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A large and lively crowd filled the Eureka Adorni Center Wednesday night to watch local men strap on pumps and strut their stuff down the runway, in what some might consider the town’s oldest drag show – the thirteenth annual High Heels for Healing. 

It was the first time that the popular fundraiser, put on by Soroptimists International of Humboldt Bay, returned to Eureka since COVID, and after the few-year hiatus the performers were ready to thrust their hips hard and the ladies, well, they couldn’t wait to make it rain dollar dollar bills, y’all. 

“It’s a great cause and it’s a lot of fun,” Gregg Foster, executive director of Redwood Region Economic Development Corporation, told the Outpost before he hit the stage. “I’ve been doing it since 2012 and it’s great to be back.” 

When asked if he found this type of performance to be similar to drag, Foster, who was sporting a loud 1970s pimp-style costume and black and white spectator pumps, enthusiastically replied “Absolutely! And of course, drag is fun. Drag is cool.” 

Foster was one of more than a dozen local men participating in the event. Some of them, like Foster, were seasoned veterans, while others were walking for their first time, each representing a different walk of life – from rodeo cowboys to business professionals. And whether they sashayed, trotted, danced, gyrated, crawled or shook their booty, each brought their own unique flavor to the runway, all while eagerly accepting money thrown at them or tucked into their shirts or waistbands. 

Sound a little like a strip club? Well, pearl-clutchers need not worry – all the gentlemen’s clothes stayed on and the dancing was only somewhat bawdy. The event was many times referred to as “good, clean fun.” Heck! Some folks even brought their kiddos along to join the festivities. And everyone seemed to be having a ball. 

Plus, it’s all for charity! All the tips for the performers, as well as the tickets for the event and the auction, go to fund the efforts of Soroptimists Humboldt Bay, which helps low-income women and children to achieve their educational and career goals. 

Laura Middlemiss, a Soroptimists board member and previous director, told the Outpost that she was thrilled with the turnout, especially after the event had to take a few years off, and was happy to see the audience having such a good time and giving so generously.

When the event first started 13 years ago, Middlemiss said, the idea was that it would improve men’s empathy for women to have them literally “walk in their shoes.” The men who participated started getting so into it that it naturally evolved into the rambunctious party that it is today. 

“The men in our community are just so supportive and enthusiastic,” Middlemiss said. “And they’re enjoying themselves. It’s lighthearted. It’s really just about having a really enjoyable time.”

And though Middlemiss does understand that playing with the traditional gender roles is part of the spirit of the event, she doesn’t think of the show as drag, which she feels holds its own significant role in the community. 

“I don’t think it’s the same thing,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to diminish the importance or the artistic experience that drag can be.” 

And it did seem that this show lacked some of the choreography, lip-syncing and makeup and costume artistry one would see at a local drag show (no death drops or duck walks here.) But some attendees felt that the similarities were clear, especially when it came to the intention of both types of events.  

Gini Noggle, better known by stage name Jamie Bondage, hosts many local drag and burlesque shows and attended this year’s High Heels for Healing for the first time to see what it was like. Following the show, Noggle said that, though there were some definite differences, she was struck by the similarities. 

And in a time when local drag shows have prompted protests and scorn, and drag show bans are sweeping the U.S., maybe it’s a good time to focus on what makes us the same, rather than what makes us different. 

“What I saw tonight was a fun show with performers having a great time and who were totally supportive of each other,” Noggle wrote to the Outpost. “…We are all in this together. If we’re lucky we’re all in it together for a long time. [We] might as well make it a good time. Go out, see shows of ALL types and keep supporting your local performers and nonprofits.”

Scroll down for more pics of the fun!