BRISTOL— From a child’s point of view, it might have been that two fairies manifested from a secret garden and made their way to the local library. 

This is pretty close to what happened in reality. Emoji Nightmare and Katniss Everqueer, two local drag queens currently co-directing the Drag Story Hour Vermont Chapter, had launched their 2024 Rural Outreach Program from April to July with the help of the Samara Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation. That fund allowed them to read stories to kids at eight rural libraries. 

The pair shone brightly in Bristol on July 6, an event hosted by the Lawrence Memorial Library, bringing glitter on themselves and laughter from the crowd. 

A total of 85 parents and kids enjoyed the reading, which is almost triple the attendance in the library’s usual story hour.  

On the official website of Drag Story Hour Vermont Chapter, the event is said to capture “the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models.” It’s stated goal is to allow kids who live without gender restrictions to imagine “a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real.”

Their performance in Bristol was only the second time they’d reached Addison County, after having been hosted in Middlebury a few years prior. 

Cambridge, Vermont resident Justin Marsh, who embodies the performance persona of Emoji Nightmare, recognizes the importance of outreach and bringing opportunities for representation to a wider audience, especially in more rural areas. 

“When I founded the chapter with Nikki Champagne, who was the performing persona of representative Taylor Small, she knew my passion for rural advocacy was paramount, so we devised a plan to make sure we reached out to as many rural communities as possible. That was always tantamount to our work,” Marsh explained. 

The performers had a goal to reach all of Vermont’s 14 counties in the first three years since the founding of the chapter, which went well until the pandemic hit. 

“We really did get out to all the back roads. I discovered towns I’ve never been to before, libraries that are on dirt roads, libraries without plumbing,” Marsh recounted. “I’m always kind of floored by how these libraries are able to produce so many amazingly vibrant programs on a shoestring budget.”

The Drag Story Hour operates the same way a common story hour does. The performers read and enact several children’s stories to the audience. The event in Bristol closed with a craft-making session where children decorated their own fans with stickers and gems. 

“There were songs throughout the program,” library director Katie Male-Riordan said. “Welcoming songs, movement songs to help kids release some energy because they’ve been sitting for a little bit, and then a song to close out.”

“It was just some masterclass storytelling by Katniss and Emoji,” Male-Riordan said. “It was so incredible watching people be absolutely riveted. There was lots of laughter. You could tell when people found themselves reflected in the experience of what the characters were going through in the book and were deeply moved by some of the messages of the stories, which were things like identity, acceptance, friendship, inclusivity. It was such a good feeling in the room.”

EMOJI NIGHTMARE AND Katniss Everqueer gives storytelling masterclasses as they bring Drag Story Hour Vermont Chapter to local libraries. Their Rural Outreach Program through the Samara Fund allows
them to travel to rural venues.
Photo courtesy of Emoji Nightmare

The queens had thoughtfully picked stories that would appeal to the kids. 

“We’re looking for books that have a lot of dialogue since we’re unique that there’s two of us, and that is not common in the drag story hour world internationally,” Marsh explained. 

They would look for stories with touches on a variety of topics, and while many are about hardships and even trauma, more are about the fun and pleasure in human experiences.

“I don’t ever want drag story hour to become just too serious for itself,” Marsh said.

However, not all could see the value in their endeavor, and their performances have always faced pushback. 

PUSHBACK FROM OUTSIDE

The Bristol police told the Independent that prior to the event, they received calls from a person who wished to be present at the event and preach his beliefs. He did show up with his mic and speaker at the event’s venue, apparently having driven up all the way from Massachusetts. He had allegedly put calls out trying to have the event canceled. 

The librarian had arranged with the performers for a more secluded entrance into the building when the man showed up wanting to speak to them. 

Marsh recounted it as a fine interaction. “He said ‘Don’t worry I come in peace.’ So we thought ‘Oh maybe this was just a journalist or something.’ He seemed friendly so we engaged with him.”

When the man expressed wishes to read scriptures and to baptize them, the two performers acknowledged his effort. 

“I wanted to find a compromise. I don’t know why I gave him the opportunity, but I did. Maybe the nice Vermonter in me just wanted to give him the chance to say what he needed to say if it was gonna make him feel better since he did approach us in a non-violent and non-hostile way. So as he was going on and on and on, the commentary he was making outside of the scripture wasn’t really resonating with me. He was using terminology I don’t use in my day-to-day, and I think they’re, you know, old-fashioned, if you will,” Marsh recalled.

It is not uncommon for the performers to face protests of their shows. However, this was the first time since they founded the chapter in 2017 that someone from out of state showed up in person. 

“That was an unfortunate new highlight for us,” Marsh said.

“The pushback we received was very small and it came from outside of our community,” Male-Riordan said. “We were fortunate to have community members reach out to us and volunteer that day, including our board members, to be there and help make sure the event was run smoothly, and everyone was safe to have conversations with folks who might feel differently.”

Marsh added that they purposely collaborate with community libraries and ask them to have the board of trustees and staff at the library OK the event. 

“We really need to see that demonstrated support and buy-in from all aspects of the library so that if there is pushback, we have the support embedded in the libraries themselves,” Marsh said. 

It is obviously for a good reason. 

“We have seen an increased amount of protesting and harmful actions that have been taken place (at these story hours),” Marsh said. “Bristol only had only one or two protesters, which wasn’t terrible, but the next day we were in Craftsbury in the Northeast Kingdom and we encountered some really harmful behaviors from protestors.”

In Bristol, the show carried on without further incident.

“We serve a diverse population, and this one program is representative of one,” Male-Riordan said. “It is inclusive because everyone is invited, and I think the message of Drag Story Hour is that everyone is invited to be themselves.”

“If you’re a parent who brings kids to drag story hours, you’re already a cool parent in my book, and you’re probably gonna have some cool kids,” Marsh joked. They recalled in many sessions inquisitive kids are fascinated by their performance and their wardrobe. 

“One time we were reading in Waterbury and a child asked us if we were the fairies from their magic garden they had created in their home,” Marsh recalled. “They thought we were the fairies come to life.”