PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC) will hold "Stories for Good: A Celebration of Diversity in Our Community" on Friday, Oct. 8 from 9 am to 1:30 pm. 

 

Sponsored by the Education Subcommittee of BCC's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, the event is designed to make connections through stories that explore, celebrate and analyze diverse identities, what it means to support each other in a diverse community, and the impacts of equity and inclusion efforts at BCC.  

 

The free event includes a keynote speech by local drag queen Boxxa Vine, breakout sessions encouraging discussion and interaction, a Q&A session and a drag show. 

 

All segments of the event are open to students, faculty and staff at BCC as well as the general public. The keynote speech, Q&A session and drag show will be live streamed, and the breakout sessions will be both in person and virtual. For links to the events, visit www.berkshirecc.edu/storiesforgood.  

 

The schedule of events is as follows: 

In the keynote speech, Boxxa Vine will talk about being a drag queen, the nuances and challenges of creating events specifically for LGBTQ+ performers, and the importance of different styles of drag. Drag and performance art will be discussed not only as a means to help others express themselves freely, but also as a way to create and foster diversity, equality and inclusion.  

 

A mix of students, faculty, and community members will lead breakout sessions featuring a variety of discussions, presentations and group activities centered on diverse perspectives in the Berkshires and at BCC.  

 

Bios of Keynote Speaker, Panelists and Performers as included in a press release: 

 

Boxxa Vine (Aaron Johnson) is a Pittsfield-based drag queen and costume creator with a flair for the dramatic and theatrical. A self-taught seamstress, she has worked on pieces that have appeared locally, across the country, and on shows such as "RuPaul's Drag Race" and "The View." She is a six-time Miss Gay pageant title holder (Western Massachusetts, Boston, Central New York, Camp Capital New York, Werrrk.com and the Berkshires) and spends most of her free time trying to get new and exciting drag events going in and around the Berkshires. Visit BoxxaVine.com or follow her on Facebook and Instagram (@BoxxaVine).  

 

Angel South (Josh Schnoop) was born and raised in Dalton, Massachusetts. Now located in Sheffield, she has been doing drag in the Berkshires and surrounding areas since 2015. After winning a local competition, her love for makeup and the art of drag skyrocketed. She is an emotion-filled performer with heart, and passion. When not performing on stage, she can be found in Great Barrington as Joshua, a hairstylist and makeup artist at Michele's Salon and Day Spa who helps people transform, just like herself when she becomes Angel South. Follow her on Instagram (@asthmatic.smoker). 

 

Noelle Diamond (John MacDonald) is a fun and energetic drag performer in the Albany area. Winner of Albany's Ultimate Dueling Divas and The Drag Battle Royale, she has been performing since 2015, leaving a trail of glitter everywhere she goes. You can usually find Noelle performing and doing costume changes at the night club, wearing a panda sweater and reading to children at the local library, or crying over her sewing machine she thought was broken but is actually just not threaded properly. Follow her on Instagram (@noelle.diamond). 

 

Fausto (Dr. Roxana A. Curiel) is an assistant professor at the Scranton University Department of World Languages and Cultures. Her work analyzes representations of bodies that challenge normative notions of citizenship, gender, and race in Mexico, Central America, and the Latinx diaspora in America. Engaging in a queer curatorial practice, she examines photographs from the Mexican revolution (1910), representations of Black and Indigenous femme bodies, films, lucha libre shows, anti-police protests, and drag king interventions — all informed by her collaborative performances as Fausto.