By Jessica Mathews & Jon King / news@whmi.com


The organizers of a Drag Queen Bingo event that had originally been planned to coincide with this weekend’s Howell Melon Festival say “the whole situation grew into a monster” that they were not expecting.

The Howell Area Parks & Recreation Authority or HAPRA and Beauty Beyond Drag Productions announced yesterday that Saturday’s event at the Historic Howell Theater had been cancelled – a decision that organizers said boiled down to safety.

In a Facebook post, Show Director Bradley Haas stated there has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding their drag bingo. He said they appreciate the love and support of some community members and it was very unfortunate the event has become overly politicized, both by the far right and the far left, and it was not their intention to offend anyone based on their beliefs.



Haas stated “This whole situation grew into a monster that we were not expecting. We were simply hired to do a show. This was not our intention. There was no agenda and we did not have any control. There was no politically motivated agenda attached to the show, since day one. Our commitment to the public is to have conducive open conversation and bring our art. At the end of the day, due to the overwhelming lack of civil communication in Howell, we have no alternative for the safety of ourselves and our performers than to cancel drag queen bingo on Saturday”.

The sold-out, adults-only event was in part made into a point of conflict after Meghan Reckling, the Chair of the Livingston County Republican Party, posted to social media her opinion that the event didn’t fit with the family-friendly nature of the festival and not something that should be “sexualized.”

The event was originally scheduled to take place in the festival beer tent but was later moved to the private venue. Part of the reason was that it had been scheduled in a late time slot for the tent that was not approved by the City. City officials also said they felt blindsided by the fact that the bingo event was also never included in the civic event application for Melonfest. HAPRA later canceled the beer tent entirely after being given an ultimatum from the City either shut it down at 4pm Saturday or the event application could be revoked. City officials, including Mayor Nick Proctor, asserted that was done in the name of public safety saying that high emotions when mixed with large crowds and alcohol could lead to problems.

In response the recent cancellation, Mayor Proctor issued a statement saying the City “is profoundly disappointed with this decision”. He said had staff and officials been consulted, the City would not have recommended cancellation. Proctor, despite his earlier warnings of potential problems, said their public safety officials are not aware of any expressed threats to the event and the City had taken steps at a recent special meeting to ensure all events associated with Melon Fest would proceed with the safety of the community as a priority.

Meanwhile, the local group that was slated to be the beneficiary of the Drag Queen Bingo fundraiser says news that the event has been cancelled only proves their work in the community is more important than ever.

The event had been a fundraiser for the Pride Alliance of Livingston and the Livingston Diversity Council. The latter has a stated mission to lead the community to become ever more welcoming, harmonious and prosperous. President Nicole Matthews-Creech said they’re grateful to HAPRA for putting the event together and making them a beneficiary as they’re trying to do really much needed work in the community but understands if there are valid safety concerns and they stand in support of the performers.

Matthews-Creech told WHMI she was glad to learn it was a mutual decision rather than them feeling forced out. She commented that she thinks the community had a part to play in the decision that was made. Matthews-Creech said there’s been a lot of love and support for both the company and HAPRA but also a lot of negativity. She said that just shows how much work there is to be done in Livingston County and stressed that there are a lot of people willing to get behind it – “they just need to be louder”. If nothing else, Matthews-Creech says this has assured her that the Diversity Council is absolutely necessary and they’re doing the right thing and pushing forward but they need to be louder - adding when there is negative press, they get a lot of positive responses and feedback.

HAPRA has stated that ticket holders will receive a full refund. The full statement from Haas, Mayor Proctor and the press release from HAPRA are attached. Facebook photo.