The Southeast Alaska State Fair board announced Tuesday that it moved Juneau Drag’s start time from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The change came about a month after residents concerned about sexualized content wrote to the board in opposition to the act. In its Tuesday statement, the board wrote that the drag show will be tailored to a wide audience.
“Drag is not lewd or risqué or ‘adult only’ unless the performers intend it to be, when in an adult-only setting. Indeed, drag as an all-ages performance is long established world-wide,” the statement says. “Further, there is no evidence to support the idea that drag performers are predators of children. We find the allegation offensive towards the performers we happily partner with and support, and we do not give such an argument any credence.”
The statement also addresses calls from some residents who lobbied the borough assembly to stop funding the fair. The assembly has traditionally funded the fair to the tune of $20,000 on an annual basis, which is about less than 5% of the fair’s budget. The fair board stressed that its grounds, although open to the public mostly year-round, is a private venue.
“People have also said that we rely on public funds to operate. This is simply not true,” the statement says. “While grants from the borough are very welcome and help us maintain the grounds and facilities for all to use, they amount to less than 5% of our usual annual budget. The Fair, for the most part, operates on our own income, that is brought in by our events.”
Haines Presbyterian Church pastor Dana Perreard met with the fair board since the initial controversy began. He said that moving the act to a later time “is helpful to keep children from accidentally stumbling upon it when it wouldn’t be in their best interest to do so.”
He commended the fair board and staff for inviting him, and pastor Matt Jones, in for an informal discussion about the act.
“I think it’s tremendously helpful to have honest and respectful debate,” Perreard said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more. I’m thrilled with the openness of communication and openness of heart with the fair board to communicate with me as an individual. I think it’s the most wonderful thing for our community and society to have debate and communication.”
He said he’s still concerned about the act, given the performers’ history of sexualized performances, and that there’s a connection between the performers and their previous performances. “Even if they do a clean act for the Haines fair, it’s still an entrance into their world, which includes some things that are not a clean act,” he said.
Fair executive director Amanda Randles also said she appreciated the discussion. She told the CVN that drag is a nationwide debate and that the fair board is not endorsing a political view one way or the other, but rather putting on a show that many in the community have requested.
“The fair is merely a venue booking an entertaining act that has been requested by many people. We do not claim a stake in this issue, nor do we carry the answer to this cultural debate. This is a conversation the community and the country need to continue to have,” the statement says.