Sex Toy Bingo is a recurring event put on by the Fanshawe Student Union (FSU). Students line up down the hall early just to get a seat! What makes the event such a good time? The host is one reason!

Crystal Quartz is a drag queen from Guelph who got into the bingo business over COVID, when she needed to find a way to work from home and do shows in an easy-to-consume format over online platforms.

“I started doing drag shows online and the ones that were easiest to do was bingos because trying to perform in front of a small little camera is not the easiest thing,” Quartz said.

Quartz has been a drag queen for over 20 years and got her start in Kitchener.

“I first started going to the gay club and was friends with some drag queens and was dating one, and so I decided to try it out one night and discovered how much fun it was!” Quartz said. “After that I started winning a bunch of pageants and working at gay bars, and now I try to promote inclusion at schools and corporate companies.”

A drag queen’s name is a huge part of who they are, and Crystal Quartz is no exception.

“I have a background in energy healing. I am a Reiki master, although I don’t practice it anymore. I was always about crystals and people always said I was a gem when I would go to different festivals and hand out crystals. People started calling me ‘Crystal’ because they couldn’t remember my name. People come up to me with the rhinestones I gave them five or six years ago! And when I wanted to rebrand to be more fitting to myself now, I decided to go with Crystal Quartz.”

Quartz is a big defender of diversity and inclusion on campus and beyond, and her favourite part of the shows is interacting with students.

“You end up building connections with all these students over the years. I have been there for four years now. It’s just so lovely to see them grow and do all these amazing things with their lives and some even stay in touch with me afterwards. I taught one student in a hairstyling class, and they are coming to the event, and they are excited to come say hello. It’s fun building those connections with the students while making them laugh and teaching them things about sex toys.”

One thing she hopes students take away from the event is that everyone has a place to belong.

“Students that may identify as something different other then the standard male, female, straight… They see someone like me walking on their campus living my life to the fullest. I want them to feel empowered to do the same any other part of the week.

You can find Crystal Quartz on Instagram or TikTok.