Reading · The Oaklash Newsletter

Written by Nastia Voynovskaya, Photos by Juliana Yamada

“The inspiration was if Lil Uzi Vert was a highland cow,” said Tokyn 666.

Over the past nine years, Oaklash has grown from a humble, grassroots block party to a full-scale drag festival — not to mention an arts incubator that has put on some truly mind-melting performances.

On Saturday, May 16, hundreds of drag fans gathered in Old Oakland to watch dozens of performers on multiple stages. There were soul-stirring lip syncs, flawless fashion reveals, gravity-defying dance moves and lots of dollar bills flying through the air.

Local drag queens, kings and genderless entities frolicked alongside artists who flew in from all over the country, including RuPaul’s Drag Race star Aja, who headlined along with King of Drag’s King Molasses. KQED roamed the streets, documenting the most creative looks we could find.

Jupiter has been doing drag since 1976: “You remember the ancestors and also do what’s up and coming and beyond.”

“This was very much, like, ‘corpse being reclaimed by nature,’” said Henlo Bullfrog.

Evian, aka Lashley, poses for a portrait during the Oaklash Block Party. Evian is one of Oaklash’s artists in residence, and produced large-scale art installations for the festival.

“I very much enjoy sci-fi. I’m very anti-AI, but I’m a very pro—body modification in the sense of supporting my trans family,” Mylique E. Fawcett said. “Humans have been into body mods since the beginning of time, it’s nothing new. So I just wanted to show my support in a different way.”

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The Best Looks at Oaklash, Oakland’s Drag Festival

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