New GAPA Royalty Dazzles at Runway 2026!
Mx GAPA 2026 Cal Cadian, Mr GAPA 2026 Brent Baculi, and Miss GAPA 2026 Tala.
Photo by Rosen Creative House
Runway 2026: Forces of Nature blew us away as we welcomed our new GAPA Royalty! Congratulations to our three new titleholders, Mx GAPA 2026 Cal Cadian (he/him, they/them), Miss GAPA 2026 Tala (she/her) and Mister GAPA 2026 Brent Baculi (he/him)! You made our community incredibly proud with your spectacular performances, talent, heart, and presence at Runway 2026. We can’t wait to see all that you accomplish and the joy, visibility, and community you’ll bring throughout your reign.
Shout-outs to our runners-up Lola Ren (she/her, they/them) for Mx, Chai Auntie (she/ her) for Miss, and KC Gardner-Krunch (he/him) for Mister. Plus special recognition to KC Gardner-Krunch on sweeping all the special awards, including honors for most tickets sold, as well as recipient of both audience choice for Best in Interview and contestants’ Congeniality award. Additional congratulations to our contestants Adeale Project (any/all) and Holo (he/him/Good Boy), who graciously shared their beautiful authentic selves and shined bright as the stars they are. We are so proud of you all!
Our evening’s hosts, Jezebel Patel (she/they) and Sir Whitney Queers (he/him) as always kept us laughing, cheering, and entertained all night while helping us celebrate the beauty, power, and brilliance of queer and trans AAPI excellence. In addition, the fabulous Opening Number choreographed by Dane Paul Andres, the wildly imaginative contestant Fantasy performances, and the beautiful step-down performances presented by Mx GAPA 2025 The Indigo Menace (any/all), Miss GAPA 2025 Quinn Amann Krunch (she/her) and Mister GAPA 2025 Seika Ryu (he/him), all added to make this year’s Runway truly magical.
We can’t fail to mention how honored we were to have our outstanding panel of judges. A stunning roster of queer and trans API role models, this year’s judges included Lotus Party, transgender performer/activist and Mx GAPA 2023; Sanjay Makhijani, SF-based teacher, community organizer, and artist; Dr. Nasser (Nas) Mohamed, Qatari-American physician and human rights advocate; Michelle Meow, host of the eponymous radio and television "Michelle Meow" show; Jack S. Song, President of the San Francisco Film Commission; Tookta, renowned Thai Isaan & Lao Morlum singer; and Willy Wilkinson, founder and lead organizer of API TransFusion.
Kudos also to our fabulous Producers Jethro Patalinghug (they/them), Rowland Mendoza (he/him), and Mx Kiki Krunch (she/her), and amazing Stage Manager John Maze (he/him), as well as our awesome Production Team and all the volunteers too numerous to mention.
Lastly, grateful thanks our generous sponsors and donors who provided invaluable support in helping make Runway the always fabulous event it has been for nearly four decades: Bob Ross Foundation, Crystal Jeong & Sydney Yeong, Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights (BAPHR), San Francisco Community Health Center, The Lotus Project, Rize/QT Nightlife, Fresh Meat Productions, and Gai Chicken.
Runway proves there is a voracious appetite for what we do ─ the kind of community-first, for-us-by-us QTAPI excellence that Runway epitomizes is truly a special thing; it’s not something that can be found easily. We look forward to seeing you next year at Runway 2027!
For those who could not attend, or simply want to relive the experience, feel free to check out the Runway 2026 program book and event photos taken by Rosen Creative House.