Drag on Ice dazzles at Safeway Holiday Ice Rink in San Francisco

Описание: (5 Dec 2025)
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4622174

ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Francisco - 4 December 2025
1. Wide of people skating at Union Square
++SOUNDBITE #2 PART COVERED++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Paju Munro, skating drag queen
"First of all, we drag queens. We just wanna have fun. We just want to entertain. We just put - we just wanna put some lipstick and a wig on and make you laugh. And if you laugh I'm happy."
3. Munro performing on ice
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) Paju Munro, skating drag queen:
"People come over here not - they don't expect anyone to do a triple axle or to do anything like, "Oh my god, look at that!" They come here for the friendship."
5. Munro skating with another person during rehearsal
6. Performer Helixer performing on ice
7. Mid of a Christmas tree
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8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dusty Pörn, skating drag queen:
"It's the it's the synergy of - of the alchemy of the holidays with drag, with the San Francisco spirit and the folks that come down here, as well as a few tourists.”
9. Pörn performing on ice
++SOUNDBITE #10 PART COVERED++
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dusty Pörn, performer:
"And it's an opportunity to express and for folks to see that you can express in any way you want and tell stories and those stories are important to tell."
11. Performer with puppet performing on ice
++SOUNDBITE #12 PART COVERED++
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Dusty Pörn, performer:
"There's probably some people that step into this environment feeling weighty, sad, depressed, overwhelmed. And we're here for them too.”
13. Major Hammy and Jota Mercury performing together on ice
++SOUNDBITE #14 PART COVERED++
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Christie James, host:
"Who doesn't love a drag queen on ice? No, seriously, this is what San Francisco and the Bay Area is all about. It is about acceptance and all year long you hear all of this negativity about the Bay Area, about drag queens, and this is an opportunity for people to come out and just see that it is all about love. We're skating for love and camp and fun."
15. Performer Curve Ball performing on ice
16. people skating
17. Munro posing for pictures
STORYLINE:
The Safeway Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square, presented by Kaiser Permanente, hosted its 16th annual “Drag On Ice," one of San Francisco’s holiday traditions.

The event is described as full of "glitz and glam," holiday magic, and festive flair.

The event featured local drag performers from the Bay Area, who brought their skills to the ice through skating and performance, including Paju Munro, Dusty Porn, Curve Ball, Helixer, Jota Mercury, Liza Smelyanska, Major Hammy, and Pony Bambino, dressed in elaborate holiday-themed costumes.

Performer Dusty Pörn said the show is a blend of grandiosity, earnestness, and joy — “a really potent and wonderful mix.”

“It's the it's the synergy of of the alchemy of the holidays with drag, with the San Francisco spirit and the folks that come down here, as well as a few tourists," said Pörn.

Host Christie James said Drag On Ice is about acceptance and all year long people hear all of this negativity about the Bay Area,

“This is an opportunity for people to come out and just see that it is all about love. We're skating for love and camp and fun," said James.

As the night went on, performers took selfies with others, families huddled along the rink’s edge, and skaters of all ages circled the ice — some gracefully, some wobbling, all smiling.

AP video by Haven Daley

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