The Austin International Drag Festival needs your help to produce our 2026 Festival.

After our 2025 Festival, we were left with debt that totals to about $8,000, which was from a loan we took out to pay for artist and hotel fees. We have a fundraising goal of $10,000 to help pay back our debt and to get a head start on our 2026 Festival.

We are asking for our community, allies and supporters of our mission to help us bring the magic of LGBTQIA+ art to Austin, TX this year in 2026. It is now more crucial than ever to provide work opportunities for queer artists that we support, especially those who pursue drag and performing arts full time.

Your donations will go directly towards paying back our 2025 debt, artist booking fees, and providing lodging for performers for the duration of the 2026 Festival, which is the bulk of the costs associated with putting on the event. It has always been about funding the artists that make our Festival grow and become more vibrant every year, and we believe we can make this happen with your help. Once we have our debt paid from 2025, we can focus our efforts to produce and create AIDF 2026 to give more artists work, and to make this year our BEST Festival yet.

To show our appreciation for your donations, we will be commemorating all donors who contribute to this cause on our social media posts leading up to the 2026 Festival. We are thankful for the value you bring to supporting the Festival in any way you can, even if it is just sharing this GoFundMe with a friend.

Thank you for your time and consideration - the show must go on.

With gratitude,

AIDF Board of Directors