Vancouver fundraisers held to support theatre and security for youth drag camps | 24CA News
The Carousel Theatre for Young People on Vancouver’s Granville Island is holding two fundraising occasions on Saturday.
The two occasions will function performances by the Vancouver band Queer as Funk and drag artists from the House of Carousel.
The first fundraiser shall be “an all-ages afternoon extravaganza with face painting, games, and dance fun for the whole family.”
Doors open for that occasion opened at 2 p.m. The second fundraiser will start at 7 p.m. for a 19+ occasion.
A spokesperson for the carousel theatre stated they’re the largest fundraising occasions for the 12 months, which can assist future performances, camps, and actions.
It may even fund safety for 2 upcoming youth drag camps because the theatre stated it has been on the receiving finish of a focused hate marketing campaign.
“(Staff) has been subject to online harassment, calling harassment — all kinds of harassment,” stated Samantha Falk, a Carousel Theatre for Young People spokesperson.
“It’s death threats, it’s vitriolic hate. It’s terrible the kind of harassment they’ve been subjected to.
“Physical threats, emails, phone calls for almost eight weeks, every day. It has been relentless.”
The theatre is holding two three-day drag camps in July. One is for kids aged 7 to 11 and the opposite for youngsters, aged 12 to 17.
“The summer drag camps are opportunities for young people to have theatrical self-expression in a safe and nurturing place and a place they can just be themselves,” Falk stated.
“Some people find that objectable, unfortunately.”
Theatre officers stated funds are wanted to pay for safety as they’ve heard harmful and anti-LGBTQ2 rhetoric geared toward their occasions.
That features a tweet that the chief of the People’s Party of Canada Maxime Bernier directed on the theatre on the finish of March. He referred to as the drag camps “disgusting” and that it’s “indoctrinating kids with gender ideology and sexual confusion.”
“It’s been a really difficult time. There have been so many vile, horrible emails and calls,” stated Jocelyn Macdougall, Carousel Theatre for Young People’s chair and lead singer for Queer as Funk.
“It has left our staff afraid and feeling unprotected. Who thought as a children’s theatre company we would have to worry about our physical security but also online security?
“Our team would rather be spending their time building incredible experiences of inclusion and learning for young people, but instead they are worried about whether or not they’ll be able to keep the staff and the young people safe.”
Global News has reached out to Vancouver police for remark.
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