Sunday’s drag pageant at Jackson County Public Library dovetailed with debate over whether some counties will break away from the regional library system.
In support of the event, more than 125 people participated in a “read-in,” with attendance overall vastly outnumbering protestors who said the family-friendly show was inappropriate for children.
For the third year running, local drag performers competed in a pageant in the library’s community room. The Mx. Sylva Pride event is part of the annual Pride event, held in September.
Sylva Pride President Burgin Mackey explained that the winner will represent the group for a year. Mackey said that representation for the LGBTQ community in Western North Carolina is even more important during the Trump administration.
“This is a really scary time to be trans, to be queer, to be Black, indigenous, or a person of color. To see so many people, so many of my friends, outside that just want to keep eyes on the situation and make sure that this event goes off without a hitch. It really does mean the world to me,” Mackey said.
This is the first year that there has been a significant number of people protesting the event. Last year, Mackey says, there were threats on social media, and in 2023, there were three protestors.
On Sunday evening, about 25 people from the Jackson and Macon County Republican Parties held signs reading “No Drag for Kids” along the road below the library. Inside, about 40 people attended the pageant, which drag artist Leo Scott won.
Bodie Catlin, 77, Highlands precinct chair for the Macon County GOP, sported a Trump-Vance T-shirt for the event. He says the group was protesting the library allowing the event to take place on county property.
“They say that this drag queen pageant or whatever it is, is kid-friendly. Nobody on my side thinks that this should be kid-friendly,” Catlin said.
Sunday’s three-hour event took place an hour after regular closing time for the library branch and was open to the public with a $10 admission cost, and was advertised as family-friendly.
During BPR’s time at the event, the majority of people in the crowd were adults.
In line with the library’s space rental policy, Sylva Pride paid a total of $200, library officials confirmed.
While the event appears to have been hosted in accordance with library policies, Catlin says he doesn’t like it.
“It shouldn't be in Western North Carolina, in my opinion. Now, you know, is it being done in Raleigh and Durham and Chapel Hill? Yes, it is because those are pretty liberal places over there. But the idea that it's done and in our neck of the woods kind of bothers us,” Catlin said.
Under the library’s policy, meeting spaces may be reserved for use by organizations engaged in educational, cultural, intellectual, or charitable activities or for private special events. Commercial groups may also use meeting space for educational and training purposes. Sylva Pride is a nonprofit organization.
“Due to the variety in library facilities across the Fontana Regional Library system, meeting room use for private events will be at the discretion of the librarian or the library staff,” reads the Fontana Regional Library policy.
As a nonprofit, Sylva Pride would not have been charged if the event had been during school hours.
Catlin says the pageant is just one of many inappropriate things that the library allows, including books about sex for children. Catlin has been a leader of the fight to disband the Fontana Regional Library System along with his wife, Dianne. She is now a member of the Macon County Library Board.
The pair were part of the 2023 discussion to remove two books from circulation. Both books remained in circulation, but “Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships and Being a Human” was moved to the adult section.
“My kids tell [us], ‘Mom, dad, y'all just love controversy.’ And we said, ‘Kids, you're going to understand this one day. We love controversy when we're on God's side of the controversy,’” Catlin said. “And in this battle, we are on God's side. God is being mocked, and God is not pleased with what's going on here.”
Jackson County GOP Secretary Keith Blaine also attended the protest and sent BPR an emailed statement instead of agreeing to be interviewed on Sunday.
“I believe Drag Shows are Adult Entertainment and Adult Entertainment should not be [for] children and teens under 18. The Drag Show was open to everyone regardless of age on public property, which was the reason for the Protest,” Blaine wrote in an email.
Blaine also said that he is advocating for the NC General Assembly to include “male or female impersonators” as “Adult Live Entertainment” which would be illegal to “perform on public property.”
Meanwhile, over 125 people sat on blankets and chairs reading books on the library lawn and steps in support of the event. Sara Steiner is one of the organizers of Jackson County Public Library Allies (JCPL Allies).
“We organized the read-in to highlight the fact that reading is a fundamental right for everyone, and it is really important to not censor out viewpoints that are different than your own,” Steiner said.
Commissioners still working on leaving Fontana Regional Library system
Despite the June vote, the move to leave the system won’t be final until 2026. That means both sides are continuing the discussion.
Jackson County Commissioners are currently considering hiring a consultant firm for $50,000 to clarify the costs of running an independent library system and “potentially facilitate the transition,” the Smoky Mountain News reported on Aug. 12.
Meanwhile, JCPL Allies are still fighting to stay in the system. Steiner says there are about 700 people on their mailing list and more social media followers who support Fontana.
“They always say a good library has something in it to offend everyone, and if we begin to look to strip out things that are offensive to this group or that group, then pretty soon we have a library with no books in it and we have state-sponsored media that's incredibly limited in its scope,” Steiner said.
On Sunday, Sylva Police Chief Chris Hatton took to Facebook to thank both sides for their peaceful protests.
“Tonight, our town became a living example of what democracy looks like when it’s done right. People gathered to express their views, some in celebration, some in protest, some in quiet reflection, and they did so side by side, without fear or disruption,” Hatton wrote.
“This wasn’t just a peaceful evening, it was a powerful one. A reminder for us all that disagreement doesn’t have to mean division, and that a truly strong community can embrace differences respectfully.”
Local politics on display
No Jackson County Commissioners were spotted on either side of the protest, but two Sylva Town Council candidates sat on the library steps to take part in the read-in. Sylva residents and candidates Sam McGuire, 40 and Joe Waldrum, 60, both said they think the library should stay in the Fontana Regional System.
Leaving the three-county library agreement would be, Waldrum said, “fiscally irresponsible and just the wrong thing to do.”
“It’s not very well founded, the reasoning why, and it's not too late to turn the ship around,” Waldrum, facilities manager at Southwestern Community College, said.
McGuire, a history professor at Western Carolina University, agreed. He said he brings his children to the library at least once a week.
“Communication is important because of how it's going to impact Sylva residents, whether that's decreased services, increased taxes, and access to the books and the hours,” McGuire said.
The Sylva Town Council passed a resolution in July in support of staying in the Fontana Regional Library System. The vote was 4-1, with Commissioner Blitz Estridge as the sole dissenting vote, according to the Smoky Mountain News.
Sylva Pride next month
Sylva Pride is scheduled for Sept. 5-7. The event will not include a parade. In 2024, Sylva Town Council denied the parade application, and Mackey said this year the application process has also been updated to reduce the size of the festival.
“So our festival is effectively cut in half, and so we are kind of expanding into two days whereas we had almost 60 vendors last year,” she said.
Mackey says that representation through the pageant and the Sylva Pride festival allows rural queer folks to see an example of someone living authentically.
“As somebody who grew up on a 52-acre farm outside of a small town on the Tennessee-North Carolina state line, I can tell you that I'm as queer as a $3 bill and there are plenty of other people that feel exactly the same way that I do,” she said.
The festival starts on Sept. 5 with a Pride Mass at 5:30 p.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church. On Sept. 6, there is a Chalk Walk art show from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. around downtown Sylva and an art market at Jackson Art Market(JAM) Glass studio called the Rainbow Jam. On Sept. 7, from 12 to 6 p.m., will be the Pride festival with vendors at Bridge Park and JAM.
