Photos: Bushwig 2021 Makes A Joyous Return To NYC – Gothamist

After the event was canceled in 2020 because of—you guessed it—the pandemic, Bushwig sashayed back to life this past weekend, offering tons of creative looks and stellar lip-synching performances.

The Bushwig Festival of Drag, Music & Love was founded in 2011 and was inspired by Wigstock, the renowned drag festival started by Lady Bunny which ran from approximately 1984 through 2005. Over the past decade, it has grown, and as Bushwig co-founder Horrorchata told Logo the festival has basically become “the gay Super Bowl.”

The lack of any major drag events in the city throughout the pandemic led to a lot of anticipation for this year’s tenth anniversary, and Horrorchata noted, “It’s the one event of the year that people are shopping for their looks way in advance. They’re talking to their friends [and] collaborating.”

This year’s event took place at the Knockdown Center in Queens, and featured next-level sparkling style, Azealia Banks, a tribute to Bo Burnham’s Inside, and much more:

Photographer Sai Mokhtari was on hand to capture the action, and said, “It took some getting used to being so close to mostly unmasked people, but Bushwig was as creative and raunchy and silly and inclusive and FUN as ever—it’s still the most underrated event in NYC.”

Click through to check out photos of some of the best, most glamorous looks from the weekend.