Bambino’s drag brunch lights up downtown Vallejo

VALLEJO – If you pass by Bambino’s on the fourth Sunday of the month, you might see a flurry of wigs, tulle, and sequins. Attendees cheer, sip mimosas, and wave dollar bills as drag queens strut by tables in stilettos, posing and lip-syncing to pop music before dramatically dropping to the ground.

Welcome to Vallejo’s drag brunch: a monthly event hosted by Bambino’s that is centered around dance, comedy, and self-expression. The performers travel from all over California to take the stage, and each month has a different theme. The Halloween show featured costumes from “Hocus Pocus,” for example, as well as a comedic reenactment of Drew Barrymore in “Scream.”

The drag brunches started this year in June, when Bambino’s owner Ismael Palacio noticed that Vallejo didn’t have any brunch events for Pride Month. While the bar down the street, the Town House, hosts drag shows that run well past midnight, there weren’t any options for people who wanted a morning outing. 

So Palacio got in touch with Justin Calonia and Jeremy Smith-Batha, the co-founders of Free Music Collective, a company created in 2020 to organize music events around Vallejo. Palacio had already worked with Calonia and Smith-Batha on successful brunches and music events like R&B and Latin night at Bambino’s, and they were excited about the idea of curating another event that could uplift the community. 

“When people out of town talk about Vallejo, everything is about just the bad news,” Palacio said. “We're trying to change that narrative.”

Calonia reached out to drag queens Sadie C. Sparkles and MissCherryLane on Instagram. The pair are longtime performers, and together they run the production and photography studio Creekwood Lane Productions. They’re also both from Bay Point, and they were surprised when they first heard the pitch to create a new show for Vallejo. 

“I had never been to Vallejo until the meeting,” said MissCherryLane.

The duo said they were initially unsure about producing the event, because they only had two weeks to come up with an entire two-hour-long performance. 

Still, they agreed to try. They teamed up with Free Music Collective to create the show and advertising, knowing there was a chance that they could put in all this work to get the word out and it could still flop. 

“It’s more than just making a flyer and that’s it,” Sadie C. Sparkles said. “Unless you’re an A-list celebrity, people are not just going to flock your way, especially if you’re in a place where they’re not used to having stuff like this.”

Since it was the middle of Pride Month, they assumed people were already booked up and they “might get only 30” attendees, said MissCherryLane. 

They were shocked when they sold 100 tickets in two weeks.

Since then, nearly all of their shows have sold out, or come very close. “We've been averaging over 90 to 120 tickets sold out ever since we started in June,” said MissCherryLane, noting that their lowest month was September, when it was held on the same day as San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair.

Based on Eventbrite data, most of the tickets are purchased by people from out of town, or even from out of state. “We’ve had people come from Washington, Arizona, Oregon,” said MissCherryLane. They also get bystanders off the street who come in out of curiosity and stay for the show. 

“It’s been amazing,” said MissCherryLane. “It’s been fun coming out here and having the support of the community.” 

Luis Miguel Lupian Rodriguez traveled from the East Bay to perform as Luismi Munster during the Halloween show on Sunday. 

“When it’s brunch, everyone comes for a fun time,” said Rodriguez, who describes himself as a drag monster with prosthetics and special effects makeup. “I feel like everyone was so present, and the energy was just right.” 

Rodriguez said he was drawn to drag because he can infuse his performances with elements from everything he loves, like his favorite movies or dance moves. One of his sets featured him performing “Thriller” in a tasselled version of Michael Jackson’s red leather suit. 

As Luismi Munster, “I get to operate from the frequency of love,” said Rodriguez. “And because I’m operating at that vibration, people get to feed off of that.” 

While drag is uplifting, Rodriguez said that it can also be a form of activism. 

“It’s punk. It’s supposed to be that middle finger to society,” said Rodriguez. “Especially for queer people, when they’re younger they’re told not to be feminine, not to wear this, or not to do that. Drag is a rebellious way to take ownership and do what you want to do.” 

Performing while living under the Trump Administration was not lost on the performers. On social media, the president has called drag shows “anti-American propaganda,” and GLAAD has tracked nearly 400 instances of Trump making anti-LGBTQ+ statements or legislative actions since his first term in office. 

“You guys are protesting just by being here,” said drag queen Mercury Rising, to a room full of cheers.

Will McGarvey, the executive director of the Solano Pride Center in Fairfield, said drag shows are a way to reaffirm the importance of queer joy and community. 

“Folks just want to have fun, and it's important for us, especially as we're resisting the Trump Administration's abuses, for us to come together and celebrate life,” McGarvey said. 

The Solano Pride Center is a co-sponsor for the event. They table at the front during each brunch, offering resources for services like LGBTQ+ support groups, crisis hotlines, and free HIV testing. 

McGarvey added that the event’s success is fitting, given Vallejo’s long LGBTQ+ history. 

“Vallejo used to be one of the main gay meccas here in the Bay Area, even before the Castro,” McGarvey said. He explained that famous performers like Cary Grant and Liberace — who were both rumored to be gay — had homes here, and Vallejo used to have five gay bars.

“It’s just fascinating the history that we have,” said McGarvey. “It’s easy for folks to forget that there's always been a thriving gay community here in Vallejo.” 

Five months in, the feedback for drag brunch has been overwhelmingly positive. While Bambino’s owner Palacio said that there have been a few negative comments on Facebook, he hasn’t let that bother him. “Any publicity is good publicity,” he said. “And if those people are not gonna be coming over here because of that, well maybe we wouldn't want them here.” 

“Vallejo is very diverse, and I think this event is good for the community. It brings people together,” he added. “Everyone has fun, and it brings the downtown back to life. That's what we're trying to do.”

The drag brunches are locked in for the rest of the year, with a video game themed show on Nov. 23. Sadie C. Sparkles and MissCherryLane are working on a holiday show for December. 

“We're gonna keep fighting to be here,” MissCherryLane said. “If the community keeps showing up for us, we'll be here for them.”