Best Drag queen

1. Lyta Blunt, @lytablunt.

2. Karress Ann Slaughter (Cornel Hardiman), Facebook.com/GlamazonsEugene.

3. Shirley Mental, instagram.com/shirley_mental.

For nearly a decade, Lyta Blunt has been the local life of the party — a drag queen, actress and DJ who turned every stage in Eugene into her runway. About two months ago, the Lane Community College alum took her talents north to Portland’s drag scene, but not before sweeping Eugene’s Best Of awards for Best Drag Queen, Best Actress and Best Club DJ, leaving behind a trail of green glitter and love. “I’m still a drag queen in Eugene — I’m just not sleeping here at night,” she says with a laugh.

For Blunt, DJing, acting and drag all flow from the same creative energy. “I was able to start DJing pretty much right after I was out of college, and that wasn’t necessarily what I expected,” she says. What began as spinning tracks at drag shows soon became a passion — and shaped her start in drag. “It’s the best job ever,” she says. Blunt is also the creator of Baddies Night, a QTBIPOC-centered dance party she launched in Eugene to fill a gap in the local nightlife scene. “I’m super excited to be nominated for DJ this year. When I started Baddies Night, there wasn’t really anything like it,” she says. “Creating a space where people can be not just represented but celebrated really means so so much to me.” — Kat Tabor

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

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None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

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Thank you for standing with us!