Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The Pulpito Drag Derby, otherwise known as Vallarta's Annual Running Of The Drag Queens, now in its fifth year, is a fun-filled Friday afternoon, part block party, part Amapas Neighborhood Association (ANA) fundraiser.

Set to take place on Calle Pulpito on Friday, May 25 from 5-9 pm as part of the 2018 Vallarta Pride Celebrations, this year's event, hosted by Alejandra Bogue, will have a Circus theme, so get ready for a wild time as a dozen Drag Queens in feathers and heels rock around the block, race against the clock and each other, and stop along the way to clown around as they take on six crazy challenges.

Calle Pulpito, at the foot of the Pinnacle Funicular, will be closed to traffic between Olas Altas and Amapas, so neighbors and visitors can fill the street, bet on the Derby winner, and buy drinks and souvenir t-shirts, while the Drag Queens take to the sidewalks in a quest to win the coveted 'Ruby Tacon' (Red High Heel trophy.)

The contestants will also be racing for $8,000 pesos in cash prizes, so you can be sure that competition will be ferocious as they Lip-Sync For Their Lives and attempt to complete the six other fun and outrageous Challenges, as an entire street full of residents, locals and tourists cheer them on, and place bets on who will be the winner of this year's Pulpito Drag Derby.

It might be a knockdown-dragout competition, but it's all for a good cause! The ANA makes money for local street improvements through sponsorships and the selling of beer, bets and souvenir T-shirts. This year, we will also be asking for a donation to enter the Derby area on Pulpito, from our stage at the foot of the Funicular at Olas Altas, down to Calle Amapas.

The Pulpito Drag Derby is an all-volunteer effort, and the ANA needs dozens of volunteers to help with organizing, taking bets, selling t-shirts, keeping track of the contestants - who can be a real handful - and helping out behind the scenes. In particular, we need:

ENTRANCE CONTROL/DONATION COLLECTION: 6 people/3 couples to stand at our 3 entrance points to make sure people have an opportunity to make a suggested donation of $50-100 pesos ($2–4 USD).

BET SELLERS: Mingle in the crowd, selling bets on the winner. Winning bets get 3 x their face value in Pulpito Pesos, good for food & drink at the participating bars and restaurants listed on the betting slips. Bet sellers cannot be shy! We need 6 ballsy men and/or women!

DRINK & T-SHIRT SALES: 6 volunteers to man the stand/s.

STAGE MANAGERS/RUNNERS: Manage communications between stage and Green Room, Wrangle the contestants, get them to the stage on time, etc. We need 4, preferably bi-lingual, necessarily pushy.

JUDGES: Literally run with the Contestants and score each of their 6 Challenges. Physical and cardio stamina required. We need 6 volunteers.

TIMERS: We need 3 – one to note start time of each contestant, one to note their finish times, and one to determine the difference, in real time, so we don't waste time doing the math later.

COMMITMENT: Attend an orientation meeting on Thursday afternoon, May 24, to get your Derby T-shirt 'uniform' and specific assignments & instructions, and show up at 4:00 on Friday, May 25, for final details and assignments, so all is ready to go by 5:00 pm.

If you're interested, or know someone who might be, contact Viviana or Diego at info(at)amapaspv.com, call (322) 223-8312, or visit our office at 111/3 Rudolfo Gomez in Hotel San Marino, across from Barra Light and The Coffee Cup on PV's south side.

A portion of event proceeds will be donated to SETAC, Puerto Vallarta's LGBTQ Community Center. As the date draws nearer, more event details will be made available on Facebook at 'Pulpito Drag Derby.' See you at the Derby!