Two dozen drag performers from across the Pacific Northwest climbed into hot air balloons before sunrise Monday, trading stages and spotlights for wicker baskets and open sky above Yamhill County’s wine country. The goal: an attempt at the world record for the most drag performers airborne in hot air balloons at the same time, launched from a small airpark outside Newberg, Oregon.
The attempt was organized by Poison Waters, one of Portland’s best-known drag entertainers, who joined the two dozen other artists in the baskets, according to KOIN.com. The launch was staged out of Vista Balloon Adventures, which is based in Newberg, and the station reports that reporter Kohr Harlan joined the group for the early-morning flight. Event details listed on Poison Waters’ own calendar put the launch time at 6 a.m. Monday, lifting off from Vista Balloon Adventures’ staging site at Sportsman Airpark on Commerce Parkway in Newberg.
Vista Balloon Adventures, founded in 1989, bills itself as the oldest and largest hot air balloon company in the Pacific Northwest, operating seven balloons over the Willamette Valley’s vineyards, per Taste Newberg. That regional footprint made the company a natural host for an event aiming to lift an unusually large group of performers off the ground at once.
A Portland Drag Icon Behind the Idea
Poison Waters is the stage persona of Portland resident Kevin Cook, who began performing in 1988 and joined Darcelle XV Showplace in the early 1990s, co-hosting shows there for more than 35 years, according to Wikipedia. Cook has also taught an online community education course at Portland Community College since 2021 titled Histories of Drag Performance in Portland, documenting local drag history dating back to the 1940s, as reported by OPB. That dual role as performer and local historian has made Poison Waters a familiar face at civic events across Portland, including a turn as Grand Marshal for both the Portland Rose Festival’s Starlight Parade and the Portland Pride Parade in June 2023…