Wigstock
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Wigstock is an annual outdoor drag festival that began in the 1980s in New York's East Village. The name references the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
Emceed by co-creator Lady Bunny, the festival was held in its first years in Tompkins Square Park. According to Lady Bunny, the event began spontaneously after a group of drag queens (along with Wendy Wild and a couple of Fleshtones) became inebriated at the nearby Pyramid Club and decided to put on a show in the park. As the crowds grew each year, the festival was moved, first to Union Square Park , then to piers on the Hudson River. Lady Bunny said that 2001's Wigstock would be the last, but in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, Wigstock and Bunny returned to Tompkins Square, this time under the auspices of the Howl Festival.
[edit] Performers
Performers at Wigstock have included:
- Lady Bunny
- RuPaul
- The Fleshtones
- Lypsinka
- Cindy Wilson of the B-52's
- Leigh Bowery
- Deborah Harry
- Boy George
- Crystal Waters
- The Dazzle Dancers
- Ultra Nate
- Deee-lite
- Tabboo
- Wendy Wild
- Kevin Aviance
- Alexis Arquette
- David Yarritu
[edit] Documentaries
In 1987, video artist Tom Rubnitz filmed a twenty-minute documentary entitled Wigstock: The Movie. Rubnitz's film captures the event's early improvised, rock 'n' roll atmosphere; early years of Wigstock often made direct reference to Woodstock, and Rubnitz's film mimics aspects of the famous Woodstock documentary.
In 1995, a second documentary, also called Wigstock: The Movie, was released. The festivals captured in the 1995 Wigstock documentary are larger and more polished, with rock music largely supplanted by house music, and the influence of the original Woodstock festival less evident.
The 1995 film gained greater attention and was distributed across the country and on video and DVD. Although the 1995 film was generally well received, it has been criticized by Wigstock insiders for focusing too heavily on Alexis Arquette (sibling of actors David, Patricia and Rosanna Arquette), who lives in Los Angeles and has never been closely associated with the festival.[citation needed]
