Drag Queen Story Time comes to Manchester in bid to tackle homophobia

MANCHESTER-BASED Drag Queen Divina de Campo will host a storytelling event this weekend in order to help children to understand the issues that face the LGBT community.

Drag Queen Story Time is a project that brings local Drag Queens into the community to read inclusive fairy tales to children between the ages of 3-11.

The event will take place on Saturday December 16 at Z-arts in Manchester and will hope to emulate previous events in London and Bristol that sold out their tickets.

Tom Canham, the brains behind the idea of Drag Queen Story Time, believes that telling stories in this event will not only help children foster tolerance and acceptance from a young age, but will also bring positivity towards LGBT representation in children’s books.

He said, “Most children’s stories don’t include LGBT characters or themes, and in many schools it isn’t really discussed. I think it can only be a good thing to present someone who is LGBT, and happy.

“There’s a number of fantastic authors and stories already out there that touch upon LGBT themes, but they aren’t as well known. If we can go some small way to increasing their visibility, I’d be happy with that.”

Organised by Superbia, which is run by Manchester Pride, in collaboration with Our Kids Social, Drag Queen Story Time will also feature a silent disco to make sure it’s a memorable day for the children.

Our last event for 2017 is an absolute smasher. Tickets have sold out but we have managed to squeeze in a few extra – grab them while you can!

16th Dec, join us at Z-arts as we bring Drag Queen Story Time, UK to Manchester!https://t.co/kRrpFIrNlM pic.twitter.com/bUjEQ4HDH0

— Drag Queen StoryTime (@dqst_uk) December 4, 2017

Alice from Our Kids Social, said that “the event is about being whoever you want to be”, and believes the event will create “positive memories” for the children and their parents.

She went on to say, “For this event, it’s about the importance of celebrating individuality which is so important for children who learn and shape their ideas through their experiences.”

Drag Queen Story Time will last from 2:30 – 4:00pm this Saturday, with tickets available to buy from the Our Kids Social website.