Inspiring others to step into the creative performer inside of themselves is an important part of dressing up and hitting the stage for Santa Maria drag queen Nova Cane.
Onstage, Cane levels up the energy with thigh-high boots, contoured makeup, and performances that hit with songs by Doja Cat, Rihanna, and Kylie Minogue. Her goal for the upcoming drag performance at Presqu’ile Winery for HOPE After Dark on June 13 in Santa Maria is to go even bigger.
“This year, going into it, I want to keep pushing myself to be more creative and go balls to the wall because I want to take this crown and I want to represent Santa Maria queens,” Cane said. “I want more queens to be inspired to take that leap.”
Come out to a show
The Libertine Brewing Company, which is hosting Pride events this month, is located at 1234 Broad St. in Downtown San Luis Obispo. In Santa Maria, HOPE After Dark will be at Presqu’ile Winery at 5391 Presqu’ile Drive in Santa Maria on June 13.
Cane discovered drag by watching RuPaul’s Drag Race at the age of 14 and is inspired by the 2016 makeup scene. Drag makeup and choreographing her performances are creative pursuits that she loves, which enable her to give into a part of herself that she doesn’t get to every day.
“I think Nova Cane for me is just a little bit of an embodiment of my feminine side,” she said. “She’s a high-energy performer, she loves to serve face.”
While attending Pioneer Valley High School, Cane, who graduated in 2018, and a friend put makeup on one day. Cane attended school that day with a brown glittery smoky eye and a gray wig, 6-inch heels, and a fluffy tutu. It was Cane’s first time expressing herself through drag.
“Definitely nervous at first, and then once I had everything on, it was like a superhero costume,” Cane said. “When Nova comes on, she’s a whole different side of me.”
A little reserved normally, Cane can be anything but in drag. In one show, for instance, she donned angel wings and a huge tulle coat to perform to Lana Del Rey’s song “Young and Beautiful.”
“Drag means stepping outside of your comfort zone and allowing yourself to be free and allowing yourself to be yourself,” Cane said.
For Fae Fatale, who will be performing at the That’s So Drag Brunch at Libertine Brewing Co. in San Luis Obispo, community lies at the heart of drag. Coming from the Cal Poly Drag Club in college, Nala Diamond and Juicy CW were the first queens that they met outside of Cal Poly.
“They’ve always been so much fun to work with. They have some of the craziest ideas, and they’re just so fun,” Fatale said. “And they’ve just given me so many opportunities to do drag and show drag to a bigger audience.”
Diamond and Juicy CW co-host the Drag Brunch at Libertine. On June 6, the Libertine is hosting a nighttime dance party with drag performances, which Fatale is performing in, alongside a brunch the next day to kick off Pride.
Fatale’s first time in drag was at a protest against a conservative speaker on Cal Poly’s campus.
“Being in drag in a space with so many other people who were feeling that same thing, it was really just a sense of coming home and coming into a new family,” Fatale said.
Drag offers an outlet for Fatale’s femininity, as they identify as a nonbinary male.
“As I ventured deeper into masculinity, I thought I would have to leave the makeup and dresses behind, otherwise it would be confusing to people, and so it allowed me to come back to a skill and a hobby I really loved, and it also allowed me to feel empowered to continue playing with gender and like I could do both, and also I could ultimately do what I wanted and still have a home and a community that would accept me and make me feel comfortable and empowered being myself,” Fatale said.
When they perform as Fae Fatale, they want the character to exist outside of themself and the world they live in. They drew upon themes of otherworldliness and fairy tales to develop the character, starting with just Fae, and later adding Fatale for more empowerment.
“I felt like I needed an outlet to step away from any of the hardship that I was experiencing with my family or any sort of issues that I was having. I could kind of escape into a separate world,” Fatale said.
“I think people have this idea of punk being scary and mean but I think at the very heart of punk is community care and it’s taking care of the people around you and making sure that everyone has a space,” Fatale said.
Donning latex and leather clothing with fishnets, a smoky eye, fake face piercings, and a big messy wig, Fatale likes to perform to Paramore, Kesha, and Slayyyter.
As they continued to perform drag, they pulled from punk references, pushed against certain political themes, and leaned into protest.
“I think with everything that is going on right now, it can feel really scary and isolating, but going to a drag show and just having fun and performing for other people, being able to bring some amount of levity and joy to people who otherwise might be feeling scared or unaccepted, I think that is really the most important part of drag to me,” Fatale said.
Diamond said that so many people feel like they can’t be a drag queen.
“That they can’t perform at these spaces, and we’re just like, ‘We are here with open arms,’” Diamond said. “The only criteria we have at a drag show is to entertain an audience and just be a good person.”
Before Diamond goes onstage, they check in with their cats via the cameras in their home.
“I like to video chat them and be like, ‘I’m getting you money, I’ll be home soon,’” Diamond said.
All the money Diamond makes from performing drag is put back into the animal community. This includes rescuing animals, paying for an animal’s surgery or medication, and placing cat and dog food around the city for strays.
“Being able to see what I’m doing it for, it takes all the tension, all the nerves away,” Diamond said. “It gives you that goal, it gives you that drive to push your creativity. And I feel like I’m at my most funny and I feel like I’m at my most performative when I know that they’re all at home waiting for me to bring them new siblings.”
Diamond’s love for animals comes from growing up in a small Florida country town, where their family would rescue abandoned animals in the woods. Alongside their passion for animals, Diamond’s childhood also introduced them to the world of drag, from going to Pride parades with their parents.
“Being able to laugh, being able to see the glamor of it all, it is what I always feel like I wanted to do in life,” Diamond said. “And help animals.”
Reach intern Katy Clark at intern@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in June 4 – June 11, 2026.
