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RuPaul's DragCon NYC is an annual
fan convention A fan convention (also known as a con or fan meeting) is an event in which Fan (person), fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some also inc ...
and
expo An expo is a trade exposition. It may also refer to: Events and venues * World's fair, a large international public exposition * Singapore Expo, convention and exposition venue ** Expo Axis, one of the world's largest membrane roofs, construc ...
of drag culture held in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, which debuted in September 2017. It is based on the successful
RuPaul's DragCon LA RuPaul's DragCon LA is an annual Trade fair, expo of Drag (clothing), drag culture held in Los Angeles billed as a "convention that celebrates 'the art of drag, queer culture and self-expression for all'", which debuted in 2015. Its sister even ...
which was launched in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in 2015 billed as a “convention that celebrates ‘the art of drag, queer culture and self-expression for all’”. The NYC event is considered the "world's largest celebration of drag culture" with 100,000 attendees. The event is an outgrowth of the internationally successful ''
RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...
'', which generated '' Drag Race Thailand'', '' RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', ''
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, ...
,'' and
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
's '' The Switch Drag Race''. ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and the two DragCons come from World of Wonder Entertainment (WOW), a
production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...
based in Los Angeles. The first RuPaul's DragCon NYC was held in 2017 at the
Javits Center The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, commonly known as the Javits Center, is a large convention center on Eleventh Avenue between 34th Street and 38th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by architect James In ...
, with over 40,000 attendees at the two-day all-ages event; it “garnered 687 million (online) impressions in 2018.” Based on the success of the original LA event, the NYC event expanded to three days in 2019: both had over 100,000 attendees in 2019. At RuPaul's DragCon NYC, past ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' contestants and other well-known drag artists meet with fans, take pictures, sign autographs, and sometimes perform or take part in a discussion panel, as well as sell merchandise. The discussion panels vary from more obvious topics like clothing, fashion, wigs, and makeup, to
history of drag A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...
,
drag activism Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street adj ...
,
trans rights The legal status of transgender people varies greatly around the world. Some countries have enacted laws protecting the rights of transgender individuals, but others have criminalized their gender identity or expression. In many cases, transg ...
, queer
pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...
, and political issues facing the LGBTQ community. WOW's co-director and producer of the convention, Randy Barbato, shared that ironically the panels have significant depth, because although drag queens are known for being fun and about their looks, the queens are smart artists and activists. He also said, "For us, drag has always been political!" The main stage presents performances and runway events all day long. There are also over 220 vendors offering drag supplies and accessories; at the 2018 event they sold over $8 million in merchandise. According to ''Glossy'', “the event’s core demographic are 18- to 34-year-olds, with 60% female attendees and 40% male. About 60% of DragCon’s audience identify as
LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
and 40% as heterosexual.” Kids under ten are let in free when accompanied by an adult. '' IndieWire'' notes that DragCon is similar to the annual
Burning Man Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance" held annually in the Western United States. The event's name comes from its ceremony on the penultimate night of the event: the ...
art festival in that attendees exhibit radical self-expression, the culture is participatory and inclusive, and what is presented is
ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...
.


History


Background

It is based on the successful
RuPaul's DragCon LA RuPaul's DragCon LA is an annual Trade fair, expo of Drag (clothing), drag culture held in Los Angeles billed as a "convention that celebrates 'the art of drag, queer culture and self-expression for all'", which debuted in 2015. Its sister even ...
which was launched in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in 2015, and considered the "world's largest celebration of drag culture" with 50,000 attendees. The event is an outgrowth of the internationally successful ''
RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...
'', which generated '' Drag Race Thailand'', '' RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', ''
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, ...
,'' and
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
's '' The Switch Drag Race''. ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and the two DragCons come from World of Wonder Entertainment (WOW), a
production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...
based in Los Angeles. WOW opted to start producing the New York City event to "return to their roots", as they met
RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...
in the 1980s in the city and have worked with her since then.


2018

The 2018 event was held in September at The Javits Center, and expanded to three days, with 50,000 attendees. One of the notable panels was "Beyond the Binary", with Aja,
performance artist Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
Alok Vaid-Menon Alok Vaid-Menon (born July 1, 1991, stylized ALOK) is an American writer, performance artist, and media personality. Vaid-Menon is gender non-conforming and transfeminine, and uses the singular they, singular ''they'' third person pronouns. Vai ...
, and actor Nico Tortorella discussing "how can we make the world more inclusive of
non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...
and
gender non-conforming Gender nonconformity or gender variance is gender expression by an individual whose behavior, mannerisms, and/or appearance does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A person can be gender-nonconforming regardless of their gender identi ...
people?" As a first, RuPaul met with fans face-to-face taking part in panels and
runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...
events. RuPaul hosted RuTalks, one discussing the political climate with a
Trump administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...
with ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' columnist Charles M. Blow. Another highlight was the staging of an all-ages version of
Sasha Velour Alexander "Sasha" Hedges Steinberg (born June 25, 1987), known professionally as Sasha Velour, is an American drag queen, artist, actor, and stage and television producer, based in Brooklyn, New York. Velour is known for winning the ninth seaso ...
's popular monthly drag show ''Nightgowns.'' A surprising non-drag vendor booth was The Warwick Rowers project, a gay/straight alliance of the men rowers of the University of Warwick Boat Club. Since 2009, the athletic men have posed nude for calendars and other products, shipped to eighty countries, raising over $1 million, with their campaign to fight homophobia in sports reaching 140 countries. A first for the New York convention was the Kids Zone, with Drag Queen Story Hour, a bouncy house, and arts and crafts. There was an abundance of kids, including drag kids, some wanted to meet “two of the most well-known drag kids on the scene — Lactatia and Desmond is Amazing.” Drag historian Joe E. Jeffreys said about the trend, “the rise of drag children is predictable”.


2019

RuPaul's ''RuTalks'', where she interviews celebs on the main stage will take place again: ''Women’s Wear Daily'' confirmed
Diane von Fürstenberg Diane von Fürstenberg (born Diane Simone Michele Halfin; 31 December 1946) is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence in 1969 when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg ...
will be interviewed by RuPaul on Saturday of the event. Included in the interview will be Fürstenberg's efforts to raise funds for a museum at the base of the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
, and her role in the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
documentary ''Liberty: Mother of Exiles''. On Sunday, the featured guest is
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...
, a longtime ally of the LGBTQ communities. In July 2019, it was announced that the inaugural drag queens for '' RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', which airs in September, will be introduced at DragCon NYC. On the Saturday of the expo, Yvie Oddly, winner of season eleven of ''Drag Race,'' was named as one of a rotating cast of a dozen ''Drag Race'' queens in '' RuPaul's Drag Race Live!'', a Las Vegas show residency from January to August 2020 at the
Flamingo Las Vegas Flamingo Las Vegas (formerly the Flamingo Hilton) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The Flamingo includes a casino and a 28-story hotel with 3,460 rooms. The reso ...
. The show will feature RuPaul’s music and seven of the twelve queens: Oddly, Aquaria (winner of season ten),
Asia O'Hara Antwan Mason Lee (born July 7, 1982), better known by the stage name Asia O'Hara, is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and costume designer. She is most well known for competing on the tenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...
(season ten),
Coco Montrese Coco Montrese (born July 2, 1974) is the stage name of Lenwood Martin Cooper, an American drag queen, entertainer, and reality television personality. Montrese came into the spotlight after being crowned Miss Gay America 2010 when Alyssa Edwards ...
(season five, ''All Stars'' season two), Derrick Barry (season eight), Eureka O'Hara (season nine and ten), India Ferrah (season three), Kahanna Montrese (season eleven), Kameron Michaels (season ten), Kim Chi (season eight), Naomi Smalls (season eight), and
Shannel Bryan Watkins, known by his stage name Shannel (born July 3, 1979), is an American drag queen and television personality, best known for competing on the RuPaul's Drag Race season 1, first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and later the RuPaul's ...
(season one, ''All Stars'' one). A UK version of the convention was announced at DragCon NYC 2019.
RuPaul's DragCon UK RuPaul's DragCon UK is a multi-genre entertainment convention held annually at the ExCeL London, Exhibition Centre London located in London, England. The two-day event primarily features prominent drag performers for executives, fanatics, and o ...
will be held at
Olympia London Olympia Events, formerly known as Olympia London and sometimes referred to as the Olympia Exhibition Centre, is an exhibition centre, event space and conference centre in West Kensington, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, L ...
in January 2020. This year’s event included efforts to politically activate attendees by registering people to vote, and through seminars on organizing for equal
LGBTQ rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Nota ...
. A first for DragCon was a booth and representation of a U.S. Presidential candidate; organizers reached out to all the 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidates, but only Senator
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...
, from
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, had her campaign represented. LGBTQ voters overwhelmingly skew to the Democratic Party. Warren had a booth with Shea Couleé (''Drag Race'' season nine) speaking with potential voters about the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
.


Community safe space

''RuPaul's Drag Race'' co-judge and one of RuPaul’s best friends, Michelle Visage, who has a child in the
cosplay Cosplay, a blend word of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and Fashion accessory, fashion accessories to represent a specific Character (arts), character. Cosplayers often i ...
community, shared that DragCons are a
safe space The term safe space refers to places "intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations", according to Merriam-Webster. It is a place where marginalized groups can discuss issues pert ...
for the all-ages and LGBTQ communities. Possibly the only one many of the attendees have ever experienced, where being different and LGBTQ is celebrated. Visage stated, “It’s a safety zone for these kids to know they won’t be judged, they won’t be heckled, they won’t be jeered, it will all be cheers and love and community." In addition to the Kids Zone, DragCon has Drag Queen Story Hours and a Kids Fashion Show.


Booths

At RuPaul's DragCon NYC, past ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' contestants and other well-known drag artists meet with fans, take pictures, sign autographs, and sometimes perform or take part in a discussion panel, as well as sell merchandise. Their booths can be unadorned, but often are custom-built to offer a unique fan experience. For the queens it is part of an investment into furthering their brand. World of Wonder (WOW) co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato work at curating an experience including booths, attractions, kids zone, etc. that does not water down the brand, “The con needs to be like a drag queen,” Barbato said, “Endlessly surprising and packed with treats,” Bailey adds. There is also hundreds of vendors offering drag supplies and accessories.


Beauty influencers

According to WOW’s Bailey, “
RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...
was the first drag queen associated with beauty, with
MAC Cosmetics M A C Cosmetics is a Canadian cosmetics manufacturer founded in Toronto in 1984 by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo. The company has been headquartered in New York City since becoming a subsidiary of Estée Lauder Companies in 1998. MAC is an acron ...
in the ’90s.” ''RuPaul’s Drag Race'' has highlighted how the drag queens embrace and use make-up as “drag queen(s) stress-tests the best beauty products”; many are also beauty influencers for various brands including their own; some of whom have booths at the convention to sample and sell products. ''Glossy'' notes that of “beauty festivals” ''DragCon NYC'' is one of few with “ultra-engaged audiences.” The event will have more than fifty beauty exhibitors including a sponsorship with Wet N Wild, one of California-based Markwins Beauty Brands‘ cosmetics and skin care companies, WOW’s “first partnership combining both of its hero properties, ''DragCon'' and WOW Presents.” WOW’s YouTube channel will run an eight-part unscripted series featuring a ''DragCon'' attendee being given make-up and beauty advice by
Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...
—who placed as runner up on both the second season of the show, and the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars''—and is RuPaul’s personal make-up artist. In 2015, the first year of ''DragCon LA'', there were eight beauty companies presented. ''DragCon'' “has seen 615% year-over-year growth in beauty vendors and sponsors”; with “more than $8.2 million in on-site sales in 2018, and 93% of attendees purchased merchandise valued at $200 or more.”


Interacting with drag queens

Ginger Minj, when asked the value in meeting fans personally, said it helps humanize the drag queen they've only seen on the screen, and "helps them realize that this is a serious job for us, not just fun and games on TV". She notes that the queens have a job because of the fans so she cultivates positive relationships with them. “It’s really cool just having a bigger platform (because) everyone gets to see more of what I do,” stated Ariel Versace, RPDR season eleven contestant, “you get more recognized for the hard work that you put into your drag.”


See also

* '' Drag Kids'' *
LGBT culture in New York City New York City has been described as the gay village, gay capital of the world and the central node of the LGBTQ+ political sociology, sociopolitical ecosystem, and is home to one of the world's largest and most prominent LGBTQ+ populations. Br ...
*


References


External links

* {{Drag Race 2017 establishments in New York City Annual events in New York City Conventions in New York City Recurring events established in 2017 LGBTQ events in New York (state) Drag events in the United States NYC Fan conventions in the United States