13th annual Drag Queens on Ice show returns to dazzle at SF Union Square
SAN FRANCISCO -- It is a San Francisco tradition that brings color and entertainment to Union Square. Drag Queens on Ice returns for its 13th year.
The making of a drag queen is an art and 'Jubilee' is Joe Wadlington's masterpiece.
It is a four-hour process of meticulously applying makeup, wardrobe and the hair. All before it is time to take the stage.
For Wadlington to be Jubliee, the transformation happens in his garage in San Francisco, a space also transformed into his costume/sewing/makeup/dressing room.
The time pays off though when Jubilee gets to shine. But this week, Jubilee will sparkle on a different stage. This one includes some blades.
"The question is not, 'Will Jubilee fall down?' It will be will she get back up? And she is going to get back up," said Wadlington.
This is the second year Jubilee will grace the ice in the heart of San Francisco.
"For it to suddenly become necessary for me to ice skate to be in a drag show, is actually very normal, in terms of drag, suddenly needing you to learn something brand new," explained Wadlington.
The costume Wadlington practices in while at the Yerba Buena ice skating rink in San Francisco is completely created by him, out of his garage that he uses to doll Jubilee up.
It is all a showcase of the passions he holds dear to his heart.
"Because in drag you want proportions, you want it to be very visible from the audience," explained Wadlington about his costume. "You don't want it to look normal. I need some big gumdrop buttons and some giant oven-shaped hands and a wig of course."
Jubilee's name is carefully assigned, as every time she performs, it is a celebration for her audience.
"I like to make my drag feel like it is a special occasion," said Wadlington. "And people who are seeing jubilee feel like they are seeing something special."
This is something special and it is something that we get to celebrate here in the Bay Area.
"Where drag is so incredibly vulnerable, even though you don't look like yourself, there is always the concern on how you are going to be perceived," he said.
The Drag Queens on Ice performance comes shortly after the fatal shooting in a Colorado LGBTQ nightclub on a Drag Queen night. Here on the stage, Jubilee is also a statement.
"Just keep going and stay the same, it all comes from hate," said Wadlington. "And the only way to do that is to meet people and be out to do those classic things, talk to your neighbors, ask questions, give people grace and room. And we are not the only people being targeted. So it is something that quite a few people can feel that they have a place in."
Just like Jubilee's journey to perform on the ice, we all have to learn that it is okay to fall.
"I was worried right that I was going to look like an idiot and I was going to fall down," he said. "And I will tell you, both of those things happened and it was still totally fine."
Despite all our falls, we can all learn from Queen Jubilee to glide through life a little bit smoother.
Drag Queens on Ice takes place on December 1, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., in San Francisco's Union Square.