Growing up in a Queensland country town as a transgender woman, drag queens were few and far between at the local pub.

Now that she's out and a member of Tamworth LGBTQI+ youth support group Refracted, Miss Sparkles is honoured to show others the ropes and plans to entertain at its upcoming drag karaoke fundraiser.

"I've always grown up with a dream wanting to be up on a stage in a dress but for me I never knew where that was or how it existed," she said.

"There's no real tricks to it, I just enjoy what I do but it's amazing how much support there is in Tamworth.

"Outside of drag I am a transgender woman myself, I identify as a woman and I can walk down the street as a woman and I have never been criticised, judged or anything.

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"I've been given compliments and that's one thing I love about Tamworth; is how much it's changing and accepting of that, there's a lot more support here than there used to be."

But, it hasn't always been easy. Coming out to her parents was the first step, and Miss Sparkles hopes that as a member of Refracted she can help other queens come out of the closet.

"It was difficult for me, but luckily I had my mother's support - on my father's side it's been a little bit challenging for him to accept and process that this is who I am," she said.

"Coming to Tamworth I found it really hard not knowing if there were other transgender people my age here, and when I went to the group it made me feel so comfortable knowing I'm not the only young transgender in this town.

"I've had a few want me to help them become themselves who are too scared to come out as transgender or a crossdresser and they've wanted me to show them the ropes of makeup and hair - I'm really honoured to teach them that."

Refracted was started by Tamworth mother Leoni Allwell, who's daughter Alexis is transgender and struggled to find support when she first identified.

What started with just five members has grown to almost 30 and Ms Allwell said she hopes the fundraiser can allow them to continue to host support events and create inclusive merchandise.

"It's far exceeded what I thought would happen and that tells me there is a need in Tamworth," she said.

The event is at the Retro Funny Farm on Saturday, September 25 from 7pm to 11pm.

Entry is a gold coin donation and it's $5 per song with money raised to be split between Tamworth Pride and Refracted.

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