We had a fantastic time at RuPaul’s DragCon this past weekend, which took place at the Jacob Javitz Center in Midtown Manhattan. The event took place for the first time here on the east coast (it’s been running for three years straight in Los Angeles), and I have to say that they have clearly struck gold based on the sheer chaos and excitement that the entire building felt throughout the two days there.
It’s really a testament to our LGBT community that even ten years ago this sort of event wouldn’t happen. RuPaul and her 100 plus queens who have appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race have really done an incredible job at marketing the world of drag to all different generations, which was very prominent throughout the weekend as hundreds of guys and girls came ready to be seen.
The event was literally the entire cast of RPDR minus a couple of people (Justice4KatyaNotBeingThere). The longest lines were held for the most popular of queens, including Michelle Visage, Trixie Mattel, Milk, Shea Coulee and many more. One of the biggest stories to come out of the weekend was Ginger Minj getting married at DragCon on Saturday to her boyfriend who she met on bear app (my favorite) Growlr. Awe.
It means a lot for the queens to see all their fans there. Pandora Boxx said, “I get a year’s worth of love at both of these events, as the fans are just incredibly kind and its a reminder of why we do what we do in the first place.”
When it comes to memories of what this show has done for their career, Season 7 winner Violet Chachki said that her favorite was with two of her fellow competitors in a swanky foreign city. “I think when me, Pearl and Miss Fame got to go to Paris for this first time together. It was a really great trip and we were doing our take on the Powerpuff Girls which just made it super fun”.
Something that was also fun to take in at DragCon was the sheer amount of companies that had some pretty incredible swag they were offering to the masses. You had the more known brands like Boy Butter and Sugarpill on display, as well as legendary artist Chad Sell with his amazing drawings of all the RPDR girls, but there was also the opportunity for smaller businesses to get their names out there to the thousands of people that stormed Jacob Javitz Center this weekend.
Overall, RuPaul’s DragCon did its job in the best way possible by bringing this community together and showing off the immense talents that LGBT people truly bring to the table. Can’t wait for what happens in the 2018 edition!
For more information on RuPaul’s DragCon, please check out their official website.