‘There’s no place for racism, sexism, transphobia, ableism, fatphobia and general hatefulness here,’ warned signs at the entrance of Milkshake Festival this past Saturday and Sunday, greeting us with a feeling that we were sliding into a world of love and celebration for the weekend.

Milkshake is half a decade old and fully established on the festival circuit as a safe space for boys, girls and those in between. It’s a candy-colored oasis of expression—the looks were turnt, some people were even naked! I spotted Derek Blasberg walking around with a bunch of models (he and his crews were fully dressed) – and the drag and club freak looks were on fire—more inspired by the underground world of Susanne Bartsch and Berlin queens like Hungry than the polish of Drag Race.

Love Bailey and Sussi slathered up the Supertoys stage while Honey Dijon dropped some fierce beats (a remix of “Vogue” brought the house down). Later, The Black Madonna turned it out with sleazy disco and the biggest crowd of mates as a backdrop that I’ve ever seen at a festival!

In the Transformers arena, I previewed some new tracks during my DJ set as the iconic Cock Destroyers werked the stage as my hype girls. It was a British invasion! (The good bits of Britain, not the Brexit/Boris Johnson bits).

In the current global political climate, we need moments of escape more than ever—little bubbles of pure joy and freedom where anyone who doesn’t quite fit in can rave freely. Long live Milkshake festival and all who drink from her pink cup.