More than 200 people came out to support a drag queen story hour in Waterville last Saturday.
Last month, the “Drag Queen Story Hour” at Children’s Book Cellar had drawn a protest planned by anti-LGBT activists to be held outside the June 1 event. The story hour was part of Central Maine’s Pride Festival. Drag queen Ophelia led the event, which was followed by an arts and crafts activity.
In response to the anti-LGBT protestors, a group of the bookstore’s patrons and local residents organized a counter-protest, called “Support the Children’s Book Cellar, a welcoming place!,” according to Midcoast Maine’s daily newspaper The Times Record.
“I just thought if they’re going to speak their minds, we should be there to demonstrate our support and not let them capture all the attention,” Waterville resident Elizabeth Leonard told The Times Record, calling for the counter-protest through a Facebook page she created. “I think there’s massive support for the store and for LGBT pride, but we need to express it,” she said.
The bookstore’s owner, Ellen Richmond, told The Times Record that she orgainzed the event “as a way of embracing diversity and inclusion at the store.”
“I’m not going to back down, because I know I’m right,” she told the Record prior to the event.
When event time came, supporters filled the street.
Protestors indeed gathered across the street from the bookstore, but according to the Bangor Daily News—and evidenced by the many photos and videos posted on social medial and the press—the “protesters were outnumbered by more than 200 counter-protesters supporting the event.”
“I am so full of love, and just gratitude to all of these people that are here saying thank you, what you’re doing here is important,” Richmond told News Center Maine, which reported that the event—which drew families with kids ranging from infants to teenagers—”was the largest crowd [Richmond has] ever had in her bookstore, surpassing crowds to Harry Potter book releases during the height of the series popularity.”
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