Thursday After Hours at OMCA | Drag Performances & Trivia Night

Thursday After Hours at OMCA | Drag Performances, Trivia Night, and Gallery Chats

Adults 18+

This Thursday, join us at the Gallery of California Art for a fabulous and unforgettable evening featuring a special drag performance with Per Sia, BeBe Sweetbriar, and King LOTUS BOY! These incredible artists will take over the gallery for a night filled with stunning performances, dazzling costumes, and high-energy entertainment. Per artists’ request, visitors are encouraged to wear a mask during the performances.

Between acts, explore OMCA’s award-winning galleries, indulge in delicious bites and drinks from Town Fare Café, and vibe to music curated by DJ Mark DiVita. Next, celebrate the life and contributions of Californian women, nonbinary, and femme-identified people during Trivia Night! Winners will receive prizes from OMCA’s Shop. It’s the perfect blend of art, culture, and fabulous fun—don’t miss out!

In addition to a dynamic event experience, every Thursday After Hours also offers guests a well-rounded gallery experience with Gallery Chats. Unlike the traditional museum tour, Gallery Chats invites visitors to chat, ask questions, and connect with our OMCA facilitators who combine content knowledge with lived experience to encourage meaningful dialogue and fresh interpretations of our galleries. Gallery Chats take place in our Special Exhibitions and our Galleries of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences. 

Gallery Chats and Thursday After Hours programming are included with the price of general Museum admission for guests, and totally free for Museum Members. Town Fare Café will be open to visitors until 8 pm.

The OMCA garage will be open until 9 pm on Thursdays Jan 9—Mar 27.

Program Schedule: 

5—8 pm Bites, Beverages, and music by DJ Mark DiVita  | Town Fare Café

5—8 pm Core Galleries and Special Exhibitions

5:30—7:30 pm Gallery Chats | All OMCA Galleries

5:45—6:15 pm Drag Performance | Gallery of California Art, Upper Level

6:45-7:15 pm Trivia Night: Stories of California Women | Town Fare Café

6:45—7:15 pm Drag Performance | Gallery of California Art, Upper Level

About Per Sia:

Per Sia comes with a pedigree from weekly performances at the late, iconic Esta Noche. Her trajectory has gone on to include art curation, stand-up, television, and maybe a quinceañera or two, in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and México. Per Sia is currently a regular performer in the nationally acclaimed “Drag Story Hour” as well as an educator-in-residence at an after school arts program in the San Francisco Unified School District profiled on KQED Arts, National Public Radio, and CNN.

About BeBe Sweetbriar:

As award-winning performer, Top 10 USA Dance Radio and Top 25 Billboard charting recording artist (UNITY, 2017), BeBe Sweetbriar has been the opening act for Destiny’s Child Kelly Rowland, TV’s Ugly Betty star Alec Mapa, Broadway-star and The Voice alum Frenchie Davis, Billboard Dance Divas Kristine W. and Luciana, and Punk Rock star Peaches.

An advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality and the fight against HIV/AIDS stigma, BeBe has been honored by the State of California’s Senate and Assembly, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with Certificates of Recognition, The City of Oakland with December 7, 2018 designated as BeBe Sweetbriar Day Oakland, by San Francisco Power of One non-profit organization with the coveted Sylvester Award of Inspiration, by SF Pride Membership selected Community Grand Marshall 2013 Pride Parade, and Sainted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc. As Miss Gay San Francisco 2007-2008 to present, BeBe has raised awareness to the disproportionate rate of suicide and homelessness amongst LGBTQIA youth and adults through work with organizations such as the Trevor Project and San Francisco’s Larkin Street Youth Services, to name a few. BeBe continues to bring awareness to queer families through her work with the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, Our Family Coalition, Drag Story Hour, and other organizations.

BeBe has most recently been a featured subject in the nationally published “Legends of Drag: Queens of a Certain Age” which celebrates and gives trailblazing drag queens from across the U.S. their flowers. Simply put…There’s Nothing Sweeter Than Sweetbriar!

About King LOTUS BOY:

LOTUS BOY is a transgender and unapologetically disabled, neurodivergent, and chronically ill-ustrious, Chinese-American drag king. As an anti-disciplinary artist, he uses any medium that resonates to explore gender fluidity, accessibility, sustainability, solidarity, joy, and healing from trauma. King LOTUS BOY is on the Boards of Directors for Oaklash, the Bay Area’s drag festival, and the SPM Disability Justice Fund, a nonprofit that fiscally sponsors disability justice initiatives led by disabled BIPOC. LOTUS BOY co-produces Cabaret Palestina with his creative partner, Mama Ganuush, and is a member of the Heritage Activists & Liberation Artists (HALA) Collective. In 2023, LOTUS BOY became the first openly disabled and Asian winner of the 27th Annual San Francisco Drag King Contest. Zir work has been featured at SF Institute of Contemporary Art, SF MoMa, Austin International Drag Festival, Chinese Historical Society of America Museum, Oakland Asian Cultural Center, United States of Asian America Festival, Fresh Meat Festival of Transgender and Queer Performance, Drag and Spirituality Summit, Queer Women of Color Film Festival, National Wildlife Federation Conference, Cal Academy of Sciences, and more. When not onstage, ze facilitates workshops on drag history and gender exploration to middle schools, high schools, and colleges in the Bay Area and beyond.

Accessibility 

Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is committed to providing programs that are accessible, welcoming, and inclusive of our community. Wheelchairs, sensory inclusive devices, and additional amenities are available for checkout on a first come, first served basis at the Ticketing Desk. To request other accommodations, like American Sign Language (ASL), Cantonese, Spanish or another language interpreter, please email [email protected] at least three weeks before the event. 

Sponsor

Major support for Thursday After Hours at OMCA is provided by The Oakland Museum Women’s Board.