Drag bingo night will go on in Fort Thomas after being canceled by city
FORT THOMAS, Ky. – A Fort Thomas drag show and bingo event was canceled by the city, but a group of locals is reviving the event.
The Fort Thomas drag bingo night, set for Wednesday at the Fort Thomas Mess Hall, was provided a venue by the city and farmers market as part of their Wellness Wednesdays program. That was until the event was posted on Facebook this week.
It was scheduled several months back, according to Chanda Calentine, Fort Thomas' economic development director and events coordinator. After posting the event on Facebook, the city decided to shut it down.
"There was pushback," she said. "That was evident."
More than 300 comments vary from supportive of the show, to disappointment in its cancellation, to completely against it from the get-go. But a group of locals is now working to ensure the show goes on at the same place that day, this time without the city's help.
The city's renaissance board and administrator revisited the guidelines after comments emerged, Calentine said. They determined it was not in conjunction with the Wellness Wednesdays mission, saying it is mostly entertainment-based.
According to the Fort Thomas Farmers Market website, Wellness Wednesdays are about a "holistic view of wellness, which can include our mental and physical health, educational opportunities for our minds, and environment enrichment."
The cancellation didn't sit well for Pam Schultz. She decided to revive the event and set it for the same day and location – just not sponsored by the farmers market or the city.
Schultz, a Fort Thomas Independent school board candidate and city resident, said as an event designed for people to be themselves and bring joy to others, it fits within the Wellness Wednesdays description.
"It made sense for those guidelines. I think that it's healthy for us to laugh," she said. "Only once it started to gain traction did it become an issue."
A requirement of Wellness Wednesdays is that they must benefit a nonprofit. That will still happen, Schultz said, and either the Human Rights Campaign or Northern Kentucky Inclusive Students In Education, a nonprofit formed by two Highlands High School teachers, will receive proceeds.
Spang said newly crowned Miss Kentucky Hannah Edelen will be spinning the bingo ball cage.
Drag bingo is scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Fort Thomas Mess Hall. More information can be found on the Facebook event page.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NKY drag queen bingo event canceled after backlash
