Neighbours, one of Seattle's oldest Gay nightclubs, recently celebrated its 20th and final Leo Party. With All Stars 8 finalist Jessica Wild as the headliner for the evening — along with a lineup of some of the city's most iconic queens, including Ladie Chablis and Aleksa Manila — the event was set up to be a night to remember.

If the Leo Party went according to plan, it could have been an outstanding night of Queer art and entertainment. However, its potential was greatly overshadowed by an incredibly late show start.

Let's start with the positive takeaways from the evening. DJ Pedro played wonderful tracks throughout my time there. The go-go dancers were very talented and ethnically diverse. The lineup of entertainers was incredible. Aleksa looked beautiful and statuesque.

Fifty percent of all proceeds from the event were donated to 89.5 FM and Pride Asia. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence hosted a raffle ticket contest.

Now for the negatives. Let me start off by prefacing. I showed up at the venue at 7:30 p.m. Doors opened at 7 p.m. with a VIP meet-and-greet with Jessica at 8 p.m. and a scheduled start time of 8:25 p.m. I stayed at the venue until 9:50 p.m. During my time there, the go-go dancers danced a few sets. The Sisters hosted their raffle contest. Aleksa said a few words on the mic. And nothing else transpired. As someone who bartends full-time, does drag, writes for the SGN, and has a husband with disabilities and five fur babies, my life is extremely busy. I could only squeeze the first two hours of the show into my calendar. From what I could gather through various social media outlets, the Leo Party still took place, just way off of its scheduled time.

I would also like to note that while the go-go dancers were diverse in ethnicity, we as Queer people are not all hairless muscle twinks — which is exactly what the dancers' bodies looked like. Some of us are skinny. Some of us are large and in charge. We have stretch marks, scars, body hair. In 2023 there is no excuse to not have various body types giving much needed representation for our community. Their absence can be very damaging for a lot of people, myself included.

We as entertainers work in an industry where punctuality and professionalism are incredibly important. However, things don't always happen according to plan. It's unfortunate, but it's a part of the fabric of reality. It happens. Neighbours is a vital piece of Seattle's nightlife. Please continue to support not only the nightclub but the wonderful staff that work there and entertainers that grace its stage.

You can catch a plethora of wonderful shows and events at Neighbors, including "Fridays Are a Drag" with the champ of Camp Wanakiki season 5, Miss Texas 1988, every Friday at 10 p.m. at 1509 Broadway, in Seattle.