In celebration of Pride Month and, specifically, NYC Pride weekend, there will be an extra-special edition of Drag Story Hour at the Wythe Hotel (80 Wythe Avenue) on Sunday, June 25.
The family-friendly event will be hosted in the hotel’s garden terrace from 1 to 4 p.m. preceded by a musical performance from Greenpoint’s very own father-son rock band, Shawtime Duo. But that’s not all — event organizers will also be collecting diaper and baby wipe donations for Rain or Shine Diaper Fund, which distributes them to the community every Monday (rain or shine) at The Living Gallery in Bed-Stuy.
The event is open to all, both young and young at heart, and is free to attend with RSVP.
Drag Story Hour’s mission is to celebrate gender diversity and all forms of difference to build empathy and give kids the confidence to express themselves however they feel most comfortable (including beyond the gender binary), which is achieved through storytelling and creative arts programs for kids and teens presented by local drag artists throughout the five boroughs.
Performers are trained by local librarians and Drag Story Hour has popped up across NYC public schools, libraries, museums, and community spaces to read titles like Tough Guys Have Feelings Too by Keith Negley, Don’t Touch My Hair by Sharee Miller, Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr., and Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
Despite their positive mission and message of acceptance and self expression, Drag Story Hour (depressingly, albeit unsurprisingly given the uptick in transphobic and homophobic rhetoric dominating the political sphere as of late) hasn’t always gone on without resistance. In fact, their Transgender Day of Visibility event in April at Marsha P. Johnson State Park was protested by a right-wing YouTuber and a smattering of other protestors. However, counter-protestors on site worked to prevent them from impacting enjoyment of the event.
We’re proud to see Drag Story Hour returning to our neighborhood and not letting the fear of extremists and transphobes keep them from doing their work (plenty of corporations could take note).