Drag Story Hour returns to Montgomery County Public Libraries this Saturday

Drag Story Hour is returning to Montgomery County Public Libraries this Saturday, September 7, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Marilyn J. Praisner Library at 14910 Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville. According to the official Montgomery County Public Libraries event announcement, the story hour is for an audience of "preschool and kindergarten, elementary school age, babies and toddlers." MCPL states that the event is "appropriate for all ages, especially for children ages 18 months to 10 years with their families."

"Story hour just got a lot more glamorous!" the MCPL event description says. "Drag Story Hour (DSH) is just what it sounds like! Storytellers using the art of drag to read books to kids in libraries, schools, and bookstores. DSH captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models." MCPL tags the event as one that facilitates the goal of "Kindergarten Readiness."

The events have not been without controversy, reflecting a nationwide political divide on the issue. Montgomery County police, as well as volunteer citizen groups like Parasol Patrol and Rainbow Defense Coalition, have deployed to separate attendees from protesters at past story hours.