Crowds gather at Reading with Royalty for Lethbridge Pride Fest

Branden Sant, who is known by their drag persona of Brandi Jayne, said it was great to see such a strong turnout for the event as Sant believes it is important.

“Seeing something that might be like yourself outward can bring yourself a sense of community so that you don’t feel so alone,” said Sant. “You get to see some people who maybe feel how you feel on the inside but they’re living it on the outside and that’s really important. It’s something I wish I would’ve had as a young queer kid.”

This was the third time that Sant has performed at an event like this and told LNN that it was the best-attended one yet with the most enthusiastic crowd.

Not everyone was happy about the Reading with Royalty event, however, as a small protest formed outside of the library.

Protester Chelle Landry carried a sign that read, “STOP GROOMING & SEXUALIZING CHILDREN!!”

Landry said she believes that it is inappropriate for anyone who is an adult entertainer to perform for children.

Although Landry was aware that this event was family-oriented, she stated that children might search for the drag performer online and potentially come across inappropriate content.

“They used to say that pot was the gateway drug. Well, this is actually more of a gateway than anything else because all gateways, regardless of whether it’s a child that’s going to start getting more sexualized and fall into those behaviours. Just like anything else, they’re learned,” said Landry.

Sant called the beliefs of the protesters “silly” and that it is each parent’s responsibility to monitor their children’s online activities, not anyone else’s.

Speaking about the protesters, Sant retorted, “It’s like mosquitoes in the summer. They’re there, we always know they’re going to be there, but you know what? Love wins and so does bug spray.”

Lethbridge Pride Fest President Lane Sterr said there are dozens of other events coming up over the next two weeks and encouraged the public to check out their full schedule of events.

Branden Sant, known by the drag persona of Brandi Jayne, poses outside of the Lethbridge Public Library Crossings Branch for the Reading with Royalty event, June 17, 2023. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now.

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by David Opinko

Crowds gather at Reading with Royalty for Lethbridge Pride Fest

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