MORE! The drag queen who personifies Pride tells you how to get the most out of it

Juanita MORE! is pure San Francisco: Charitable, playful, beautiful, and all-around fabulous. And during Pride season, that fabulousness is on display everywhere, from DJing at the Giants Pride Day in the park on the bay to promoting the biggest, badest Pride events everywhere.

We just wonder when she sleeps, especially as her famous bulldog pups, Jackson and Macho, have a tendency to dominate her bed on the nights she does not have other people in it.

This year, MORE!’s Pride event will support Queer Lifespace, an organization providing affordable mental health services to the LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco and beyond with programs geared towards teenagers and adults.

GayCities had a chance to catch up with Miss MORE! ahead of her June 25th event and learn more. The San Francisco icon talks about her Pride plans, her murals, her naked dinner parties and so much MORE!

What are you wearing right now? What’s your favorite party cocktail?

“At the moment, I am wearing nothing more than a bra and a pair of lace panties, and I just poured myself a Juanita MORE! Cocktail.”

What’s on your bedside table and your DJ playlist?

“I’m currently listening to one of my jazz playlists. On the bedside table beside me is a floral bouquet, cocktail, spare change, and a bottle of poppers.”

How are Jackson and Macho? How do they deal with your naked dinner parties in your apartment?

“Jackson and Macho love it when I have naked dinner parties. They get so much love and attention and eat all the scraps of food that fall on the floor.”

What is your favorite mural with your likeness, and why?

“What is my favorite mural?! When you ask me that question, it feels like you are asking me who my favorite child is––although I have a favorite, I’d never tell!”

Your Pride parties have become legendary in SF. So what’s the key to a great party?

“I think of my Pride Party as a movie and I’m the director. It needs a fantastic script from beginning to end, a great score, spectacular visuals, and the right cast of characters to make it an Oscar-worthy film.”

Any tips for getting the most out of your pride parties?

“The best tip I can give about being at my Pride Party is to be nice. Take a moment to introduce yourself to the person next to you. Everyone in attendance has one thing in common –– and that’s me!”

Where are your profit proceeds going this year? How do you pick your beneficiaries when there is so much need?

“This year I’ve chosen Queer LifeSpace as the party’s beneficiary, a San Francisco-based mental health nonprofit serving the LGBTQIA+ community.”

“As Queer LifeSpace points out, Queer people often struggle with suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, trauma, and loss of family. I chose QLS this year because I’ve struggled with the issues listed above at some time or another, and we are all dealing with everything happening in our country. A healthy queer community is a productive one.”

Trans kids are under attack in red states. Queer equality seems to be in retreat after decades of progress. Even Pride is under attack by vigilantes who sometimes show up with guns or try to intimidate us and our sponsors. What’s happened to our country, and how should we be fighting back?

“The rise in extreme anti-LGBTQIA+ hate rhetoric and the laws rapidly evolving around them across the United States from far-right extremists is ugly and unrelenting. Their message is poisonous and a sideshow to distract from more pressing issues.”

“As the haters continue to show their faces in our government, on the news, and on social media, we must continue to show ours.”

Juanita’s support of this non-profit aims to counter the negative effects of the current political climate on LGBTQ+ mental well-being, aligning with the Trevor Project’s findings which recently found 2 in 3 LGTBQ+ youth have reported a decline in their mental health following the outbreak of anti-LGBTQ+ laws such as “Don’t Say Gay.”  Even more disheartening, the same research found 56% of those surveyed who wanted mental health services in the last year couldn’t get access. 

You lost your friend Heklina, who was critical to the SF queer community. How are you honoring her legacy?

“We celebrated her life at the Castro Theater, surrounded by community, family, and many dear, old friends. Everyone who helped organize the memorial spoke and performed heartwarming tributes; they were beautiful, funny, and even rude at times! I’m sure Heklina was cackling away from wherever she landed.”

Name three places in SF not to be missed by visitors during the Pride season.

“Naming only three places to visit in San Francisco is a tricky question. I love to walk through Aquatic Park with a handsome man and my dogs, have lunch at Zuni Cafe, take a selfie in front of one of my many murals, and tag me.”

Pre-sale tickets for the JM! Pride Day Party has sold out. Tickets will be available on the day of the event at the door. A limited number of pre-sale tickets for the JM! Night Party are still available online at Halcyon and cash-only at Sui Generis Consignment.

But, if you want to see Juanita in June, this is where to find her:

• Castro Pride at SF, Friday, June 9th, 10 am
• SF Giants Pride Night, Saturday, June 10th, 1 pm – 4 pm
• Queens on Top Pride Brunch, Fairmont Hotel, Saturday, June 17th, 11 am
• Beatpig at Powerhouse, Saturday, June 17th, 10 pm
• Drag Queen Cook-Off, Williams Sonoma, Tuesday, June 20th, 5:30 pm
• Electroluxx Pride Party at The Midway, Friday, June 23rd, 10 pm
• The People’s March & Rally, Fern Alley, Sunday, June 25th, 11 am
• JM! Pride Party, 620 Jones, Sunday, June 25th, 12 pm – 7 pm
• JM! Official After-Party, Halcyon, Sunday, June 25th, 6 pm – late

All photos provided by Juanita MORE!