Sunday, Sept. 29, the student organization Drag & Drop hosted the College of William and Mary’s first ever drag bingo event. As drag bingo becomes increasingly popular across the nation, especially in large cities, Drag & Drop decided to do its own version to raise money for the club. Drag & Drop Head of Marketing and Outreach Carolina Munoz-Velazquez ’26 shared a little bit about the ultimate goals of the event.
“It’s a fun, simple event where people can meet other people while they’re here, because it’s just bingo; it’s a low stakes event in order to meet other friends and experience drag,” Munoz-Velazquez said.
Hand-drawn stickers and freshly made crepes were offered at the door to fund the club’s future events, workshops and performances. In between rounds of bingo, club members put on performances for the crowd. The first was from Motherboard, who was also the host for the night. As the host, Motherboard not only called the bingo numbers, but also provided commentary and told jokes throughout the rounds.
Following Motherboard’s showing, Knickola Knack performed to the song “Catabolic Seed” by The Scary Jokes, and he mentioned that he plans and sews all his costumes by himself. Finally, Rio Roswell performed to “Promiscuous” by Nelly Furtado. Several members of the audience gave the performers money during their routines, adding to the environment.
While attendees agreed the games and prizes were exciting, many noted that meeting new people and learning about drag by watching the different performances in between the rounds were the best parts of the event.
“I feel like the performances were really able to show the art and the beauty behind what drag really is, and I found it really inspirational to see people so passionate about their art,” attendee Fiona Morris ‘28 said.
Another attendee, Adelyn Skerik ‘28, shared how the timing of the event specifically brought her out to Drag & Drop Bingo.
“I thought drag bingo would be a really great event to come to after parents weekend, because if I’m sad about my parents leaving, it’s a fun place to come and cheer up,” Skerik said.
Kessler Shumate ‘25 learned about the bingo night via the network of queer organizations on campus, with which Drag & Drop often collaborates. Having heard about the event at a meeting for queer organizations’ leaders, Shumate went on to note how these collaborations allow for events with a deeper meaning to the campus community.
“It’s a really great way for queer students who don’t interact normally to come together and feel a sense of support, and also to support specific queer orgs that are new to campus, because these first events are really important for the students and the orgs,” Shumate said.
Skerik also commented on the club’s messaging regarding the upcoming presidential election. Drag & Drop members encouraged attendees to vote during the event, emphasizing how those votes mattered in terms of the future of drag performance, given how the legality of drag performances has been challenged in recent years.
“It was so interesting to hear about drag culture, and I also really appreciated the part where they were urging people to vote, because it’s so sad that people would want to ban this art form,” Skerik said.
Drag & Drop is a student-run organization that was founded in the fall 2023. It is open to all students, no matter their level of experience with drag. Students can join the club if they are interested in watching drag, working behind the scenes at shows or learning the performance art. The organization hosts meetings, workshops and performances throughout the year. Munoz-Velazquez commented on how her initial fears about getting involved were eased upon joining Drag & Drop.
“This was a brand new experience, and I was really nervous, because of being a woman who does drag,” Munoz-Velazquez said. “At first I would always search up things like ‘Can women do drag?’ I was nervous when I started, but I practiced a lot, watched a lot of Trixie Mattel with the group, and really AC [Vice President Alex Cooper ’25] and Sebastian [Cannito ’25, president] talked us the whole way through.”
Munoz-Velazquez shared that the organization hopes to make drag bingo an annual event. Meanwhile attendees like Morris expressed an excitement to participate in the future of Drag & Drop, including an upcoming “Dungeons & Drag” event. Those interested in keeping up with the club can follow its Instagram, @wmdrag.
