Wigstock was an annual outdoor drag festival that began in 1984 in Manhattan's East Village that took place on Labor Day. Continuing, with a few gaps, until 2005, the festival would traditionally act as the unofficial end to the summer for the gay community of New York City. After a 12-year gap, the festival was revived by

Lady Bunny Lady Bunny, originally known as "Bunny Hickory Dickory Dock" (born Jon Ingle, August 13, 1962), is an American drag queen, nightclub DJ, actor, comedian, and event organizer. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event, as well as an occasion ...

and Neil Patrick Harris on September 1, 2018 at Pier 17 of the South Street Seaport in New York City. The name refers to the 1969

Woodstock Festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

History

Hosted by co-creator

, the festival was held in its first years in Tompkins Square Park. According to Lady Bunny, the event began spontaneously in 1984 after a group of drag queens (along with

Wendy Wild Wendy Wild (born Wendy Andreiev, August 31, 1956 – October 26, 1996) was an American singer, musician, and artist who in the 1980s was a well-known presence in New York's downtown music and performance scenes. Career Growing up in Northp ...

, Scott Lifshutz and a couple of Fleshtones) became inebriated at the nearby Pyramid Club and decided to put on a show in the park. In the mid-1990s, the Giuliani administration prohibited the festival being held in Tompkins Square and Union Square, and moved it to the Hudson River, effectively ensuring it would lose its grassroots activist appeal. Lady Bunny said that 2001's Wigstock would be the last, but in 2003, 2004, and 2005, Wigstock and Bunny returned to Tompkins Square, this time under the auspices of the

Howl Festival The Howl Festival (sometimes styled Howl! Festival or HOWL! Festival) was an event that took place in Manhattan's Tompkins Square Park. It was founded in 2003 and held each spring through 2013 as a celebration of the arts history of the East Villa ...

Documentaries

In 1987, video artist

Tom Rubnitz Thomas Block Rubnitz (April 2, 1956 – August 12, 1992) was an American painter, video artist and art collector. He was a part of the New York City drag world of the late 1980s, and he was once described as "an exuberant ethnographer of the Eas ...

filmed a 20-minute documentary titled ''Wigstock: The Movie''. Rubnitz's film captures the event's early improvised atmosphere; early years of Wigstock often made direct reference to Woodstock (including performance artist John Kelly's send-up of

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

and her song "Woodstock"), and Rubnitz's film mimics aspects of the 1970 Woodstock concert film. A second documentary titled '' Wigstock: The Movie'' was released in 1995; the festivals captured are larger and more polished, with rock music largely supplanted by

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

, and the influence of the original Woodstock festival less evident. The 1995 film gained a wider audience and was distributed across the country, then released on video and DVD. The 2019 film '' Wig'' by

Chris Moukarbel Chris Moukarbel is an American director and producer. He is best known for his 2017 film '' Gaga: Five Foot Two'', a critically acclaimed documentary about American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga. His first feature documentary ''Me at the Zoo'' prem ...

explores the festival's origins, evolution, and 2018 incarnation.

References

External links

Lady Bunny
* * {{Drag performance East Village, Manhattan Festivals in Manhattan Transgender events LGBT festivals in the United States LGBT history in New York City Recurring events established in 1984 Recurring events disestablished in 2001 Recurring events established in 2003 Recurring events disestablished in 2005 Drag events LGBT events in New York (state)

History

Documentaries

References

Further reading

External links