Where I’ve Been: RuPaul’s DragCon 2017

Hello, Hello, Hello!

Whew! What a whirlwind weekend in LA! This is the second year I attended Dragcon, and it was event better than last year…

For those unfamiliar, here are some basics. Dragcon takes place over two days (three, if you count preview night on Friday) at the Los Angeles Convention Center. There’s a huge exhibit floor with vendors and drag personalities selling their merch and taking photos. There are also designated booths for celebrity signings (including Ru herself) and, new this year, a bunch of non-profit booths like Planned Parenthood, the It Gets Better Project, the ACLU, and more. Throughout the convention, there are also scheduled panels on everything from doing drag in the age of Trump to how to keep your wig on.

My favorite thing about Dragcon is by far the people. There’s an incredible mix of people of all different backgrounds, and everyone is so chill. There are parents with tiny kids on their hips, older couples that look like they just stepped off the golf course, and drag as subtle as streetwear with a pair of fabulous heels to someone dressed up as a dragged-out t rex (seriously, one of my favorite things I saw this weekend). There are crowds but no one is pushing. There’s alcohol but no sloppy antics. There’s near nudity but I witnessed no creepy groping (and if that did happen to you, I am so sorry and I truly hope it was an aberrant occurrence). Dragcon has it posted on all their media streams and at the entrances: drag does not equal consent. And from everything I saw, it works.

This year I sprung for VIP tickets as a graduation gift for my sister, and I’m so glad I nabbed them before they sold out. It seriously cut down on the standing-in-line part of the weekend, since the VIP badges have a separate line for panels and you get to enter before general admission. My sister and I aren’t really into waiting in line for celebrity autographs, with one exception–we took advantage of the early VIP admission to the exhibit hall to snap a pic with our very favorite queen, Milk. Milk was, as ever, charming and gorgeous, and while I would have happily stood in line for longer it was definitely nice to only wait behind a handful of other admirers.

In sum, it was a blast. World of Wonder just announced yesterday they’ll be holding a Dragcon in NYC(!!) this fall, so I have to figure out if I can swing that too!

Oh, and I bought a wig!

7x35 in a Pink Wig

Wig by Rockstar Wigs (style: Bang Bang; color: rose)

Stay tuned for more on panels, what I bought, and where I stayed in LA. // 7×35

 

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