An Evening with Pattie Gonia: Keynote, Drag & Dance Party
PRESENTED BY HIGH COUNTRY CONSERVATION CENTER
$45 + $6.50 fee
Music By: DJ Matt Suave
Special guest: Denver drag artist- LeeLee
Come for the climate, stay for the drag, and dance it out—Pattie Gonia brings an electrifying night of advocacy, performance, and party to BIFA.
Part inspiring talk, part drag spectacle, and part dance party, this immersive experience invites audiences to reflect, connect, and take action. In Nature’s Strategies for Advocacy and Action, critically acclaimed environmentalist and drag queen Pattie Gonia (she/they) explores how allyship, resilience, and regeneration in the natural world can guide us toward a more inclusive and sustainable future. Through humor, storytelling, and interactive moments, Pattie empowers audiences—queer folks, allies, and anyone eager to drive change—to discover their role in shaping what comes next.
Then, the energy shifts from reflection to celebration with a drag performance with Pattie Gonia and special guest LeeLee, followed by a dance party with DJ Matt Suave of Play Haus plus a meet + greet.
PRESENTED BY HIGH COUNTRY CONSERVATION CENTER
PATTIE GONIA
Pattie Gonia is a critically acclaimed drag queen, environmentalist, and advocate for inclusivity and diversity in the outdoors.
Community of 1,500,000 people
Co-founder of the Outdoorist Oath- a non-profit that gets BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and femmes into the outdoors through community and education.
Founder the Queer Outdoor and Environmental Job Board - a free tool queer individuals can use to get hired and therefore diversify the fields.
Fundraised over $4.7 million for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and environmental non-profits
Film Projects - Wont Give Up, Birds Tell Us & Everything to Lose.
Awards and Press:
Time Magazine - Next Gen Leader 2024
National Geographic - Nat Geo 33 Changemaker
Outside Magazine - Person of the Year 2022
Vogue - SAVE HER!
The Advocate - Happy Earth Day! Don’t F*ck It Up
Yale - A conversation with environmentalist drag queen Pattie Gonia
Podcast Appearances:
How to Save a Planet - Pattie Gonia says the outdoors are for everyone
52HZ: The Lonely Whale Podcast - Putting in your boots with Pattie Gonia
NPR Science Fridays - Pattie Gonia and science queens
Partners:
Smithsonian / NASA / REI / National Geographic / Yale / Microsoft / Sundance Film Festival / The North Face / Burton / Backcountry / UCLA / HOKA / 1% For the Planet
Current Projects:
Currently touring SAVE HER! - An Environmental Drag Show produced by and starring Pattie Gonia
TV Series - with Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter) to be released sprng 2025 on a major streaming platform
Music - with collaborators across the art and environmental spaces
Co-founded - Outdoorist Oath - a non-profit that creates outdoor community for BIPOC, Queer and underrepresented groups.
MATT SUAVE
Matt Suave is a classically trained musician turned global house DJ, known for thundering basslines, soulful vocals, and euphoric, disco‐infused energy. Rooted in the Chicago underground,his rise from gritty club floors to international stages has seen him share billings with Zedd, Purple Disco Machine, LP Giobbi, Kaskade, Derrick Carter, and more — following an early breakout moment closing Paris Hilton’s debut party in Los Angeles.
In recent years, Suave has lit up dance floors from Tokyo to Toronto, making his EDC Las Vegas debut in 2024 and performing on the WorldPride Main Stage in Washington, DC in 2025. Founder of PlayHaus, Denver’s premier queer dance collective, he curates sold‐out events that celebrate inclusivity and joy. With club‐ready remixes of Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Chappell Roan fueling sets at NYC Pride, LA Pride, Aspen Gay Ski Week, and Sydney Mardi Gras, Matt Suave delivers unforgettable moments wherever he plays.
PRESENTED BY HIGH COUNTRY CONSERVATION CENTER
