rewrite this content and keep HTML tags The first weekend of December arrived with monochrome skies and the cold damp of winter — not exactly the ideal backdrop for partying on the streets. But that didn’t stop the city from coming alive with the sounds, colors and swirling motion of drag, as some 100 performers popped up around the city on Saturday and Sunday. The shows unfolded in impromptu locales in busy neighborhoods. Khmera Rouge, for one, held court at Patricia’s Green in Hayes Valley on Sunday afternoon, sticking out in a bright red lace blouse and a matching miniskirt. She began to sashay as Taylor Dayne’s iconic track “Tell It to My Heart” swelled from a nearby speaker, and like moths to a light, a diverse and curious crowd — drag superfans, confused passersby, dog walkers, teen shoppers, young families — drew near. Part drag festival and part street performance, the event dubbed “SF Is a Drag” emerged in 10 neighborhoods: North Beach, Lower Polk, SoMa, the Fillmore, Union Square, Hayes Valley, Upper and Lower Haight, the Mission and the Castro. Each location hosted multiple simultaneous drag shows from noon to 5 p.m. The two-day event was organized as part of the Civic Joy Fund by Oasis Arts in conjunction with Bay Area drag legend Juanita MORE!, San Francisco “drag laureate” D’Arcy Drollinger, and Honey Mahogany, the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star who has become a fixture in city activism and politics. Left clockwise: Honey Mahogany, San Francisco native and organizer of the San Francisco is a Drag; performances pop off in the center of Hayes Valley; A performer turns newspaper rags into haute couture.Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special To SFGATELeft clockwise: Honey Mahogany, San Francisco native and organizer of the San Francisco is a Drag; performances pop off in the center of Hayes Valley; A performer turns newspaper rags into haute couture.Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special To SFGATEWith no clear schedule of performers available, attendees had to rely on just a simple map to guide them, infusing spontaneity into each hub. Khmera Rouge didn’t know what to expect, either, but was pleased to hear the crowd roar as she twirled and leapt onto tables. Afterward, she smiled wide while dabbing beads of sweat from her brow. AdvertisementArticle continues below this ad“I am so proud of San Francisco for giving us a safe space to do this. There are other parts of the country that are trying to ban drag outright, but this city has so many opportunities for this art form, and we see so many young performers coming out here for it,” Khmera Rouge observed. “You can really come and be yourself here.” Translucent goes big and all out for San Francisco is a Drag in Hayes Valley, Dec. 3, 2023.Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATENot every drag “venue” on the map drew the same number of people, which gave some performers a fever-dream energy as they paced and danced on a quiet block, seemingly alone. Translucent was placed a block north of Patricia’s Green — instead of playing to a crowd, they created an emotionally somber moment, mournfully lip-syncing to “Zombie” by the Cranberries and spinning in red lace and black tulle.At the end of the song, Translucent spread the neckline of their dress and scrawled “CEASEFIRE” in red lipstick on their chest, then reached out toward passing cars like a specter as the final notes of the ballad rang out. AdvertisementArticle continues below this ad“I care about this song and its message, and I’m tired of war and conflict. A lot of people don’t want to hear or talk about it, and it’s hard,” Translucent said. “Normally, we’re used to performing in clubs, feeling safe with people we know. There’s a risk to being out here. But if I’m going to be out on the street doing drag, f—k it, I want to be honest about my point.” Left to right, Die Anna, Amoura Teese, Nutasha Quintine and Mojo Carter at San Francisco is a Drag in the Castro District, Dec. 3, 2023.Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special to SFGATEBeyond empowering earnest expression, the event served as a reunion for performers from all over the country, many of whom descended on the Castro on Sunday for the final performances of the weekend. The mood was festive, to say the least: The sidewalk outside of the Castro Theatre filled to the brim with people grinning, clapping and waving dollar bills. Every so often, you would hear a collective scream cut through the air, as when Mojo Carter hit a dangerous-looking “death drop” dip onto the concrete at the apex of Azealia Banks’ “Chasing Time.” “Drag can come in all kinds of forms, and this was more of a family-friendly event, but it’s such a beautiful art. It’s about people being themselves, or an idea of who they truly want to be, and they are doing it freely without caring about judgment,” Mojo Carter said. “That is a sacred thing.” AdvertisementArticle continues below this adHer co-emcee and friend Die Anna, dressed in a beautiful lavender gown with a glimmering gold shawl, agreed. She has roots in Los Angeles, while Mojo Carter was born and raised in New York. Both find themselves pulled to San Francisco, however, as the center of their drag universe. “There are a lot of people who grow up being a queer person in the Bay Area and are allowed places full of love, creativity and unabashed freedom. When I first started coming here, I felt that, and it made me never want to leave. And I never have,” Die Anna said. “To put this art in people’s faces, all across the city, it just shows that queerness is strong, it’s a bond, it’s family, and it makes us us.”Top left clockwise: Castro Theatre; performers holding money during their San Francisco is a Drag performances; performances pop off in the center of Hayes Valley; performances in the Castro District.Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special To SFGATETop left clockwise: Castro Theatre; performers holding money during their San Francisco is a Drag performances; performances pop off in the center of Hayes Valley; performances in the Castro District.Kevin Kelleher & Emily Trinh/Special To SFGATEHoney Mahogany stood nearby, taking in the sights with a smile as performers counted up their tips, gossiped and took photos together. San Francisco has been “annihilated” by national media, and the economic stress of the pandemic still lingers, she said. But drag remains a vital celebration and protest for the queer community, and the community reception this past weekend proves it, Mahogany added. AdvertisementArticle continues below this ad“Drag queens have been at the forefront of change, marching and fundraising and performing. There was a time when performing like this in the streets was illegal,” she said. “So in a sense, this event is a little punk rock, and authentic to San Francisco history.”
Citywide event proves San Francisco really is ‘a drag’
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