Bushwig, the blockbuster drag fest named after our neighborhood, is a week and a half away, and its fifth iteration will be bigger than ever before, now that it’s happening at Maspeth’s enormous Knockdown Center. If you can’t stand the thought of missing out but don’t have the $40 to drop on a weekend pass (note that that pass price goes up to $50 after tomorrow when early bird pricing expires), you may be in luck: The fest is still in need of a few lucky volunteers to help operations run smoothly!
In exchange for committing to a 4-hour shift, aspiring queens and devoted drag fans can earn a full pass to the fest, which will present performances by more than 120 practitioners of the art form, as well as plenty of other delights: Bushwig spokesperson Brian Kelly tells Bushwick Daily that “BUSHWIG is now much more than a drag festival…There will be an all weekend long dance tent with world-renowned DJ Tim Sweeney and Wolgang Tillmans, [in addition to] art installations, food booths and many vendors. The Knockdown Center is the perfect place to host our festival and has a 5000 person capacity, which we couldn’t be more thrilled about.”
Interested volunteers can reach out to Bushwig Volunteer Coordinator Lady Quesa’Dilla, also known as Alejandro Rodríguez, to request an assignment. Contact information for Rodriguez is listed on the Facebook event invitation for the coordination efforts.
The shifts that still need to be filled are on the cleanup crew on Sunday. “It’s not a glamorous job, but it’s essential to our festival,” Rodriguez reminds prospective volunteers on the Facebook page.
Will this gig entail cleaning up lots of glitter? It seems quite possible. But that’s a small price to pay for be able to take in the performances of such a talented crew of drag luminaries.
See you there, Bushwick!
Cristin Noonan contributed reporting.
Featured image: Bushwig 2013 in the courtyard at Secret Project Robot. Scarlett North-Cavanaugh for Bushwick Daily.