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]

Attendees at RuPaul's DragCon LA 2019 Dragcon2-SAT-1 (47937173122).jpg
Attendees at RuPaul's DragCon LA 2019

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

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

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">Jujubee (drag queen)</span> American drag queen, reality television personality, and recording artist

Airline Inthyrath, known by her stage name Jujubee, is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and recording artist from Lowell, Massachusetts. She first rose to prominence in 2010 as a contestant on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race, and later returned to compete on the first and fifth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, and the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2022), becoming one of the most popular queens from the franchise. She has the unique distinction of being the only contestant to reach the finale of the competition four times. Additionally, she was a main cast member on the makeover television series RuPaul's Drag U (2010–2012), Dragnificent (2019–2020), and RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race (2022). In 2021, she competed in the first season of Paramount+ singing competition Queen of the Universe.

<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">Laganja Estranja</span> American drag queen

Jay Evan Jackson, known professionally as Laganja Estranja, is an American choreographer and drag queen based in Los Angeles. Laganja competed on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, finishing in eighth place. She came out as transgender in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariah Paris Balenciaga</span> American drag performer and television personality

Mariah Paris Balenciaga, or simply known as Mariah, is the stage name of Elijah A. Kelly, an American drag queen and television personality, best known for competing on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2011) and the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2020). Since appearing on the show, she has been featured in a number of web series produced by World of Wonder, such as Wait, What?, Transformations, and Fashion Photo RuView. Balenciaga released her first single, "Mug 4 Dayz", on November 19, 2013.

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

Joshua Allen Eads, better known by the stage name Ginger Minj, is 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).

<i>RuPauls Drag Race All Stars</i> American reality television series

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, before relocating to VH1. However, it was announced on February 20, 2020, on the show's official Twitter account that the fifth season would premiere on June 5, 2020, on Showtime. Following the cast announcement on May 8, 2020, producers announced that the show would remain airing on VH1 instead of Showtime due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused "various scheduling and programming adjustments". On February 24, 2021, Paramount+ announced via Twitter that the streaming service would be the new home to the series for the sixth season.

<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, formerly Monique Heart, is the stage name of Kevin Leandrew 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 the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2022). Since first appearing on Drag Race in 2018, Mo 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 is the stage name of Kevin Akeem Bertin, a Saint Lucian-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 crowned the 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.

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 ten 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 Lucca 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.

<i>Canadas Drag Race</i> Canadian reality television competition series

Canada's Drag Race is a Canadian reality competition television series based on the American series RuPaul's Drag Race and is the Canadian edition of the Drag Race franchise, produced by Blue Ant Studios. In a similar format to the American version, the show features a crop of Canadian drag queens as they compete for a grand prize of $100,000 and the title of "Canada's Next Drag Superstar". The series airs on Crave in Canada, the United Kingdom's BBC Three, and worldwide on WOW Presents Plus.

RuPaul's DragCon UK is an fan convention and expo of drag culture held in London, UK. The convention debuted on 18 January 2020. It is 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 reality television drag competition format

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 with RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered in the United States in 2009. The objective of that series is to crown "America's Next Drag Superstar" who possesses the traits of "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent". The original series is often credited for bringing drag into the "mainstream". The popularity of the original series led to the creation of a media franchise including spin-offs and international adaptations.

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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