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In 2019, Drag Story Hour- Arizona (DSH-Az) founders put on our first story hour in Chandler, Arizona. As soon as we made our first public post, a protest was organized against the event and there's hardly been an event that was not met with opposition.
In 2023, the violence against us escalated exponentially. The story hour and our members were harassed, doxed and physically attacked. Why? Because we utilize the art of Drag to promote early literacy in safe and inclusive spaces. We provide positive Queer role models to readers of all-ages because we wish that we had programs like Drag Story Hour when we were children. We wish we could have seen ourselves in the stories and people who read them to us to know that we mattered.
Last Friday, DSH-Az gathered in Downtown Phoenix to celebrate our 5- year anniversary since we put on our first Drag Story Hour in Chandler, Az on February 9, 2019. We planned to celebrate our birthday with a Drag show. Freddy Prinze Charming meticulously produced a fantastic show, enlisting the co-hosting talents of Felicia Minor, with performances of Mr. Gay America 2023, Geo Johnson. We were ecstatic to see three of Arizona's long-standing storytellers on stage! Rita Bane and Justin Cider graced the crowd with their creative sets and the audience reveled in a fantastic night of performances, readings and more. As if it wasn't enough to give the audience a wonderful experience, our performers donated hundreds of dollars in tips. Drag Story Hour- Arizona would be nothing without our Drag storytellers and performers. We would like to thank the Drag artists who leant their talents to our fundraiser last Friday. A special thanks to:
Rita Bane for her captivating performance that left the audience in awe.
Justin Cider for bringing fandom to his sets for an engaging and memorable experience.
Geo Johnson for bringing to life one of the greatest Queer icons the world has every seen and continuing to build up the story hour with his brilliance as a storyteller.
Felicia Minor has invested time and large parts of her life for Drag Story Hour as a storyteller. Last Friday, she left the crowd breathless with her energetic performance and kept the flow going by announcing raffle prizes.
And finally, we are eternally grateful to Freddy Prinze Charming who produced the Drag show over months of planning. Freddy did not stop at procuring an amazing line-up for the Drag show. He ensured that all aspects of the performances were planned and worked with the fundraiser committee to ensure that our audience had a phenomenal evening. We owe our success to you, Freddy!
Through ticket sales, raffle purchases, tips and more, Drag Story Hour- Arizona raised $3143 for programming in 2024! We cannot thank our University of Arizona intern (S, this event's success is owed in large part to you!), volunteers, performers, and most of all, our readers for a fabulous five years. Here's to another five years of reading!
Love,
Lux and Drag Story Hour- Arizona
