This was a first for us. It's not the kind of event you'll usually find in our portfolio — but so many things about the creative brief aligned with the storytelling work we do every day that we couldn't wait to be part of the team!

What does it look like when a pageant with forty-seven years of history steps into a bold new era with a new promoter, a new city, and a new venue?

KolbyKo Productions had recently taken over as owner and promoter of Miss Gay North Carolina America — an official preliminary to Miss Gay America, the first and longest-running U.S. pageant celebrating the art of female illusion. The “Denim & Diamonds” design brief to The TAGS Group was clear: celebrate the pageant's return to Raleigh by showcasing the glitz and glamour the pageant had built over nearly five decades, while giving it a look and energy entirely its own.

Though ideas for glitter and confetti cannons were nixed, The TAGS Group made sure the "Wow!" moments started before guests ever reached their seats.

Outside Legends Nightclub Complex, the 2026 host venue, greeters in on-theme denim and sparkling jewelry welcomed guests. At the ticket booth, a denim-upholstered logo backdrop, crystal curtains, and a custom denim-covered stanchion rope signaled that this evening would be different. Inside, the front bar was a room transformed — a 20' cascading crystal column, and candelabras and candlelight glowing along the bar. At the center of it all, a crown-topped floral arrangement sitting atop a crystal centerpiece and reflecting light from every surface towered nearly ten feet above the guests.