RuPaul’s Drag Race fan favorites Silky Nutmeg Ganache and Alyssa Edwards are two Southern queens finding themselves out of their element in Season 2 of Slaycation—this time, in the snow-covered Canadian Rockies.
“Clearly, you could tell on Episode 1, I’m freezing,” Edwards told Blavity’s Shadow and Act. “I am freezing the whole time. I am like, ‘I am not made for this. I thought we was going on a girls’ trip and the girls’ trip, to me, involves a beach, a margarita, some eye candy at the cabana, and the next thing I know, we’re in a foot of snow! So I’m freezing the whole time.'”
“I’m looking for Season 3, where they take us to the summer months, [and] the summer areas of the world,” Ganache said.
Both queens appear on this season of Slaycation alongside international Drag Race stars Miss Fiercalicious, Nicky Doll, Tessa Testicle and Xana—serving drama, laughs and performances for a local Canadian audience.
Finding family, home and acceptance
Edwards and Ganache both expressed how proud they are to be on an international stage after coming from humble beginnings.
“I’m very proud of my upbringing. I’m one of seven and I’m very proud that I have my Southern roots, and the way I was raised. I think there’s something very endearing and charming about folks from the South,” Edwards said. “We are very family-friendly oriented. And so for me to be around these queens outside of the werkroom, outside of the tension of the Drag Race [and] $200,000, chasing that check, [I] feel and have a moment to decompress and get to know these people as people was truly a reward.”
“I’m proud to be being a, a queer person that has had the opportunity to share my story with the entire world and shedding positive light on our demographic, our area, our upbringing,” she continued. “You know, I’m from Texas. My family’s from Mississippi. My father’s family and my mother’s family’s from Oklahoma. So, I’m very proud of being around so much family and drag has become family and family’s not always blood. It’s chosen as well. And so…[it] sounds cliche, but it’s always an honor when you get to be a gay person on television.”
Ganache added, “ You know, I am just happy. …I was raised in Mississippi and now I live in Texas, and drag has become a way of life for me because it’s given me the courage to just live freely and going on this show. I didn’t expect to live freely, not only outside of my country, but to be accepted outside of my country with girls that I have grown to know and to love. So it’s been an amazing journey to be on that show and I can’t wait for you all to see it.”
Celebrating drag around the world
Ganache also shared that bonding with the other queens was a major personal takeaway.
“I think for me, the greatest takeaway for this entire show is although we are so different, we are very much the same and that we live a queer life and we all just hope to exist,” she said. “And that’s what it’s really has been, become like we all just want to exist and we want to exist the way we want to exist. And did we butt heads from that at times? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, we are all one dysfunctional family and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Edwards echoed the sentiment, saying the drag show the cast performed during the series highlighted their connection with the local community.
“I mean, because it’s something that we all do, it unites us all. The connector that connects us all is drag. And so we were all in our element in that moment. And then to be a part of the community, not only just appreciated but celebrated? I mean, it was absolutely remarkably beautiful seeing how many people turned up to this show to celebrate each and every one of us,” Edwards said. “And the room was filled with so many smiling, happy people.”
“And, you know, there was a time when I was waiting on the world to change,” she added. “Something about the South that I’ve always struggled with as a queer person is, finding understanding within myself, and understanding within my family [and] in my community. You know, back in my day, there was no one like me on television until I saw Patrick Swayze dressed up as Vita Boheme in To Wong Foo. And you know, I didn’t…understand what gay and queer was, I didn’t understand drag or a drag queen, I didn’t know any of that, forget understand. And so I was waiting on the world to change, and now I can say I am officially a part of that change. And then to see drag be so celebrated in another country—this, ultimately after 25 years of being a drag performer, is the greatest reward.”
“The greatest reward to go in to be accepted, especially within that community,” Silky added. “There was one moment where we had a dinner and the community was just around us and you know, they’re really shy, but they was really giddy to see [us]. We had ladies from all around the world in this one room and we ended up making it a party in that restaurant that day.”
“And you know, one of the things that Alyssa said that day that has always stayed with me and I say it all the time now, is ‘Thank you for coming to celebrate the art of drag.’ And that is true because there has been a time where drag hasn’t always been celebrated,” she continued. “And even if you look in today’s politics in the United States, it’s not always celebrated. But one of the greatest things that we have is perseverance, and we have persevered and we do it with a smile. We do it with love. And at the end of the day, love conquers all. So I am very blessed to have had that experience because of that.”
Slaycation Season 2 is now streaming on WOW Presents Plus.