Here’s Why DragCon Was Every ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Fan’s Dream Come True

The fourth annual DragCon death-dropped its way into Los Angeles over the weekend, flooding the floors of the LA Convention Center with a sea of fabulous fashion and must-have merch.

It was a veritable paradise for fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race, with the opportunity to meet past contestants and catch hilarious references from the show around every corner. (Quite literally, in fact, since each row of the convention was named after a reference that only the Drag Race fandom would understand. See: Stacy Layne Lane.) Here are some of the moments from the three-day weekend that left Drag Race fans gagging.

The Queens

Over 90 contestants from the reality show were in attendance, including every queen from Season 10. Fans had an opportunity to visit their favorite queens’ booths for a meet-and-greet session or see them strut their stuff while sashaying in between panels. Shangela brought her Game of Thrones references from All Stars 3 to life by dressing as Daenerys Targaryen, being carried in by her own version of the Unsullied.

Saturday morning kicked off with the Crowned Queens Walk, which had past Drag Race winners Sasha Velour, Sharon Needles, Alaska, Jinkx Monsoon, and Bebe Zahara Benet sashaying down the pink carpet. But it was All Stars 3 winner Trixie Mattel that stole the show by riding in on a pink motorized Barbie mobile.

The Merch

DragCon is not only an opportunity for queens to meet their fans, it’s also a great way for them to make some cold, hard cash. Queens sell merchandise with their Drag Race catchphrases and made-up faces plastered all over them, and fans can’t get enough. But it’s wise to get in while you’re still hot. During Season 8, Naomi Smalls’ booth with Kim Chi had a line that wrapped around the convention center, but just two years later, it was a lot easier to get a pic with the long-legged queen. Who had one of the longest lines full of fans waiting to meet her? Well, it was Season 10 legend Miss Vanjie, of course. Get those cookies, honey!

Thorgy Thor was selling “Ugh. Jesus. Gross” shirts, in honor of her response to being eliminated on All Stars 3 and Bianca Del Rio made an appearance on Saturday, signing copies of her new book, Blame It On Bianca Del Rio.

The Panels

Fans got to listen to their favorite Drag Race stars deliver pearls of wisdom and behind-the-scenes secrets at the dozens of panels that took place throughout the weekend. Although fan-favorite Katya announced earlier this year that she was taking a break from her drag persona, she showed up out of drag to give a DEB talk — a parody of the popular TED talks that delved into the Drag Entertainment Business.

For all the gaymers in attendance, there was a panel called Gay for Play: Queer Culture and Video Games, in which panelists discussed how growing up queer and being a gamer influenced their lives. Season 10 stunner Kameron Michaels was one of the panelists, and she dressed as Chun-Li from Street Fighter.

One of the best moments of DragCon always takes place at the end, when RuPaul delivers motherly advice during her Keynote speech. But what was everyone’s favorite moment of her speech this year? Well, it was a surprise appearance by Miss Vanjie, again! (Has a first-to-go-home loser ever been such a WINNER in all of Drag Race history??)

Did you attend DragCon? What were your favorite moments? Tweet us your best pics and videos and let us know how you kiki’ed with the queens.