Photo by Chad Weckler.
Rich Volo is Hudson, New York’s renaissance man and its resident drag queen, Trixie Starr. Volo juggles an exhaustive list of jobs, gigs and responsibility throughout the city. When it was announced recently that his former organization, The Hudson Pride Foundation, wasn’t going to hold the culturally vital Hudson Pride Parade this year, Volo, Starr and friends stepped up and (in what seemed like a matter of moments) created a new group, Out Hudson, and announced they would organize an LGBTQ Parade and weekend of events June 17-19. Volo also runs a home bakery called Trixie’s Oven and an Airbnb called Trixie’s Bed Bath and Biscotti. He manages the support and implementation office at MyComplianceOffice.com, runs GayHudson.com, and more weekends than not Trixie produces or hosts events around the city.
I love Hudson, I love the people here, I love the community. It’s a wonderful place. I bought my house in July 2008 and the first Trixie’s Whore House party was back in 2008 and the thing is, in all the things I do throughout the years, people always come out! Nightlife is important. These dance parties have an economic benefit to the town because they give people a reason not to leave. Having stuff to do is so important to a sense of community. (Photo by Christine Jones.) When there was the idea of possibly no parade, I got so many texts and phone calls and emails like, "my daughter is 13 years old and just came out, she was devastated that there would be no parade." When you receive something like that, how do you say there’s no parade? You say, "of course there’s a parade," and you do what you have to do to make it happen. And, throughout the years, I’ve gotten nothing but support. What people don’t realize (about Trixie) is I’m not really a drag queen, I’m really awful at it. Where it came out of is for 15-20 years I would have to lead trainings on accounting and reconciliation software, which is the most boring thing you could ever think about, so I had to come up with jokes just to keep people and myself entertained. My whole drag career is: I show up on time and I do what they ask me to do… that’s it… and I show up sober. That’s the secret. Read RI's earlier Q&A: Twenty Questions for Hudson's Brightest Light: Trixie Starr.
