‘Rollercoaster of a week’
Support outweighs opposition
Niko Steenken has seen the best and worst of people during the past two weeks. It started when people began planning to protest a family friendly, all-ages drag show planned for Kings Arms Pub in Kentville on June 3. But within a few days more than 2,000 people responded to a social media call to support the drag show. “It’s been a rollercoaster of a week,” Steenken said May 21. Steenken, who is in his 21st year working as a volunteer with Pride organizations, has known most of the drag performers since he was young. The president of Annapolis Royal Pride Association said when members saw the “vile comments” being made online they reached out to help.
Steenken and other Pride supporters stepped in as organizers as drag show participants were receiving threats.
“These artists are fearing for their lives,” said Halifax resident Jacob Rafuse.
An online petition against the story time drag show had about 130 signatures as of May 22.
“The issue is not with the drag or LGBT community! The issue is with the involvement of underage children in adult entertainment,” it said.
Drag Me to Family Dinner is to include performances, a Disney singalong, and story time but not burlesque.
Rafuse said the protest and petition impacts the province as a whole.
An intolerance for intolerance. That has been the general reaction to online vitriol over an all-ages show by some drag performers scheduled for a pub in Kentville on June 3.
Drag Me to Family Dinner is taking place at Kings Arms Pub and is billed as a family friendly, all-ages event with performances, a Disney singalong, and story time. The ad for the sold-out event says children under three years of age are admitted for free.
Despite the show being family friendly and not burlesque, it didn’t stop some people from complaining with false statements about stripping, grooming and other misinformation. A few exhorted followers to call Kentville police and councillors, demanding the event be cancelled, or said they would shut it down themselves. There was talk of protests, although at least one said protesters need to be civil,
“Any of the emails or calls that are coming in that are particularly nasty are being forwarded directly to the police ...” Sandra Snow Kentville mayor
and a few said their only opposition was to no age limit on the show.
Some of those complaining have apparent ties to farright groups.
That has all led to other people calling for a counterprotest and rally outside the pub.
Kings Arms owner Joey Murphy declined to comment, pointing to a Facebook post in which he says his position is clear and firm. In it, he said he supports inclusivity and diversity in his community and everyone’s right to make their own choices and live their own lives.
“I support all members of my community with the exception of anyone who shares hate and misinformation,” he said in the post.
Murphy also doubled down and is holding an event called Come Together ’23 outside at the pub starting earlier in the day. The Facebook post for the event, made May 16 after the online comments had started to appear, has a Pride flag in the shape of a heart. The description reads “Inviting all Kings, Queens, Princes, Princesses, Jokers and all other royalty for an awesome afternoon in the Kings Garden. There will be live music and other entertainment outside at our side patio. More details to follow.”
Kentville Mayor Sandra Snow said she’s received emails and phone messages “on both sides of the coin” about the event, but it’s not a town issue.
“It’s a private company and not something the town is doing, and we don’t interfere in those sorts of things” she said.
No bylaws are being broken by the show, she said.
“The Town of Kentville, and we’ve made this very clear as we’ve moved forward, we want to be inclusive, we want to be a place where everyone feels welcome, regardless of how they look, how they sound or where they stand in life,” Snow said. “That is where we start any conversation.”
While there are more messages of support than opposition, the mayor said, most of the voicemails she’s received have not been pleasant to listen to.
“Any of the emails or calls that are coming in that are particularly nasty are being forwarded directly to the police, because at the end of the day there are still laws about hate and the propagation of hate, and that will not be tolerated.”
James Butler, Kentville’s police chief, declined to comment on the online comments or plans for the event.