Drag queen Lituya Hart helps Mary Folletti Cruise swap out her black cap for a wig before the Besties for Breasties drag show, which benefitted Folletti Cruise. Folletti Cruise said she was impressed by the community support she has received since her breast-cancer diagnosis. (Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)

Drag queen Lituya Hart helps Mary Folletti Cruise swap out her black cap for a wig before the Besties for Breasties drag show, which benefitted Folletti Cruise. Folletti Cruise said she was impressed by the community support she has received since her breast-cancer diagnosis. (Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)

Local woman benefits from medical fundraiser drag show

Friends, family and community help out

Mary Folletti Cruise’s medical fundraiser came with pulsing club music, sweeping colored lights and plenty of glitz.

Folletti Cruise, an employee of Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, is battling breast cancer and was the beneficiary of the Besties for Breasties drag show fundraiser Friday night at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall.

“It’s amazing,” Folletti Cruise said shortly before the show. “The community has been so amazing for us. And Tlingit & Haida. This is the second fundraiser they’ve had for us.”

Folletti Cruise was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer shortly after the birth of her 11-month-old son, Carver.

“It could have been an earlier stage, but medical professionals think when you’re 35 and pregnant you can’t have cancer,” Folletti Cruise said.

While the specific details of Folletti Cruise’s fundraiser were unique, the spirit and goal of the event was the same as any fundraiser: Friends, family and coworkers pitching in to help defray medical costs for someone they hold dear.

“We wanted to come together and support her,” said drag queen Gigi Monroe in between performances. “She said, ‘You know what I want? A big drag show and dance party for all of my friends.”

Sarah Dybdahl, co-organizer of the event and Folletti Cruise’s supervisor at work, said the goal was for an event representative of Mary and her family.

Folletti Cruise’s wife, Roz, 4-year-old daughter, Enza, and Carver were all in attendance and ready to dole out dollar bills to drag queens and kings, who kept a crowd laughing and clapping.

Folletti Cruise’s close friendship with artist and drag queen Ricky Tagaban was also a major reason Besties for Breasties came to be, and Folletti Cruise said Tagaban has been a major support throughout her battle with cancer.

“Ricky has been to 90 percent of my infusions,” Folletti Cruise said.

Tlingit and Haida helped sponsor the event, too. Richard Peterson, Tlingit and Haida president, said it was an easy decision to support the atypical fundraiser.

“I didn’t have any hesitation whatsoever,” Peterson said. “When something happens to one of our staff, we pull them up and be supportive.”

The fundraiser’s goal of $5,000 was to just generally defray medical costs, Folletti Cruise said, but she added it will help with some specific, significant costs on the horizon, too.

“It’s helping us get by with bills, but we’ve got two trips coming up in October and November,” Folletti Cruise said. “I’ll be going to Seattle for treatment: Pre-op and then surgery.”

Anyone interested in making a donation supporting Folletti Cruise can contact Dybdahl at (907)463.7105 or sdybdahl@ccthita-nsn.gov.



Mary Folletti Cruise smiles while the spotlight finds her daughter, Enza, who is offering up a dollar during the Besties 4 Breasties drag show. The show benefitted Folletti Cruise, who was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. F(Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)

Mary Folletti Cruise smiles while the spotlight finds her daughter, Enza, who is offering up a dollar during the Besties 4 Breasties drag show. The show benefitted Folletti Cruise, who was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. F(Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)

Local woman benefits from medical fundraiser drag show

Mary Folletti Cruise smiles while the spotlight finds her daughter, Enza, who is offering up a dollar during the Besties 4 Breasties drag show. The show benefitted Folletti Cruise, who was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. F(Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Nov. 3

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, speaks in favor of Senate Bill 48, the carbon credits bill, on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in the Alaska House. At background is Department of Resources Commissioner John Boyle and staff supporting the bill. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska House control flips from predominantly Republican coalition to mostly Democratic coalition

Preliminary election results show the new House majority will have at least 22 members.

West Juneau homes on Douglas Island late Thursday afternoon. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
What will Trump as president again and a more liberal Alaska Legislature mean for Juneau?

Election appears to shake up federal and state governments in different ways, leaving lots of unknowns.

Aurelie Alexander photographs a helicopter hoisting cellular equipment onto the roof of the Marine View building at midday Wednesday. As a resident of the apartment/office building, she and others were notified to leave the building during the helicopter operation. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
Hovering around downtown for better phone service

New AT&T equipment installed atop Marine View Building joins other telecom upgrades downtown.

The Columbia is scheduled to replace the Kennicott on the mainline ferry route between Southeast Alaska and Bellingham, Washington, starting in mid-December. (Alaska Marine Highway System photo)
Proposed summer ferry schedule for 2025 remains much the same, with Columbia replacing Kennicott

Public comments being accepted until Nov. 12, with virtual meetings scheduled that day.

A simulated photo shows the tailings stack and other features of Hecla Greens Creek Mine under the final notice of decision for expanding the mine announced Thursday by the U.S Forest Service. The expansion will extend the life of the mine up to 18 years. (U.S. Forest Service)
Extending Greens Creek Mine production for 12 to 18 years gets final OK from Forest Service

Agency says there will also be more habitat protection measures and mine waste disposal capacity.

A sperm whale is seen in an undated photo published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (NOAA photo)
Southeast Alaska fisher could get six months in prison after attempting to kill sperm whale

Federal prosecutors are recommending that an Alaska fisher serve six months in… Continue reading

Voters at Anchorage City Hall wait in line to cast their ballots on Nov. 4, 2024, the day before Election Day. City Hall, in downtown Anchorage, was one of the designated early voting sites in the state’s largest city. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
No leaders change as 1,500 more ballots are added to Alaska’s election count

Almost 46,000 votes cast before Election Day remain uncounted, according to absentee and early vote figures.

Most Read