Cherry Lemonade, 37, is a Portland drag queen and a co-founder and creative director of Curbside Queens, a traveling drag show that will be at City Theater in Biddeford on Saturday. She has been performing professionally for 15 years and is organizing a Portland Pride show at Aura on June 15. Her male persona, Conor, is the tenor voice in the wedding and events band Big Magic.

Y’all, being on stage all the time can be exhausting, so I’m always up for a tiny escape.

I’ll start with a cold brew from Coffee By Design on Diamond Street (in Portland), then me and my buddies will bike over to the ferry terminal. Destination: Peaks Island. The breathtaking view on the ride across Casco Bay always makes me think, “Wow, I actually live here.” Once we dock, it’s off to Battery Steele. The old bunker is burrowed into a hill and covered with (tasteful) graffiti. If you’re lucky, you might hear a saxophonist playing jazz in the caverns; it has happened to me twice. On the way back, we stop at Island Lobster Company for crab cakes while we watch for the return ferry.

My mama says I have a “hollow leg,” so back on the mainland, I’m beelining to Tomaso’s Canteen. Their blackened chicken Caesar salad is absolutely outstanding, and leave room for the legit best buffalo wings in town. But as a drag queen, I’ve gotta stay fit, and clearly my diet isn’t helping that. Westbrook’s Steel In Motion is the perfect way to whip every single muscle into shape. Heather and her team teach pole dancing technique at all skill levels with ease, but be prepared, because it’s not a lazy sport! You’re gonna be sore!

Time for a little shopping. Little Ghost Vintage is loaded with discarded gems from yesteryear, but I like to customize my drag, so it’s off to Artist & Craftsman Supply to stock up on supplies to make sure my look is on point.

My day off often falls on a Tuesday, so I’m bound to end up at Brookside Food and Drink (in Westbrook) for Best Worst Trivia. Smart dudes are hot! Hosts Zach and Nick are funny, engaging and make a hard game enjoyable. The competition stays friendly but fierce, and they even have tournaments a few times a year for all you trivia geeks like me.

To close down the night, I’ll pop over to my local watering hole, the Portland Zoo, for some patio action. A solid industry hang, the staff is fantastic, and they keep a great stock of local brews, and nonalcoholic beers for us teetotalers. On Tuesdays, they often have DJs spinning house and hip-hop out back, while the cool kids in the neighborhood yell for the Celtics in the playoffs.

Portland is an amazing place to be “California sober.” I recently discovered Landrace Cannabis Co. on Forest Ave. and I can say with confidence that their selection of edibles, vapes and flower is top-notch. An indica guy through and through, it’s a quick J and then off to bed for me to dream up Curbside Queens’ next big show!

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