I Am What I Am Show at Mardi Gras Party

A highlight of the 1989 Mardi Gras Party in the Government Pavilion at the RAS Showground was the 3am show.

"The hall looked like Rio after a hurricane," wrote Jim Jenkins. "There's movement on stage as the lights dim. A lone drag queen appears as that heart-tearing anthem 'I Am What I Am' begins. Seconds later she shares the stage with another hundred entertainers. Men and women in tulle, leather, feather sequins and heavy-duty cotton, stilettos and monkey boots.

"A tightly choreographed number unfolds and reaches its crescendo. The hall erupts. The cheers are deafening. Thousands of arms are in the air. Tears blind."