Poison Waters Leads Two Dozen Drag Queens Into Skies Over Newberg, Oregon

Two dozen drag performers from across the Pacific Northwest climbed into hot air balloons before sunrise Monday, trading stages and spotlights for wicker baskets and open sky above Yamhill County's wine country. The goal: an attempt at the world record for the most drag performers airborne in hot air balloons at the same time, launched from a small airpark outside Newberg, Oregon.

The attempt was organized by Poison Waters, one of Portland's best-known drag entertainers, who joined the two dozen other artists in the baskets, according to KOIN.com. The launch was staged out of Vista Balloon Adventures, which is based in Newberg, and the station reports that reporter Kohr Harlan joined the group for the early-morning flight. Event details listed on Poison Waters' own calendar put the launch time at 6 a.m. Monday, lifting off from Vista Balloon Adventures' staging site at Sportsman Airpark on Commerce Parkway in Newberg.

Vista Balloon Adventures, founded in 1989, bills itself as the oldest and largest hot air balloon company in the Pacific Northwest, operating seven balloons over the Willamette Valley's vineyards, per Taste Newberg. That regional footprint made the company a natural host for an event aiming to lift an unusually large group of performers off the ground at once.

A Portland Drag Icon Behind the Idea

Poison Waters is the stage persona of Portland resident Kevin Cook, who began performing in 1988 and joined Darcelle XV Showplace in the early 1990s, co-hosting shows there for more than 35 years, according to Wikipedia. Cook has also taught an online community education course at Portland Community College since 2021 titled Histories of Drag Performance in Portland, documenting local drag history dating back to the 1940s, as reported by OPB. That dual role as performer and local historian has made Poison Waters a familiar face at civic events across Portland, including a turn as Grand Marshal for both the Portland Rose Festival's Starlight Parade and the Portland Pride Parade in June 2023.

The balloon attempt follows a well-worn pattern for Oregon's drag community, which has repeatedly used high-visibility stunts to draw attention and raise money. In July 2023, Darcelle XV Showplace partnered with Portland apparel brand Wildfang to set a Guinness World Record for the longest continuous drag stage show, running 48 hours, 11 minutes and 30 seconds and raising more than $290,000 for The Trevor Project. Organizers of that Drag-a-Thon said at the time it was conceived in direct response to more than 400 anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-drag legislative bills introduced across the country that year.

A Legacy Rooted in Darcelle XV Showplace

The record attempt also carries echoes of Walter W. Cole, who performed as Darcelle XV until his death at age 92 in March 2023. Guinness World Records recognized Cole in 2016 as the world's oldest performing drag queen at age 85. The Old Town venue he opened in 1967, Darcelle XV Showplace, became the first location in Oregon listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020 for its contributions to LGBTQ+ history.

That legacy has continued to draw civic recognition in Portland. In June, the city held a ribbon-cutting for Darcelle XV Plaza, converting the former O'Bryant Square downtown into a public space honoring local drag history. Hoodline has previously reported on a downtown mural honoring Darcelle XV and covered vandalism that struck the landmark's plaque outside Darcelle XV Showplace.

The balloon attempt itself was described as unofficial and subject to weather delays, part of a broader trend of Oregon drag artists moving their performances into unconventional public settings with backing from local institutions and regional businesses. Whether the flight ultimately produces a certified record was not addressed in available accounts of Monday's launch.