Pittsburgh’s Joey Young is coming home from Chicago one step closer to a dream.
Representing Miss Metropolitan Continental, Young competed over Labor Day weekend at Miss Continental 2027, placing 2nd Alternate, third place overall, and winning the Interview category.
For Young, it marks another major leap forward in a Continental journey that has quickly become a bright chapter in Pittsburgh drag.
“I am so grateful,” Young wrote following the competition. “I feel so fortunate that I got to share myself on that stage and show my growth from last year’s Miss Continental.”
And there has been plenty of growth to show.
Just last year, Young made their Miss Continental debut, breaking into the Top 5 at Miss Continental 2026 and winning Interview. That appearance followed a whirlwind year in which the McKeesport native captured both the Miss Blue Moon 2025 crown here in Pittsburgh and the Miss Continental Newcomer 2025 title in Chicago.
This time around, Young climbed even higher.
“My focus this year was to do my best and show the evolution of where my life started, my hopes and dreams, and where they’ve led me today,” Young said.
Young congratulated newly crowned Miss Continental 2027 Pataya Heart and celebrated fellow competitors Landon Patterson, Miss Shalae, and Elisha D Wishes, saying that connecting with the other contestants was among the highlights of the weekend.
But, like so much of Young’s story, this trip to Continental was anything but a solo production.
Young credited Veronica Castro for serving as dresser, makeup and hair artist, and an all-around source of support throughout the weekend. Promoter Jim Demundo sponsored Young’s journey and stuck with the queen as plans evolved on the road to Continental.
Pittsburgh designer Brian David was once again integral to Young’s package, creating swimwear, a talent gown, preliminary evening gown, corsetry, and more, with Raydale T. Jones embellishing Young’s red preliminary gown.
“You have changed my life by helping me to elevate myself constantly,” Young wrote to Thompson. “I’ve learned a lot over these past two times around and felt stunning under that light.”
That relationship between performer, designer, drag family, and community has been part of Young’s story from the beginning.
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When QBurgh profiled Young in 2025, we traced their path from growing up in McKeesport and performing in musical theater to singing in cafés, experimenting with what Young once called “drag lite,” and ultimately becoming one of Pittsburgh’s most recognizable drag performers.
Along the way came a family of artists willing to sew, stone, style, rehearse, advise, cheer, and occasionally stay up until six in the morning rhinestoning a gown.
Young has consistently returned that love to Pittsburgh.
“The community helped form who I am,” Young told QBurgh last year.
Following this year’s Continental run, Young again thanked their family, friends, and supporters, including their mother, Franchesca D’Amore, Dr. Dee, Presley Froomkin, Anemia Blunt, Denis Sabol, Jon Michel Widman, and the many others who helped make the journey possible.
That community-powered approach feels especially fitting for a performer whose pageant career has repeatedly paid tribute to the people and places that made them. When Young won Miss Blue Moon 2025, their package honored Pittsburgh drag itself, including a look inspired by fellow Pittsburgh queen Lydia B Kollins.
Then came Chicago. Miss Continental Newcomer. Top 5 at Miss Continental. And now, 2nd Alternate.
There is a satisfying symmetry in Young winning Interview again, too. The category rewards something no gown, rhinestone, corset, or perfectly placed wig can manufacture. It’s the person underneath all of it.
For a queen who said this year’s goal was to show where their life began, where they hoped it might go, and where that journey has taken them, winning Interview for the second consecutive Miss Continental competition feels particularly appropriate.
Young isn’t treating 2nd Alternate as the end of the story, either.
“Thank you for sharing your love with me,” Young wrote. “I felt honored to be back and continue my journey with Continental.”
Last year, Pittsburgh watched Joey Young crack the Top 5. This year, they climbed to third. Something tells us Joey Young isn’t finished climbing.
“One step and placement closer to my dream.”