RuPaul's DragCon LA

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World of Wonder counter at 2019 DragCon LA Dragcon2-SAT-12 (47937172552).jpg
World of Wonder counter at 2019 DragCon LA

RuPaul's DragCon LA is an annual expo of 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. [1] Its sister event is RuPaul's DragCon NYC started in 2017, and is considered the "world's largest celebration of drag culture." [2] The event is an outgrowth of the internationally successful RuPaul's Drag Race , which generated Drag Race Thailand , RuPaul's Drag Race UK , RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, and Chile's The Switch Drag Race . RuPaul's Drag Race and the DragCons come from World of Wonder Entertainment (WOW), a production company based in Los Angeles. [3]

Contents

At RuPaul's DragCon LA, 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. [2] [3] The discussion panels vary from more obvious topics like clothing, fashion, wigs, and makeup, to history of drag, drag activism, trans rights, queer pop culture, and political issues facing the LGBTQ community. [3] WOW's co-director and producer of the convention, Randy Barbato shared that ironically the panels can be quite deep because although drag queens are known for being fun and about their looks, the queens are smart artists and activists, [3] he also said, "For us, drag has always been political!" [4] The main stage presents performances and runway events all day long. [5] There is also hundreds of vendors offering drag supplies and accessories; [6] in 2016, two hundred vendors sold $2.3 million of 'DragCon exclusive merchandise' by vendors and exhibitors on the expo floor. [7] In 2018, the two U.S. DragCons, co-produced by RuPaul and World of Wonder brought in $8 million with a combined 100,000 visitors. [8]

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 and 40% as heterosexual." [9] IndieWire notes that DragCon is similar to the annual Burning Man art festival in that attendees exhibit radical self-expression, the culture is participatory and inclusive, and what is presented is ephemeral. [1]

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event went online as Digital DragCon.

History

In 2020, and due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing and stay-at-home orders—starting in March throughout California—resulted in large events being cancelled, postponed, or like the "reborn" RuPaul's Digital DragCon 2020, going online. [10] [11] The two-day event will be hosted by RuPaul with guests including Jackie Cox, Love Connie, Karen from Finance, Varla Jean Merman, "Friday" singer Rebecca Black, and Tony Hale from Veep . [10] The convention will feature "performances, panels, merchandise" and be streamed for free on World of Wonder's YouTube channel. [10]

Beauty influencers

According to World of Wonder (WOW) co-founder Fenton Bailey, "RuPaul was the first drag queen associated with beauty (products), with MAC Cosmetics in the 1990s." [9] RuPaul's Drag Race has highlighted how the drag queens embrace and use make-up as "drag queen(s)[ sic ] stress-tests the best beauty products"; [9] many are also beauty influencers for various brands including their own; some of whom have booths at the convention to sample and sell products. [12] Glossy notes that of "beauty festivals" DragCon is one of few with "ultra-engaged audiences." [9]

In 2015, the first year of DragCon LA, there were eight beauty companies presented. [9] 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." [9]

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". [2] She notes that the queens have a job because of the fans so she cultivates positive relationships with them. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World of Wonder (company)</span> American production company known for its LGBTQ programming

World of Wonder Productions is an American production company founded in 1991 by filmmakers Randy Barbato and Portsmouth-born Fenton Bailey. Based in Los Angeles, California, the company specializes in documentary television and film productions with a key focus on sexuality, erotica, and the sexual subculture. Together, Bailey and Barbato have produced programming through World of Wonder for HBO, Bravo, HGTV, Showtime, the BBC, Netflix, MTV and VH1, with credits including the Million Dollar Listing docuseries, RuPaul's Drag Race, and the documentary films Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016) and The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000).

RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV, WOW Presents Plus, VH1 and, beginning with the fifteenth season, MTV. The show documents RuPaul in the search for "America's next drag superstar". RuPaul plays the role of host, mentor, and head judge for this series, as contestants are given different challenges each week. Contestants are judged by a panel that includes RuPaul, Michelle Visage, an alternating third main judge of either Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews, or Ts Madison, and one or more guest judges, who critique their progress throughout the competition. The title of the show is a play on drag queen and drag racing, and the title sequence and song "Drag Race" both have a drag-racing theme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manila Luzon</span> American drag performer

Karl Philip Michael Westerberg, better known by the stage name Manila Luzon, is a Filipino-American drag queen, recording artist, comedian and reality television personality. Luzon came to international attention as a contestant on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race and on the first and fourth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alyssa Edwards</span> American drag performer and choreographer

Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, best known by the stage name Alyssa Edwards, is an American drag performer, choreographer, and businessperson. Edwards was known for competing in drag pageantry before rising to international attention as a contestant on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, becoming a fan favorite during and after her time on the show. Edwards subsequently appeared on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars and starred in her own web series, Alyssa's Secret.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latrice Royale</span> American drag queen

Timothy K. Wilcots, better known by the stage name Latrice Royale, is an American drag performer, recording artist, and reality television personality. She is best known for her appearances on the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2012 and on the first and fourth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. She finished fourth on her original season; in its final episode, she was crowned Miss Congeniality. She placed fifth on the fourth season of All Stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Fame</span> American model, makeup artist, and drag queen

Miss Fame is the stage name of Kurtis Frank Dam-Mikkelsen, an American model, makeup artist, drag queen, recording artist and reality television personality best known as a contestant on season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race. After appearing on the show, Miss Fame launched a music career, releasing her debut single, "Rubber Doll" on April 28, 2015. Her debut album, Beauty Marked, was released on June 9, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ginger Minj</span> American drag performer

Joshua Allen Eads, stage name Ginger Minj, an American drag queen, actor, singer-songwriter, and reality television personality. After achieving recognition for placing as the runner-up on the seventh season of the reality television competition series RuPaul's Drag Race, Minj returned to compete on the second and sixth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Minj has acted in three Netflix productions—the comedy feature film Dumplin' (2018), the animated series Super Drags, and RuPaul's fictional series AJ and the Queen, and has acted in numerous theatrical productions. Minj appeared in the 2022 film Hocus Pocus 2, the sequel to Hocus Pocus. Minj has released three studio albums—Sweet T (2016), Gummy Bear (2021), and Double Wide Diva (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynthia Lee Fontaine</span> Puerto Rican drag queen

Cynthia Lee Fontaine is the stage name of Carlos Díaz Hernández, a Puerto Rican drag performer and reality television personality from Austin, Texas, best known for competing on the eighth and ninth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race. She won the title of Miss Congeniality on season 8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mo Heart</span> American drag performer and singer

Mo Heart, previously Monique Heart, is the stage name of Kevin Richardson, an American drag queen, reality television personality, and recording artist best known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2018), the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars (2018–2019), and RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World (2022). Since first appearing on Drag Race in 2018, Heart has appeared in a number of web series produced by World of Wonder, including a starring role in Manic Moments With Monique Heart, and hosted her own podcast, Ace of Hearts with Monique Heart. In January 2019, she released her debut single "Brown Cow Stunning", and later released her debut extended play Beloved SoS 6.3 in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monét X Change</span> American drag queen

Monét X Change, stage name of Kevin A. Bertin, is an American drag queen, singer, podcaster, and reality television personality. She is known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2018), on which she placed sixth and was selected as that season's Miss Congeniality, and for winning the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2018–2019) alongside Trinity the Tuck. She returned to compete in the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, an all-winners season, where she placed runner-up. Monét X Change released her debut EP, Unapologetically, in 2019. Later that year, she debuted her own web talk show The X Change Rate, on the BUILD Series. She is a staple for many Drag Race-related domestic and international tours, such as Werq the World, A Drag Queen Christmas, and Drive 'N Drag.

UNHhhh is an American comedy web series starring drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova. In the series, Trixie and Katya discuss a topic humorously in front of a green screen. UNHhhh premiered on March 25, 2016, one year after Mattel and Zamolodchikova appeared in the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race. The show is aired through World Of Wonder's YouTube channel, as well as through its video-on-demand service WOW Presents Plus. UNHhhh has been nominated for nine Streamy Awards throughout its run, winning Unscripted Series at the 2020 ceremony, which the duo also hosted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquaria (drag queen)</span> American drag queen

Giovanni L. Palandrani, better known by his stage name Aquaria, is an American drag queen, television personality, and recording artist best known for winning the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RuPaul's DragCon NYC</span>

RuPaul's DragCon NYC is an annual fan convention and expo of drag culture held in New York City, which debuted in September 2017. It is based on the successful RuPaul's DragCon LA which was launched in 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, which generated Drag Race Thailand, RuPaul's Drag Race UK, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, and Chile's The Switch Drag Race. RuPaul's Drag Race and the two DragCons come from World of Wonder Entertainment (WOW), a production company based in Los Angeles. The first RuPaul's DragCon NYC was held in 2018 at the Javits Center, 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.

RuPaul's Drag Race Live! is an American residency show in Las Vegas, Nevada featuring past competitors from the television show RuPaul's Drag Race. The variety show features a mix of original music, lip syncs, comedy, and dance numbers directed by RuPaul and choreographed by Drag Race resident choreographer Jamal Sims. It is produced by World of Wonder and Voss Events and performs five nights a week. Performed at the Flamingo Las Vegas, which formerly housed the eleven-year run of the Donny and Marie Osmond show, the show premiered on January 26, 2020 and ran until March 15, 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic put performances on hold. Performances were set to start up again on August 5, 2021 and run until December 31, 2021. Performances resumed in 2022 with a new rotating cast featuring newcomers Jaida Essence Hall, Eureka O'Hara, Trinity K. Bonet, and Plastique Tiara and swing cast members Coco Montrese, Kahanna Montrese, and Alexis Mateo.

<i>RuPauls Drag Race</i> (season 13) 2021 season of the television series

The thirteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on January 1 and concluded on April 23, 2021. The cast was announced via Twitter on December 9, 2020. The competition is broadcast on VH1 in the United States and showcases 13 new queens competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". VH1 renewed both RuPaul's Drag Race and its spin-off RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars for a thirteenth and sixth season respectively on August 20, 2020. Casting calls for season 13 were opened in December 2019. In addition to airing on VH1, the premiere episode was simulcast across 5 other channels: Logo, MTV, MTV2, Pop, and The CW, becoming the most-watched episode in the franchise's history.

RuPaul's DragCon UK is an fan convention and expo of drag culture held in London, UK. The convention debuted on January 18, 2020. It's based on the successful RuPaul's DragCon LA and NYC, which are related to the popular television show: RuPaul's Drag Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India Ferrah</span> American drag queen and costume designer

India Ferrah is the stage name of Shane Richardson, an American drag queen and costume designer best known for competing on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Richardson was raised in Roanoke, Virginia, and came out as gay and started performing in drag as India Ferrah during his teens. He later lived in Dayton, Ohio, and performs regularly in Las Vegas. India Ferrah competed on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.

<i>Drag Race</i> (franchise) International television franchise

Drag Race is a drag queen reality competition television franchise, created by American drag entertainer RuPaul with production company World of Wonder. The franchise originated in the United States with RuPaul's Drag Race, where it premiered in 2009. The series primary objectives is finding the first "Drag Superstar" who possesses the traits of "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent". The original series is often credited for bringing drag into the "mainstream" media.

Drag Race Sverige is an upcoming Swedish reality competition television series based on the American series RuPaul's Drag Race. It will be broadcast by SVT in Sweden and will air on WOW Presents Plus elsewhere.

References

  1. 1 2 Poe, Matthew (June 1, 2015). "Queen of All He Surveys: A Weekend Inside RuPaul's Drag Empire". IndieWire . Archived from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ginger Minj Teases New Music & a Major RuPaul's DragCon NYC Makeover: 'I Can't Screw This Up'". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "This panel lineup will have you sashaying to DragCon". am New York. September 6, 2017. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  4. ↑ "At RuPaul's DragCon NYC, Everyone Can Feel Empowered". PAPER. September 11, 2017. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  5. ↑ "A Beginner's Guide to Attending RuPaul's DragCon". Teen Vogue. September 28, 2018. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  6. ↑ Giannotta, Meghan (July 9, 2019). "DragCon NYC, aka drag Disneyland, is back this fall". am New York. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  7. ↑ Abraham, Amelia (May 29, 2019). "Pink Runways & Strip Lighting: My First Time At DragCon". Refinery29 . Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  8. ↑ "RuPaul's DragCon Pivots to Digital YouTube Event Following Coronavirus Cancellation". The Hollywood Reporter. April 27, 2020. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rao, Priya (August 26, 2019). "Beauty brands are tapping RuPaul's DragCon to expand their audience". Glossy. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 Cooper, Matt (May 2, 2020). "Sashay down to RuPaul's Digital DragCon: It's your weekend quarantine must-watch". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  11. ↑ "The Week in Drag – All-Stars 5 Queens Are Revealed, Digital DragCon Highlights, Willam vs. A Watermelon and Lots More". Socialite Life. May 10, 2020. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  12. ↑ Tietjen, Alexa (August 27, 2019). "How Drag Queens Broke Through the Beauty Barrier". WWD. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
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