The 4th annual Broken Heel Festival has concluded with record numbers of attendees
The four-day festival drew an estimated record crowd of over 6500 to all events in the outback mining town of Broken Hill, where drag queens partied in the streets with locals and revellers from all states and around the world. Celebrating the appearance of “the Silver City” in the 1994 movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the Broken Heel Festival involved performances, parties, a grand street parade, plenty of fun and high-camp lust in the dust.
For many who made the pilgrimage, the weekend began on the 2nd journey of NSW TrainLink Silver City Stiletto Express, which arrived at a delirious greeting from hundreds of welcomers on the Broken Hill platform. The 4-day event saw a jam-packed programme from the Palace Hotels outdoor festival grounds to the dusty streets of Silverton, heritage laneway galleries and the main drag where Saturday’s street parade (“in drag up the main drag”) saw 2500 people line Argent Street to cheer the costumes and floats, including the BHF’s Mardi Gras float – a 5m stiletto adorned with 15 dazzling queens.
But it was the party on Saturday night that really made some noise to rival the old mine explosions of yesteryear, as 1700 revellers crowded the iconic Palace Hotel and the surrounding festival grounds, enjoying performances by Christine Anu, Dolly Diamond, Leather Lungs, a glitterati of classic drag performers and international DJ Kitty Glitter spinning discs on the dancefloor under the stars till the wee hours.
The weekend also saw two new rising starlets after the indigenous mentorship between the BHF and upcoming Black Divas, Felicia Foxx & Jojo Zaho, whose performances wowed their largest audiences to date. Next year will be 25 years since the release of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and already tickets are selling for what promises to be an even more spectacular event.
