LOS ANGELES—RuPaul's Drag Race remains one of the most popular "game shows" on cable—and now, SoCal fans will have a chance to meet not only RuPaul herself, but several current and past contestants at the L.A. Convention Center this weekend, as DragCon 2018 debuts Friday evening.
Perhaps the biggest news to come out as the big weekend approaches is that RuPaul herself will be guest-starring on an upcoming episode of The Simpsons, where "Marge stumbles upon the world of drag, discovers her inner fierceness and starts serving housewife realness!"—or so says a DragCon press release. Perhaps more exciting, though, is that Simpsons stars Yeardley Smith and Tress MacNeille, as well as Simpsons writer (and Drag Race fan) Carolyn Omine will be appearing on a panel at DragCon to discuss, among other things, being female in a male-dominated industry and how the fem-positive message of drag can inspire and empower. They'll also answer audience questions. The panel is scheduled for 2:30 Sunday afternoon, in the Synergy Room of the Convention Center's South Hall.
DragCon will also be doing its part to get trans fans and, really, everyone else to come out and vote in the 2018 midterm elections, via a panel on Saturday titled, "Billy Eichner Wants You...To Glam Up The Midterms!" Popular comedian Eichner has teamed with the folks behind the "Funny Or Die" video series to urge people to come to the polls in November, since the races at issue there will decide who controls Congress for the following two years. Eichner will be joined on the panel by drag queen superstars Alaska 5000 and Peppermint. According to the promo material for the panel, the 2018 election is "the most important event of the year, so don’t f%ck it up! Because voting is whaaaaat?!? FUNDAMENTAL!" (We thought that was "reading," but what the hell...) The panel will take place Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in the Uniqueness Room.
Looking over the list of panels, it turns out that there are apparently a number of gamers in the trans community. Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Nerve Room will be "Dungeons, Dragons And Drag Queens," "an original D&D adventure, played before a live audience," with panelists BenDeLaCreme, Fraya Love and Kitty Powers, and moderated by Matt Baume. Then at 2 p.m., look for "Gay For Play: Queer Culture And Video Games," where Twitch Partner Dylan Zaner and gaming gurus Biqtch Puddin’, Deere, Erika Klash and Kameron Michaels discuss "how queer culture and video games intertwine when discovering your identity. These gamers will tell their stories on how growing up queer and being a gamer influenced their lives in and out of drag." Finally, On Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Talent Room will be "Adventures in Tabletop Gaming," where fans can get to "Geek out with queer tabletop gamers as they discuss the latest trends in games, creating LGBTQ storylines, and building community! They’ll be recommending games that you might want to pick up, how to bring drag to tabletop adventures, and organizing inclusive gamer gatherings wherever you live." Moderated by Baume, this panel includes Bonnie Burton, Fraya Love and Terry Chiu.
And that's not the half of it. Also of interest will be "WOW [World of Wonder] Presents Plus: Cool Mom," where "cool mom" Jinkx Monsoon and her gay son Nick "spend quality time discussing everyday parent/child topics like hooking up, internet porn and smoking marijuana." That'll be at 11 a.m. in the Synergy Room.
Committed drag queens will probably want to hear "Partners In Drag: Committed Queens," where "Chad Michaels, Ginger Minj and Dusty Ray Bottoms spill the tea on balancing long-term relationships with the demanding life of a drag superstar." In a similar vein, there'll be "Keepin’ It In The Family: Drag Mothers And Daughters," which asks the burning questions, "What is a drag mother? How do you get one? And how do you make the relationship work? Drag mothers and their daughters get together to share the ups and downs of being family—from sharing wigs to stealing men, they’re giving you all the T, gurl."
Learn all about the convention programming here.
Point is, there'll be no shortage of things to do at DragCon—and to make it even more interesting, there'll be more than 30 Instagram-worthy photo op spots that will be located on the convention floor, including the actual Werkroom from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10, a "Judges Panel" with cutouts of RuPaul and Michelle Visage, the Snatch Game set, the White Horse from All Stars, the Warhol Drag Factory, the car from RuPaul’s “Covergirl” music video, and more. And let's not even talk about the parties!
Tickets for RuPaul’s DragCon LA are available at rupaulsdragcon.com, with convention events taking place May 11-13 at the Los Angeles Convention Center's South Hall.
