimed for in his drag career. 

“I think I’m unique in that I knew what I wanted to be, coming in to drag. I have a lot of people tell me, ‘I saw what you were doing early on and it’s been cool to see you polish it up.’ Even my colors, I knew early on,” Keech said. “It’s been such a cool journey, being able to develop that and grow with that. I really think it’s important, if you want to make it, to have a brand. People are weirded out by that word, or don’t understand, but it’s really so important to know who you are.” 

Keech’s performance style as Chicki is engaging, hilarious, and intentionally individual. He keeps an audience on their toes and playing along, even promising to scream in your face if you tip higher than a one-dollar bill — much to the delight of everyone watching. The Chicki Parm persona is defined and marketed, but never disingenuous, and always a great time. 

Chicki Parm is quickly becoming one of the biggest names in the Richmond drag scene, and Keech shows no signs of stopping. 

All Photos courtesy Chicki Parm

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