25/08/2026
Few shots of my opening hosting and my act at Cryptid Qu**rs Fest ‘26 by Heidi Tomlinson
I’m still decompressing and recovering - producing an entire festival was an absolutely bonkers undertaking for anyone and especially for someone chronically ill and crip, I can’t tell you how many meltdowns I had in the run up from stress and how many “I’m never going to financially recover from this” moments as well. Luckily I had amazing support from my production team and especially from my firstborn offspring who really went above and beyond for the festival.
I first had the idea to create a drag monster festival in 2023 but it’s taken me a long time to deliver it and it really was a community effort on the day. I’m not even sure I have the words for the gratitude I have for every single person who helped out, our crew, the team of volunteers, all the staff at FORGE, plus all our cast, traders, artists - so many people came together to create a really special one of a kind day and I hope everyone who made it out could feel the love and passion for monster drag that went into it.
I know there are things we can improve on but overall I am over the moon with how the day went. It was such a great chance to showcase a huge amount of alt drag and elevate the production value of Cryptid by taking it to the next level with this new full day event.
Currently planning the 2027 instalment of Cryptid Fest but more immediately it’s our 5th birthday on November 21st at FORGE so keep an eye out for early birds going on sale very soon 🦇
***rs
