Vancouver’s Carousel Theatre is hosting a “junior drag” summer camp for children ages 7–11, where children are given “drag makeup starter kits” and learn to find their “alter ego.”
The theatre will also host a “teen drag camp” this summer for ages 12–17.
“You might be wondering, is drag for kids?” says the theatre’s website. “Drag is for everyone!” it says.
It suggests that getting dressed up is drag and everyone does it. “Parents, ask yourself, what’s the difference between what you wear at home versus what you wear at work? You’re doing drag honey, you just don’t know it!”
The theatre is supported by municipal, provincial, and federal funds. It received $41,000 in federal funding last year, and a combined $407,632 since 2014, according to government grants data. Much of the federal funding is from the heritage ministry.
The Epoch Times asked the ministry how it responds to critics who say drag camp is not suitable for children and shouldn’t be government funded, but did not receive a reply as of publication.
“This is utterly disgusting. Camps indoctrinating kids as young as 7 with gender ideology and sexual confusion are now being promoted and subsidized by all government levels,” said Maxime Bernier, Peoples’ Party of Canada leader, in a tweet on March 31.
It isn’t the first children’s drag camp in Vancouver. The Havana Theatre hosted one in 2019. It was the first all-ages drag camp in the city, according to the theatre.
A similar camp, for children aged 12–18, will be hosted this summer by the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. “You’ll investigate drag history and work together with local artists to create your own personas. You’ll choose your name, explore hair and makeup techniques, and develop your character’s stage presence,” its website says.
Protests have surrounded drag events for children across Canada, particularly the many drag story hours hosted by public libraries. After a spate of protests in Calgary, the city passed a bylaw this month against protests within 100 metres of libraries and recreation centres. Protests around recreation centres had focused on transgender use of the changerooms.
