Drag performers Rhett Torical and Rouge Fatale read to kids and adults as part of Reading with Royalty at the Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool on Thursday. (Rick Conrad photo)
Drag queen story hour made its fabulous debut in Liverpool on Thursday as part of Pride celebrations on the South Shore.
The event, dubbed Reading with Royalty, featured Rouge Fatale, one of Nova Scotia’s best known drag performers, and drag king Rhett Torical.
They were at the Thomas H. Raddall Library to read to and sing along with kids and their parents, grandparents and others.
Two hecklers stood outside the library and yelled insults at Rouge and Rhett as they entered the building. The women later came into the library to watch. Staff had to ask one of them to leave after she appeared to be taking photos of the crowd.
Still, about 20 people showed up to listen to Rouge and Rhett read from such books as My Shadow is Purple, Bathe the Cat, Julian is a Mermaid and The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish, which was also one of the singalongs.
Here are some sounds from the afternoon and reaction from those who were there.
Liverpool Visitor Information Centre. Photo courtesy Region of Queens Municipality
The 2SLGBTQ+ community has been targeted by vandals in Liverpool.
Sometime Sunday evening someone spray painted hateful graffiti over the rainbow painted steps at the visitor information centre along Henry Hensey Drive.
Mayor Darlene Norman is disappointed anyone would deface a symbol of inclusion and welcome with hate.
Norman said it’s, “horrible that member or members of our community or people within our province or country would publicly display their hatred toward the 2SLGBTQ+ community is simply a sign of hatred and that is definitely what we are not in our community.”
The vandals also etched hateful graffiti in the panes of glass at the VIC.
Norman says RCMP have been informed of the vandalism and are investigating.
Members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community are calling for more action for instances such as this.
Commenting to QCCR, Chair of Lunenburg Pride Steve Ellis said, “These acts of vandalism are disgusting and need to be investigated by the RCMP as a hate crime; full stop. The stairs are beautiful and a shining example of visibility for our community. We at Lunenburg Co. Pride condemn these acts. We will continue to speak out against any hateful actions or words against our community and this only motivates us to be even louder in our vision of an inclusive space for everyone on the South Shore and beyond.”
Mayor Norman says the offending graffiti has already been painted over and staff are looking into whether the glass can be repaired or will need to be replaced.
She is more concerned about the impact this act will have on the community.
“We can expend money to put in new windows, replace glass, fix glass, scrub paint but what we cannot fix is the damage that has been done by people in our community who have seen this or know of it or have been exposed to this,” said Norman.
She says the Region of Queens has prioritized diversity, inclusion, and accessibility and will continue to do so.
Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to contact Queens RCMP.
Towns along the South Shore are taking part in the region’s first ever pride week.
For the past several years most local municipalities have flown the pride flag in a show of solidarity with the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
This year, Lunenburg Pride is working to increase their exposure by expanding the annual flag raising to a week of activities including a dog show, seniors lesbian social, trivia night and pub night, ending with a drag show and dance on Saturday.
Chair of Lunenburg Pride Steve Ellis says there’s a large 2SLGBTQ+ community on the South Shore and they wanted to tailor events to suit local needs.
“Not everyone wants to go all the way to Halifax to have events and they’d rather be supporting their own community,” said Ellis. “So, we decided this year that we wanted to have a week’s worth of events that will include all demographics and something on a smaller scale that represents our community better than the city.”
One event that has generated some controversy is Drag Queen story time being hosted by the Margaret Hennigar Library in Bridgewater.
Following several inappropriate comments South Shore Public Libraries closed commenting on the event on Facebook.
Ellis says there’s no reason to fear a man reading to children while wearing a dress.
“If you think about it on a very basic level, it’s no different than hiring a clown for your kid’s birthday party. That’s a man dressed up in drag. If we take away the seriousness about it, because it’s serious that we get hate about it,” said Ellis. “But at the end of the day, there’s plenty of things that kids go to where people are dressed up so this is no different.”
Pride Flag. Photo Ed Halverson
Each year the Region of Queens flies the pride flag to coincide with Halifax pride events in July.
Ellis says the Lunenburg Pride group would like to see the week expand next year and says Queens would be natural fit.
“We’re definitely open to working with Queens. I know that we have people who work with the municipality who work on various inclusion projects that have contacted us and we’ve worked on things together in the past. So yeah, we definitely would be willing to work with them to make an even bigger organization.”
Ellis says hosting a week of events to increase their visibility is important to members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, particularly in rural areas of Nova Scotia.
“It means a lot to me and I know others who have approached us, telling us what it means to them, to have events to go to. And if they’re not comfortable going to the events they can drive all across the South Shore and they’re going to see a pride flag waving and they know that they’re in a safe space. And that means more than all the events together and the events allow us to do more meaningful work.”