Roxxxy Andrews
Roxxxy Andrews Credit: courtesy

Orlando drag royalty Roxxxy Andrews celebrated her birthday recently under the lights of Southern Nights, the nightclub she’s called home for more than a decade. Now, the RuPaul’s Drag Race breakout star is preparing for another hometown celebration, this time with her first solo headlining performance at Orlando’s Come Out With Pride on the Divas Stage in Lake Eola Park Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7:55 p.m.

Andrews joins a star-studded lineup on that stage, including fellow Drag Race alumni Ginger Minj, Detox, Sasha Colby and Season 18 winner Myki Meeks. 

Held annually around National Coming Out Day, Come Out With Pride has grown into one of the Southeast’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations, with more than 230,000 attendees last year. This year’s festival, themed “Feel the Beat,” takes over Lake Eola Park with drag performances, music and the Most Colorful Parade in downtown Orlando, before closing with fireworks over the lake. 

“I’m super excited to have my first headline spot over here,” Andrews tells Orlando Weekly.

Pride for Andrews has historically meant a packed weekend performance schedule rather than a day spent enjoying the festivities herself. Between appearances on the Pulse float and commitments at local nightclubs, she’s rarely had the opportunity to experience the celebration without being painted and on the clock.

“I worked at Pulse for over 10 years and was always on the Pulse float, and then I went from Pulse to Southern, and I’ve been there for over 10 years,” she remembers.

Having spent much of her career performing in Orlando, Andrews has witnessed considerable changes in the city’s LGBTQ+ community, particularly in its nightlife scene.

Andrews recalls a time when performers were scattered across far-flung venues like Parliament House, Pulse and Southern Nights, often working separate stages without regularly crossing paths. Today, she sees a smaller nightlife landscape but a more close-knit community.

“I feel like we’re not spread out as much, and we see each other more often because there aren’t as many places to go,” she says. “I feel like the community has grown closer.”

She also extends her point about connection to the next generation of Orlando drag. Sharing this year’s Pride lineup with Andrews is Myki Meeks, the city’s newest Drag Race champion, who has previously credited Andrews as one of her mentors at Southern Nights. It’s a fitting pairing for someone who’s watched drag evolve from handmade costumes and local pageants into an increasingly polished, social media-driven industry.

“Back in the day, you had to go to JoAnn’s, get a sewing machine and figure out how to make it yourself,” Andrews recalls.

For many, gone are the days when re-creating a celebrity’s look meant a mandatory trip to the fabric store and a few crafty friends. Now, queens are often resplendent in commissioned outfits from the very designers behind those celebrity looks — though that level of glamour can come with a hefty price tag. 

“I feel like the caliber of drag has gone up,” Andrews says, crediting the resources available to newer performers while lamenting that some degree of the DIY creativity that once defined drag is getting lost in the process. 

But even with a career that’s taken her far beyond Central Florida, Orlando is still special. “I always love to be able to be home and celebrate Pride here, which doesn’t happen too often,” she says.

Pay tribute to our actual Orlando royals this Saturday afternoon and evening at the Divas Stage at Lake Eola Park.

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This article appears in Oct. 14-20, 2026.