There are certain constants at RuPaul’s DragCon, and one of the most unmistakable is the presence of pop-country songstress and drag superstar Trixie Mattel.

“I’ve never missed a single DragCon,” Mattel said in the midst of RuPaul’s DragCon NYC this past weekend. “So as much as my feet and my eyelashes might complain about it at the end of the week, I never miss it. Every year, it’s the pinnacle. The whole month is planned around this: all of the merchandise, all of the cosmetics, my performance on the main stage, I have to plan looks all week. It’s a lot of work, but it’s really cool.”

RuPaul’s DragCon NYC was back at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan Friday, Sept. 6 through Sunday, Sept. 8.

Presented by RuPaul and World of Wonder Productions, the production company that's also behind VH1's "RuPaul’s Drag Race" cultural juggernaut, the weekend-long gathering gave fans the opportunity to meet dozens of competitors from throughout “Drag Race” history and patronize more than 220 vendors and exhibitors on the convention center floor.

For example, Mattel — who appeared on the seventh season of “Drag Race” and won the third season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars” — was selling a “My Little Pony”-inspired T-shirt and Stacy, a bright pink lipstick from her new cosmetics line. She also played a main stage performance for VIP ticket holders on Friday, and told us she’s currently at work on her third album.

“If RuPaul’s taught me anything, it’s that you never leave the house without your wig, your lashes and your capitalism,” said Mattel. “I worked in retail before I was a drag queen and I love retail now. I love owning a business, I love selling make-up, I love selling shirts, I love for the months coming up to DragCon sitting at home and being like, ‘What will the people who love Trixie want?’ ” For more on Trixie Mattel, check out her 2018 video interview with USA TODAY:

Business is booming in the RuPaul and World of Wonder’s drag empire. The franchise earned 14 Emmy nominations in 2019 and VH1 has given the green light to both a 12th season of "RuPaul's Drag Race" and a fifth season of "All Stars." It’s little surprise that between RuPaul’s DragCon NYC and its Los Angeles counterpart, 100,000 attendees turned out in 2018 alone.

“DragCon is a weekend where I get to meet and see a lot of people who are obsessed with the show as much as I am,” said Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, a fan favorite competitor from the 10th and 11th seasons of “Drag Race.” “And even the young ones (are here), because it’s not a bar so you get to see the little ones, families. It’s an amazing time.”

(Mateo returns to our area for a Saturday, Nov. 2 appearance at the Werk Day of the Dead Dance Party at the House of Independents in Asbury Park.)

Kids younger than 10 received free admission to DragCon and there was plenty to keep them engaged throughout the weekend, including a kids zone, arts and crafts, "Drag Queen Story Hour'' sessions and more.

“It’s always really nice to see parents with their kids,” said Brooke Lynn Hytes, one of Season 11’s stars. “(They’re) kind of exposing them to this world and helping the kids realize this is OK and something that they can do too.”

“Drag is something that can appeal to anybody of any age, and maybe that inner child inside of you that hopefully never dies can always get excited by the colors and the wigs and the outfits and the spectacle,” said World of Wonder co-founder Fenton Bailey. “And what’s driving that and creating that is real heart and just love and joy and energy and a spirit of fun which, kind of, right now, with the regime that we’re all living under, is in short supply.”

A number of exciting announcements concerning the franchise’s future happened over the weekend, further demonstrating the cultural vitality of drag. The official Las Vegas residency “RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!” opens in January at the Flamingo Hotel, produced by World of Wonder and Voss Events and directed by RuPaul and Jamal Sims.

After “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK” premieres on Oct. 3 via the WOW Presents Plus service in America, RuPaul’s DragCon UK happens in January in London, followed by a sixth year of DragCon in Los Angeles next May.

“It’s about the energy, it’s about the positive attitude towards life, and I think more than anything else that’s what we want this to be about,” said World of Wonder co-founder Randy Barbato. “That’s what we want people to take from this and spread it like a contagion all over the world. It’s not that we’re the ground zero of resistance, we’re sort of the ground zero of the future and of what our world can be.”

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