ROCKTON – Rockton Pride will be holding a kickoff party on Friday, July 14.
Rockton Pride was organized to defend and support a drag Q&A at the town’s Talcott Free Library originally schedule for that date.
After the library board voted to let the event go on, opponents like the Rockford Family Initiative announced plans to protest the event. Rockton Pride started planning for a counter-protest.
The expected crowd of protesters and counter-protestors resulted in the event being moved online. Library Director Megan Gove said that after talking with the police and fire departments, the expected 1,500 crowd was just too large for the small downtown to accommodate safely.
Despite the drag Q&A being moved to virtual, opponents are still planning a protest at the library on July 14. Gove said that she would have to close the library that day because of the crows for and against.
Rockton Pride, however, is taking some of the pressure off. They will now have a party at a local park. And like any Midwest small-town event, it’ll be a potluck.
Along with food, there will be music, face painting, crown making, and a livestream of the Q&A.
As of Sunday night, organizers were finalizing any details before announcing the location.
The drag Q&A has echoed far beyond this town of 5,300 just north of Rockford. Opponents have been coming into Rockton to protest and groups across the state have been boosting the signal of the supporters. Drag events, especially at public libraries, have been a prime target for anti-LGBTQ activists in the past year. Rockton Pride and the library have both said most of the opposition to this event is from outside of town.
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