The Hawaii Boa Arts Ball Pageant consists of three crowns - Queen Of Queens, Golden Goddess, and Closet Queen. We were the first in the state of Hawaii to conceive of this format for a female impersonation pageantry system. The contestants for all three titles are not limited to local contestants, but national and international as well.
The first crown is the most prestigious of the three. It has a long and illustrious history dating back to 1968, when it was first held at The Glade Show Lounge in downtown Honolulu on Hotel Street. The Queen of Queens pageant was held every year on New Year's Eve, where at the stroke of midnight a new queen was crowned. It wasn’t until 1991, the Queen of Queens became the star player of the Hawaii Boa Arts Ball.
The first Hawaii Boa Arts Ball Pageant was held at the Chinese Cultural Plaza, in downtown Honolulu to a near full-capacity crowd. With 19 contestants, the winner of Queen Of Queens went on to Chicago to represent Hawaii at Miss Continental. In 1992, the pageant was moved to The Dole Cannery Ballrooms where it made its home until 2000. The pageant was always held mid-year around the 4th of July, thus the red, white, and blue theme. The highest points awarded for each title are the talent divisions, with the exception of Closet Queen. This means that more emphasis is put into their talents, making the event much more entertaining. For Closet Queen contestants, the transformation division is the highest, as it is what keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.
The second part of the pageant is the Golden Goddess. All contestants must be at least 50 years of age, and must compete in talent and gold gown divisions. This segment is for the more mature and well-seasoned impersonators. It was patterned after The Goddess Of California Pageant.
Part three of the pageant is for the amateur impersonators; they are called the Closet Queens. It was patterned after Missy's Closet Ball held in Los Angeles. They too are required to compete in two divisions. The first is male talent, where they must show off their masculinity through performance. Then, they have 90 minutes to go from male to female attire, and compete in gown division, otherwise known as "transformation."
In 2000, The Hawaii Boa Arts Ball took a decade of slumber & silence. Maddalynn Ashton and @shton Productions brought The Hawaii Boa Arts Ball Pageant back to life, and crowned their first court in 2010. We are now heading into the 19th pageant, with our current court: Anna Mei (Queen of Queens), Brandy Lee (Golden Goddess), and Cris/Hunnae Flava (Closet Queen).
