A Victoria’s family-friendly drag show has been canceled after the café received threatening phone calls. Victorian police are investigating the threats, which were called in Wednesday and targeted the café for hosting the event, raising concerns for the safety of staff, participants and guests. Caffe Fantastico, on the corner of Quadra and Kings Road, had planned to host the Sashay Café drag show on Saturday night, which would be staged by a group called For the Love of Drag. “This is being taken very seriously,” the producer of the program wrote in an online statement. “We do not know what the future of the show will be, but please know that the support shown during this terrible period was insignificant.” Sashay Café is a show for all ages that has been played in Victoria for about three years. “We are proud to be a safe place for children, young people and everyone to try the drag to express themselves, which includes everything from lip-syncing to dancing to a live song,” said a statement from For the Love of Drag. . “We have never had a complaint from the community about the content of our shows.” The incident comes as the Victoria Pride Festival, an annual celebration organized by the Victoria Pride Society, is set to return to private events next week after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic. In a statement, the society’s executive director, Deidre Rowland, said the celebrations would continue “with the support of our communities and our allies”. “VPS remains steadfast with zero tolerance for hatred, violence and discrimination.” Rowland said the community is in talks with the Victoria Police Department and its security provider to ensure there are safeguards for upcoming events, including the June 26 Pride Parade. Responding to threats against the drag show, Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said: “We need to unite as a community, not divide each other. “Pride Month is about celebrating and honoring diversity, celebrating integration and creating a space in our community for love in all its forms,” said Hells, who was on drag Friday to raise his flag. Progress Pride outside the town hall. “For all 2SLGBTQ + members of the Victoria community, and all our allies, know that they love you and that love will always prevail over fear, hatred and anger.” Sean Guist, a local drag performer and queer theater artist, said the incident was a reminder that there was still work to be done to address discrimination and hatred. “And not everything can be done by queer people,” Guist said. “We need direct allies to accelerate and get the job done.” Guist said he usually feels safe in Victoria, but he still endures discrimination, whether it is insults from passing vehicles or comments from an employee at a fast food restaurant. “As much as we like to think we are in this wonderful little bubble, it is not always true,” he said. “There are a lot of really amazing things [happening] “But this is a reminder that there is a lot of work to be done and that a lot of training needs to be done to deal with these pieces.” For many people, dragging is a way to express their gender experience and be someone else on stage, Guist said. “Removing this and threatening it is so problematic that it happens at any time of the year. “But to happen during Pride Month, for a drag show of all ages, is a very awful thing.” Statement by VicPD Staff Sgt. Jennifer Ames, co-chair of the Greater Victoria Diversity Advisory Committee on Police, said it was disappointing to learn of “these deeply disturbing calls and the impact they have had on staff, event organizers and those looking forward to this event.” . “Hatred has no place in Victoria. “We want those who have been looking forward to this event to know that we are responding to ensure that they are safe and that we hope for the return of this event.” Anyone with information on threats is kindly requested to call VicPD on 250-995-7654 ext. 1. To report anonymously, call the Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. [email protected]
