Denver Drag Star Lulu Krystals Competes on Out TV's Camp Wannakiki

Summer camp is one of those weird American cultural touchstones. Not everyone attends when they're a kid — but everyone knows what it is and what it's like. That's what makes the premise of Out TV's Camp Wannakiki such a crackerjack concept: What's more watchable than a cast of hilarious drag queens and kings sashaying and punning their way through a day of activities at camp?

The sixth season of the summer-camp-inspired drag competition launches Thursday, July 11, with nine queens and one king competing for prizes, a crown and, inevitably, our hearts. While the show doesn't have the name recognition or budget of a Ru Paul's Drag Race, it does have a couple of notable, extra-special treats for Mile High drag lovers this year.

The first is Denver-based contestant Lulu Krystals, part of the House of Krystals and already drag royalty locally, having won the top spot at Tracks' Denver Drag Olympics (formerly the Ultimate Queen Competition) back in 2019. After her win, Krystals graduated to hosting the competition, followed by joining the mentors' panel this past season. Her drag is a competitive mix of sharp looks, a comedy-forward vibe and a heaping dose of creativity. An entrepreneur as well as an artist, she also sells her own line of homemade pickles — a "for fun" pandemic project that spiraled into a sideline. And if all that weren't enough, she recently received confirmation that she has been accepted into the Austin International Drag Fest.

"Lulu Krystals is that campy, kooky, 'crazy aunt' kind of figure," she says. "I try not to take myself too seriously, in or out of drag, really...I just like to make sure that everyone's having fun and enjoying themselves. ... I try to bring that aura, if you will."

In addition to providing us with a hometown hero to root for, Camp Wannakiki is bringing this season's entire cast (plus its obligatory "assistance beefcake," Eddie "Ranger" Danger) to Colorado to celebrate the premiere at Hamburger Mary's. The performers will be hosting two full nights at the City Park West staple, with a viewing of the first episode at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 11, followed by an encore screening at the same time on Sunday, July 14. Each night will have a meet-and-greet at 6 p.m. and finish with more group hijinks: the cast will be participating in "MaryOke Karaoke" on Thursday and holding a "camptastic" drag show on Sunday, both starting around 8 p.m. It's a rare opportunity to watch a reality show roll out in real time alongside the people you're watching on the screen. The bar's parent company, Hamburger Mary's International, is the show's producer.
"Normally they do it before or after the actual release date — on the streaming service — but this year it's on the same day, so I think that's something that's pretty cool, too," says Krystals. Bringing the cast en masse, as well, is "very cool for Denver, I feel, because Denver hasn't really grasped Camp Wannakiki yet, you know, like...fully embraced it," she adds. "To bring it here makes it something special."

It's also a nod to a growing legacy of Denver queens making the show: House of Krystals founder Dixie Krystals was a contestant last season and was preceded by Kai Lee Mykels in season three (season two's Zenon TeaVee, née Vivica Galactica, used to live here, too). Lulu is therefore continuing a proud tradition of representing Denver's drag excellence; appropriately enough, it was her drag mother, Dixie, who encouraged her to throw her wig in the ring.

"I had always wanted to do it, but I was just too...I don't know...I was just too reserved and in my head about it," says Krystals. "And after Dixie was on it, she was like, 'Just do it,' and really pushed me forward into putting my application in. Luckily, I only had to apply once."

The reality show was created by its hosts and judges, the Sugarbaker Twins, Apple Brown Betty and Cherry Pi. Out of drag, they're brothers Ashley and Brandon Wright, as well as the current owners of the Hamburger Mary's franchise. They intended Camp Wannakiki to highlight the campy, funny side of drag culture, in contrast to emphasizing its glamour (Ru Paul) or its dark side (the Boulet Brothers' Dragula). The format is split between daytime challenges such as water sports, zip-lining, milking cows and selling cookies — all in full drag, of course — and themed looks for nightly talent shows. The twins are assisted in the judging by Dear Ruthie, a "camp counselor," Milwaukee performer and longtime friend.

"I love a theme and I love to be creative, so it was a very fun process for me to go through," says Krystals. "I am really excited for everything to finally come out and be seen. I'm super excited for the looks and everything I have. I used all Denver designers, so all the looks that we're gonna see all are coming from Denver. So that's something that's really cool, that I was excited to bring to the show, is to just kinda really showcase the talent that we have here."

Slightly less appealing to her was the real-life camping experience that the contestants shared: "I never really enjoyed real camping, like sleeping bags on the ground kind of stuff. I preferred 'in a camper' camping; it puts more of a barrier between true nature and yourself," she says, laughing. Camp Wannakiki "definitely is in the middle of nowhere; it's at an actual campground. ... The whole time that we were there, we slept in a cabin bunk: we were at camp, legit." And much like a youthful camp experience, the cast found that there was a lot of fun to be had and friends to be made, "roughing it" notwithstanding.
"I'll tell you what, this cast is something special," Krystals says. "We were always, after filming, going up and having bonfires and hanging out. There were a lot of fun times outside of filming, when the cameras were off, that we really got to bond and make memories."

The tight-knit group gets to reunite this weekend, celebrating a moment in the sun and sharing talents with the Mile High City. Outside of the two viewing events, the group will be hosting a show at Mary's called "Camp Does Denver" Friday, July 12, at 8 p.m., and a "Diva Delight Bingo" charity event at ReelWorks Denver on Saturday, July 13, from 6 to 9 p.m.

"We got the full cast all weekend," Krystals says, "so there are many chances to come out and see us and hang out."

Camp Wannakiki premiere with full cast, 7 p.m. Thursday, July 11, at Hamburger Mary's Denver, 1336 East 17th Avenue. Admission is free, but reservations are required here.