On Sunday 8 March, Woof! The Auckland Rainbow Dog Show returns to Ponsonby’s Western Park, celebrating queer community and canine charm. Long-time Woof judge and drag legend Buckwheat tells YOUR EX why she keeps returning to this community-first event.
For many in Tāmaki Makaurau’s rainbow community, Woof! The Auckland Rainbow Dog Show isn’t just a Pride event — it’s a joyful rite of passage. Held each year under the trees of Ponsonby’s Western Park, Woof is where queerness, community and canine chaos meet, usually with glitter involved. Few people understand its evolution better than Buckwheat, one of Aotearoa’s most beloved drag legends and a long-time supporter and doggie judge for Woof’s best in show competitions.
“When Woof first started, it was intimate and scrappy,” Buckwheat reflects. “Now it’s bigger, brighter, and far more diverse.” What’s grown alongside the scale and production values is the sense of belonging. Woof has become an ‘all-types-of-family’ event, welcoming queer folk, allies, kids, elders, dogs, and those who are just Pride-curious. Importantly, it’s done this without losing the grassroots warmth that made it special in the first place.
That sense of continuity is something Buckwheat treasures. “It’s great seeing owners and pets return year on year,” she says. “You notice how they’ve evolved, how committed people are to the event. That’s a testament to Woof itself.” Like any good community gathering, Woof holds memories — some more chaotic than others. Asked about a moment that still lives rent-free in their head, Buckwheat laughs. “I once brought my neighbour’s dog, Ike. Word of advice: if you’re bringing a dog, make sure the dog knows you. I very much overestimated our relationship! So, leave it to the professionals or the actual owners.”
At its heart, Woof endures because it’s accessible and unapologetically joyful. “People turn up! The numbers speak for themselves,” Buckwheat says. “It welcomes everyone and reminds us that celebration and visibility can be playful and healing.” In a Pride landscape that can sometimes feel overwhelming or commercial, Woof offers a non-threatening, tail-wagging entry point. It’s a place where being visible feels light, fun, and safe.
That community-led ethos is exactly why events like Woof still matter, even as rainbow representation grows more mainstream. “Community-led events build real relationships, trust and belonging — things institutions can’t always create,” Buckwheat explains. For younger or still-finding-themselves members of the community, seeing queer joy embodied matters deeply. “It gives people the chance to see others living and enjoying their authentic lives. That visibility can be life-changing.”
If Woof were a drag persona? Buckwheat doesn’t hesitate. “She’d be glitter-splashed, a little feral, with a big bark and an even bigger laugh. Unpredictable, warm, impossibly charming, and called, Glitterpaws Glamazon!”
That sense of playful spectacle is something Buckwheat knows intimately. With a drag career spanning four decades, their proudest moments range from performing at the 2005 Venice Dance Biennale to — as she puts it — realising she was officially “ancient” when the Auckland War Memorial Museum dedicated an exhibition to her. What’s kept drag meaningful all this time is the same thing that keeps Woof alive: people. “New voices, new politics, new audiences. Drag reinvents itself, and you have to listen and make space for others.”
For younger wannabe performers, Buckwheat’s advice is simple and generous: be kind, honour your roots, build community before fame, and never underestimate the power of your attitude. “No one likes working with a diva,” she adds with a wink.
