If you have seen a drag show in Edmonton over the last 20 years, you have likely seen Vanity Fair perform. David Chimko, aka Vanity Fair, was born in Whitecourt, Alberta and, as a child, lived in Lloydminster, then Vegreville and finally Edmonton in 1998, where he is still proud to call home.

Vanity Fair has made a number of accomplishments within Edmonton’s LGBTQ community, including being crowned Ms. Gay Edmonton 12 and 22, Miss Mary Christmas 2002 and 2006, Imperial Crown Princess 36 of the ISCWR, Empress 37 of Edmonton, and so much more. She has also hosted the Pride Parade coverage of Edmonton Pride on Shaw TV for the past two years. "It is such an amazing experience and I think, to date, the most enjoyable of all my pride duties over the years," she says. "There is nothing like the energy during the parade, it has always been my weak spot with pride – the emotions always get the better of me – so being in the heart of that energy, at street level, is an amazing high."

With the work she does with the ISCWR, she has helped fundraise money for several organizations including HIV Edmonton, Camp Fyrefly, the Pride Centre of Edmonton, plus provided volunteer time with the Pride Centre doing drag workshops, and has volunteered for Edmonton Pride, ALT View and INqueeries at Grant MacEwan. Her involvement with the ISCWR started pretty much right after she started living in Edmonton in 1998.

Outside of the charity and volunteer work, David is a hairstylist by trade, for about the last 10 years. "I love my work; I love making people feel great about themselves and it really never seems like work to me. I feel lucky that work, to me, is going to the salon and socializing with clients all day. "

"Edmonton has done so much for me over the years, so I try to give back to the community as much as I can. The littlest gestures, over time, can make a huge difference in someone’s life or the world, so I just keep chipping away one good deed at a time – that’s all any of us can do. "