On Sunday, Sept. 24, I went to the Bushwig 2017 drag festival at the Knockdown Center in Maspeth with two students from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, Anuz Thapa and Robert Exley, to record a 360-degree video of the festivities.
Throughout the entire day there was no shortage of things to film as drag queens and kings dressed to the nines (and some wearing barely anything at all) began filling the Knockdown Center to watch drag performances full of makeup and glitter on the main stage, grab a drink or two, get their nails done, have a bite to eat, purchase some of the vintage and handmade products vendors had on sale, and of course, dance.
Over the course of the two-day festival, hundreds of performers took to the GAG Stage, while international and local DJs spun tunes outside at the Love Down Low stage.
We got to speak with Horrorchata, founder of the Bushwig festival, who explained why she started the festival and what influenced her to become a drag queen.
The video opens with a shot of drag queen Pepto Dismal performing on the main stage. It then shows Horrorchata before donning her iconic drag makeup, a clip of her applying the makeup, and finally when she comes to the floor in full drag. There are also scenes of the queens dancing and enjoying themselves on the Love Down Low stage.
Take a look at the 360-video below. If you are watching on a computer, be sure to drag your cursor around the video to take advantage of the 360 video, and if you are watching via the YouTube app on a handheld device, feel free to move around as the video will follow along with your movements and give you the full experience of what it was like at Bushwig 2017.
Video by Anthony Giudice/QNS; Anuz Thapa; and Robert Exley.
