ELY- A “Minnesota Nice” version of the culture wars broke out in Ely last Saturday, April 22, as a little over 30 protesters stood outside the Grand Ely Lodge in sub-freezing temperatures to protest the “Disney Drag Brunch,” who performed two shows to packed houses.
It was the third time in less than a year that the drag performers appeared in Ely, but this was the first time they were met by protests. Opposition to drag as an art form has grown on the religious right in the past year and has been facing official bans in some southern states.
The protesters in Ely were focused on the impact of drag performances on children, sporting brightly colored signs with slogans like “Keep our children innocent” and “Protect our children - No drag!” They spread themselves along Pioneer Road across the street from GEL, between the two driveways into the resort. They waved, smiling, at cars driving by. Some vehicles honked. Some drivers gave finger gestures as they passed.
The two shows were staged by Flip Phone Events, with an all-ages showing at 11 a.m. and a 2 p.m. adults-only version at 2 p.m. The adult performance was sold out, while the kid-friendly version had about ten tickets still available as of Saturday morning. The Timberjay, which had a reporter in the audience at the morning performance noted that other than a few suggestive alterations in Disney heroine costumes, there was nothing overtly sexualized in the performance. A scattering of children were in attendance, and they appeared to enjoy the show.
Flip Phone Events LLC, held two previous sold-out drag shows at the GEL last year in August and December, with no apparent outcry.
A grassroots protest
Protests this time around were precipitated by a letter in the Ely Echo, written by an area minister. The letter, by Pastor Bob Dalberg, wrote that he opposes drag shows as insulting to women and for sexually conditioning children.
Several area churches, ranging from Ely to the Cook area, got involved in the protest. On the picket line, the protesters identified Rev. Daniel Kerr, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Alango, as the event’s organizer.
Kerr said their intent was to protest the inclusion of children in the audience at the 11 a.m. show. “It really boils down to what are we doing with our kids? And do we say that this is somehow okay? And when you have this push, you know, my big concern, my big question is, why are they so insistent? On performing to kids?”
Kerr said he believes the focus on drag performance is an effort to normalize drag.
“And that’s what you’re looking at (here) is an attempt to do that. But when you combine that (repetitious training) with drag queen reading time, drag queen this, and drag queen that, then it does become an indoctrination.”
The Timberjay asked if Kerr and his colleagues would have the same objection to the adult-only drag shows. Kerr replied that while such shows were not biblically moral, “Adults are going to do what adults are going to do.”
Like Dalberg, whose letter prompted the protests, Kerr was unaware that drag shows were being staged in Ely starting in 2022, until a few weeks ago.
“I didn’t even know this was going on here. And neither did most of the people I talked to. Grand Ely Lodge doesn’t advertise this on their web page. This was all done in the darkness.”
Kerr remarked that he had been targeted with a lot of negative feedback for expressing his views. “The amount of pushback that I’ve gotten, I’ve been doxed, you know. There’s such a tremendous pushback from the community that wants (drag shows for kids) to happen, which shows logically that there’s something wrong with it.” Kerr said that he and his colleagues would keep searching for more options to stop drag shows in front of children.
While Kerr was the organizer and spokesperson, all the protesters were happy to share their views.
“We’re here because we’re concerned for the children,” said Burnie Stahl, another protester and the associate pastor of Community Gospel Church in Ely. “We’re not haters. We want to see these people come to the lord. That would solve a whole lot of everybody’s issues on this. That’s why we’re here. We want a peaceful protest. We’re not angry. We don’t hate these people. We’re just concerned about our community here in Ely and the kids.”
The drag shows
Flip Phone Events LLC has been staging drag shows across the country for 10 years. Chad Kempe, one of the owners of Flip Phone, was on-hand at the GEL on Saturday and he offered his own thoughts on the show and the protest.
“We’re thrilled to be here for a third show in Ely,” Kempe told the Timberjay, “for an all-inclusive family show that spreads love and positivity to everyone who attends.”
Kempe, meanwhile, questioned those who came to protest. “You would think somebody who is religious, who is protesting, would devote their time to other issues besides this. Perhaps helping the homeless or less needy in the community, but instead, (they are) spending a day out in the freezing cold to hold illegible signs on an issue that makes no difference to their lives at all.”
When asked about the bans in some states, Kempe said Flip Phone was adjusting. “We actually do drag shows in eight states, including Tennessee, right now, where they are banning it. It’s not fully banned. It’s a different set of (laws for) how they’re doing it in each of those cities. People are figuring out ways of how to keep this art alive where there are different rules and laws to stop it.”