Ren Rave

A night of queer joy in New York City 

Boyfriend Co-Op, a small LGBTQ+ bar in Brooklyn, New York, teemed with people dressed to the nines in impeccable homemade costumes from fairies to wizards, knights, nobles, and everything in between. The bustling bar had tables with artists selling their wares, a tarot reader out front, and a DJ playing music to a room of people dancing. This is Ren Rave, a Renaissance fantasy drag party presented by Fat Opulence Productions. 

The goal of Ren Rave is simple: it’s a place to embrace queer joy and community. Mhic, who organized the event, described the idea behind the party: “Let’s throw these really cool queer body liberated events where we can just be in pleasure and happiness together with our communities.” 

The idea for Ren Rave emerged in the wake of the United States elections. During that winter, Mhic was feeling lonely. They explained, “I was feeling this crashing wave of fascism on top of me, I was like, ‘What the hell do I do? What do we do to survive?’” 

At the same time, they began to develop an interest in medieval and Renaissance art. They already had a deep love of Ren Faires, and as they researched the history of Ren Faires, they were immediately inspired. 

“The thing that totally blew my mind is that it [Ren Faire] was created during the era of McCarthyism, specifically by school teachers, blacklisted Hollywood actors, and stage crafters. It was really formed partially as this resistance movement,” Mhic explained. “So Ren Faires are completely inextricably linked to progressive and liberation movements.” 

Suddenly, an idea began to take shape as an answer to their question on how to sustain and find community during these trying times. The concept of Ren Rave was soon born. The idea was to create an event that transports people into a fantasy space, highlighting cool and interesting drag artists and unique music. In short, it’s their take on what medieval revival looks like in 2025. 

Walking through the event space, I was blown away by how perfect Boyfriend Co-Op was for this event. Their decor, which included unique ornate chandeliers, was incredibly on theme. As I  wandered through the bar admiring everyone’s costumes, looking at tables of art, and watching as individuals got their tarot read, I watched in real-time as friendships were formed, as people exchanged trinkets, and compliments on costumes. It truly seemed to embody everything Mhic had dreamed.

As the vendor portion of the night came to a close, the second half of the evening focused on drag commenced. The three drag artists performing at the sold-out bar were Mx. Ology, Father Queef, and Maljo Blu. Each artist leaned into fantasy and the Renaissance in their own way. 

Malijo Blu (left) and Mx. Ology (right)

Mx. Ology explained that they’re into body horror, so for this show, they chose to perform “Disease” by Lady Gaga. They reworked an existing act to give it more of a historical spin to fit the theme of the night. 

Maljo Blu noted that they already do both Renaissance and raving in their drag as it is, so they simply leaned into that for this performance as well. 

“I get to be a fairy princess, and I am always a fairy princess,” Maljo Blu said.  

Mhic, alongside their partner Jude Valentin, a queer boudoir photographer, founded Fat Opulence Productions, which presented this event. The new production company has two legs. The first being Ren Rave, which is the brainchild of Mhic. And the other is Sapphic Slumber Party, the brainchild of Jude. This event was a boudoir photography and burlesque party hosted at Madame X in SoHo for Pride. Now that both events have happened once, they hope to continue by doing each event quarterly. 

“We’re just really excited about being here to facilitate more of these queer spaces in a time when we really need [spaces like this], it’s not escape, it’s survival,” Mhic said.  

All photos by Madison Paloski