Dornbirn to hold drag queen children’s event despite petition

A drag queen children’s event in Dornbirn’s Kulturhauspark will go ahead despite an online petition calling for its cancellation, ORF Vorarlberg reported. The interactive session is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. as part of the “Summer in the Park” series.

The petition’s supporters say children must be protected from sexual influence. Retired resident Agnes Faist, who supports the petition, said the event was sexualised and claimed it reflected a “queer agenda”. Educator Karin Winsauer said children should be able to discover their identities without being influenced or pushed in a particular direction.

The drag queens “Fräulein Bürgerschreck” and “Athene Atlas” will read selected children’s books and sing Disney songs. Michael Rüdisser, managing director of Dornbirn city marketing, said the programme contained no sexual content and that the clothing had been discussed in advance to prevent sexualisation.

The programme describes the session as a cheerful event introducing children to music, stories and diversity. “Summer in the Park” runs for three days, with a focus on Pride on Saturday. The city marketing organisation said on Wednesday that the event would proceed despite strong reactions and announced protests.