Calgary all age drag events continue to be target for protests
Posted Mar 5, 2023 11:29 am.
A large group of 2SLGBTQ+ counter protestors were at Calgary City Hall Saturday.
The group gathered in response to ongoing protests around all age drag events in the city.
Initially, small groups of protestors voiced homophobic, and transphobic sentiments, but they were out numbered by the larger group of supporters.
“To see such hatred in our city, a city that I’m very proud to live in. I mean I wont lie. It hurts its hateful literally,” said Alyssa, who works at the library and participated in the protest.
One of the reasons prompting the counter protest was when a public library’s Reading With Royalty event was supposed to take place Saturday, but it was cancelled after the story time event was disrupted last week.
A hate-motivated charge was laid against Calgary pastor Derek Scott Reimer after the incident.
‘City for everyone’
A Calgary mother at the protest voiced her hope for the city to become a more diverse place.
“I think that Calgary should be a city for everyone of any identity, and we want to celebrate the diversity that is here,” she said.
Meanwhile, another protestor suggested people should be treated equally.
“I just don’t think its fair that people have to fight to be who they are,” they said.
‘We love reading with royalty’
The Calgary mother says her and her child attended the library’s reading with royalty program in the summer when there was no protest held around the event.
“We’ve been to the Reading With Royalty events. They are wonderful story times where there’s a focus on diversity and inclusiveness on the books that they select, and they are read by some of the most excellent performers in the city,” she said.
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Alyssa held a sign saying “we love reading with royalty”.
“The fact that we outnumber them by four or five to one today, the fact that so many people have come out in support, not only of library and pride, but people’s right to exist,” Alyssa said.
Reading With Royalty celebrates inclusion and diversity with the Calgary Public Library’s family-friendly story time program. The program is led by local drag queen, king, and monarch performers.
