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  1. Venues & Destinations
  2. United States
  3. New York

Wigstock Takes Its Final Bow

September 4, 2001
"We're drag queens, we'll come back when we're ready," the ever-fabulously attired Lady Bunny snipped at the end of the first set of performances at Wigstock 2001: The Final Blowout. Wigstock, an annual Labor Day weekend entertainment festival that showcases several local drag acts, took over Pier 54 for the entire afternoon and evening. An after-party at Webster Hall picked up where the concert festivities left off.
Wigstock co-founder Lady Bunny--who also DJs at special events--hosted the festivities, which featured more than 100 performers with acts ranging from the Dazzle Dancers, a co-ed (so to speak) dance troupe dressed in thin swaths of fabric and masks on the back of their heads, to a special appearance by ex-Blondie leader Deborah Harry. An especially hilarious act featured performers Sheila Noxzema, Harmonica Sunbeam and Sugar Pie Coco doing a cover of Destiny's Child's hit song "Survivor" (which we caught live--with the real gals--at the Candies' Foundation event). In its 17th year, Wigstock's organizers had concluded the project had become too unwieldy and had run its course, and decided this was the last year.

Produced by DBK Events, Wigstock hosted approximately 8,000 drag fans present to bid the New York institution good-bye. Royce-Martin provided the sound, staging and lighting for the event, and CPR Multimedia provided a huge video screen that was suspended above the stage from a crane. The screen showcased the entertainment to the masses of passersby who happened by the West Side Highway that afternoon. Metromotion provided the ever-important mobile home dressing rooms, where Lady Bunny and other performers retreated for their costume changes and breaks between sets.

Coors, The Village Voice, Webster Hall, and Genre, HX and Paper magazines sponsored the event, which is as well-known for its outlandishly-coiffed audience as it is for its insane performances. Part of the event's proceeds will go to the Gay Men's Health Crisis.

--Suzanne Ito

Read about a Lady Bunny-DJed event...

Read about an event with the real Destiny's Child...
Wigstock cofounder Lady Bunny served as MC for the annual drag event's final incarnation on Pier 54.
Wigstock cofounder Lady Bunny served as MC for the annual drag event's final incarnation on Pier 54.
Wigstock was held on Pier 54, where a giant screen from CPR Multimedia was suspended above the stage with a crane.
Wigstock was held on Pier 54, where a giant screen from CPR Multimedia was suspended above the stage with a crane.
Sheila Noxzema, Harmonica Sunbeam and Sugar Pie Coco performed a hilarious cover of Destiny's Child's hit song 'Survivor.'
Sheila Noxzema, Harmonica Sunbeam and Sugar Pie Coco performed a hilarious cover of Destiny's Child's hit song "Survivor."
A crane suspended a giant screen from CPR Multimedia above the Wigstock stage.
A crane suspended a giant screen from CPR Multimedia above the Wigstock stage.
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