San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
PRIDE, STORY TIME AT THE FAIR
Out at the Fair, which began 11 years ago, much needed these days, its creator says
While more than a dozen states have introduced laws to ban drag performers, Landa Plenty still felt welcomed while reading stories to children at the San Diego County Fair on Saturday.
“If you see an injustice, say something,” Plenty said while reading from the children’s book, “Say Something” by Peter H. Reynolds. “No more hurting people.”
It was a message that resonated with Nadia Keanayub, who was at the fair with her 7-year-old daughter, Layla.
“I love drag queen story time,” she said. “We think it’s wonderful that somebody wants to take time to read to our kids.”
But Kean-ayub also is saddened by news of several states introducing legislation to ban drag performances before children. A drag queen story time event was canceled in Portland, Ore., last week after threats of violence were posted on social media.
“I don’t think it takes into consideration how it impacts youth,” she said about the hostility. “It’s just reading. We should be encouraging reading. Especially now.”
Landa Plenty was just one performer over seven hours of entertainment at the annual Out at the Fair celebration, which was created and is still run by Hillcrest resident Will Zakrajshek.
Since launching in San Diego 11 years ago, Out at the Fair has spread to New Mexico, Oregon and Alaska and is in 12 fairs, including new locations in Monterey, Riverside and Solano counties.
“They see a need for it,” he said. “We were invited up to Palmer, Alaska, because they had incidents of hate going on. They were like, ‘We need to make a statement.’”
Zakrajshek said there have been no negative demonstrations inside fairgrounds at any Out at the Fair events, but there were some protesters outside the gate of the California State Fair.
“Sometimes you’ll get ‘the look’ from someone who doesn’t approve, but they don’t ever say anything,” he said. “We’re used to those looks.”
Zakrajshek said the annual Out at the Fair events are more significant this year in light of several ANTILGBTQ+ incidents.
“As a community, we want to stand up and be proud, especially with everything going on,” he said. “It feels like we’ve gone backwards.”
In a subtle change this year, the rainbow-maned unicorn mascot Dabby, which used to be depicted doing the dab dance move, has been renamed Proud Dabby and now stands up straight in a defiant pose.
Pauly David and Ed Marco, a Los Angeles duo who perform as Paul & Monks, were the Out at the Fair emcees.
David, who sported a beard in the morning, had planned to shave backstage and perform for the first time in drag that afternoon.
“It’s in response,” he said. “Out at the Fair is a familyfriendly Lgbtq-plus-allies show we put on every summer, and I want to let people know that drag is not a crime, and drag is safe for everyone at our event. The backlash against drag has been a big distraction from other things.”
David stopped short of saying anything political or divisive.
“I think our goal always is to lead with love and lead with goodness,” he said. “You’re not going to see us commenting or acting shady against other people. I think when you lead by example, you just do a little better.”
While applying makeup for about two hours to get into character, Landa Plenty spoke of the satisfaction of seeing young audiences respond to hearing stories read out loud by a flamboyant character.
“I’ve never experienced any direct opposition,” Plenty said. “Most of what I get is parents saying, ‘Thank you.’ Parents watching their kid just literally have fun, listening to a story with a character. Some of these parents have trans kids, and they can see themselves. They were listening to me read a book, and you could see their faces glow and how they stand just a little bit taller.”
Josh Liggett of Mira Mesa attended the event with his husband and 3-year-old son.
“It’s educational,” he said after hearing Plenty read. “It’s emotional learning for our son, and he gets to see other people from other walks of life and other families like ourselves.”
Oceanside residents Carlie Gretton, his wife Hillary and their son Dexter, 4, came specifically to hear their first drag queen story time.
“We’re constantly looking for them, especially with the stigma now,” Carlie said, adding that they especially like the positive messages being read.
Besides “Say Something,” Plenty read from Tyler Curry’s “A Peacock Among Pigeons,” described in an online review as an Lgbtq+-themed book about friendship, acceptance and self-discovery.
“See, that was harmless,” Plenty said after reading the two books. “It’s just bookreading.”