The Blue Ridge
Pride Pageant 2024

Blue Ridge Pride Pageant 2024

The Blue Ridge Pride Pageant is one of the highlights of the gay calendar in Asheville and attracts visitors from across North Carolina and beyond.

• Stay at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel, gay-friendly location, located in the heart of downtown and steps away from the Thomas Wolfe House and some of Asheville’ most buzzworthy restaurants. 

The Pageant

• Awaiting dates, typically on a Sunday in mid September – from 8 pm – Each year in September, the town of Asheville welcomes a drag queen invasion as acts from North Carolina and beyond descend upon the town to compete and perform.
• The dazzling spectacle has truly become seasoned by Asheville’s flavors of openness, artistic expression, and diversity. It is one of the few pride pageants in the nation to be open to “drag queens, kings, and things”, making it as unique and eccentric as the town’s reputation!
• The pageant is organized by Blue Ridge Pride and pits dueling drag queens against each other for the title or Miss Blue Ridge Pride.
• Categories include a per-interview, a pride flag costume competition, an onstage one-on-one and a talent competition. The winner will be chosen by a panel of experts and audience participation.

The Venue

• The Masonic Temple – The Asheville Masonic Temple is a Masonic Temple located in Asheville, North Carolina. Designed by British American architect and Freemason Richard Sharp Smith, the building was opened in April 1915.
• The building was completed in April 1915 and features a large 200-seat dining hall, a stunning lodge room, and a 250-seat theater featuring hand-painted sets by the traveling Masonic artist from Chicago,
• Stay close to the event at the Kimpton Hotel Arras, rated “Superb” by guests with spacious rooms featuring a modern design in a perfect location.

Gay Asheville

• Asheville has become well known for many things, and drag, surprisingly, is one of them. Yes, way out here in the mountains of North Carolina there is a steadily growing drag community – and locals seems to love it, much to the pleasure of bars, nightclubs, and even more unique establishments that now feature regular drag shows.

Where to stay?

The following Asheville hotels are popular with our readers. All are close to the pride celebrations and the town’s top attractions:

Haywood Park Hotel,  Cambria Hotel,  Kimpton Hotel Arras,  The Windsor