From “Wigs and Wiggles” drag shows for ages 0–18 at the public library to Pride in Motion summer camp for teens — Keene Pride is using public spaces and tax dollars to promote adult themes and gender ideology to Granite State children, bypassing meaningful parental notification.
As a girls’ gymnastics coach in Keene, NH, a former competitive athlete, and an educator, I am appalled by what is happening in Keene.
On Saturday, July 18, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM in Cohen Hall at the Keene Public Library, the library is hosting “Wigs and Wiggles” — a drag show featuring The Monarchs of Mayhem. The event is explicitly marketed to children ages 0–18 and their caregivers. It promises “full drag performances,” interactive play, music, dancing, lip syncing, outrageous costumes, makeup, and wigs.
This is the specific taxpayer-funded event Rep. Sam Farrington highlighted as inappropriate for young children. He is right. Drag is adult performance art rooted in sexual expression and gender parody. Exposing infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children to it normalizes the sexualization of childhood and pushes contested gender ideology on developing minds.
This is not an isolated incident. Keene Pride is also promoting “Pride in Motion” — a Day Camp for Teens (ages 11–17) running July 20–24, 2026, at the Thorne-Sagendorph Gallery at Keene State College. The flier advertises “Movement & Creative Activities for all!” with a $250 admission fee (financial aid available) and is clearly branded under the rainbow Pride flag.
New Hampshire law recognizes parental rights in education through statutes requiring notification for sensitive topics like human sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identity (RSA 186:11, IX). Parents have the right to opt their children out of such instruction in schools. Yet public libraries and community programs often operate in a gray area with weaker transparency requirements. Parents — especially religious families whose faith teaches different views on sexuality, gender, and the innocence of childhood — deserve better than having to constantly monitor calendars to shield their kids.
Where is the true inclusivity?
These programs claim to celebrate diversity, yet they exclude and alienate Christian, conservative, and traditional families who do not want their children immersed in LGBTQ+ activism during storytime at the public library or summer camp.
In a small town like Keene, this feels particularly aggressive. The Keene Public Library, supported by local taxpayers, should focus on literacy, classic stories, and age-appropriate learning — not become a venue for one ideological movement. Do the people of Keene know this is happening? Are they comfortable with their hard-earned tax dollars subsidizing drag performances for preschoolers and Pride-branded camps for teens?
Many Granite Staters — parents, grandparents, and concerned citizens — are not okay with it. We expect public institutions to serve the entire community, not to prioritize one worldview over the values of the broader public.
This is not about hate. It is about protecting childhood. It is about parental rights and religious liberty. It is about whether a small New Hampshire town will allow public spaces and tax dollars to push adult themes and gender ideology onto children.
I call on the Keene Public Library trustees, Keene State College, city officials, and Keene Pride to immediately reconsider and cancel age-inappropriate programming like “Wigs and Wiggles” and Pride in Motion. Parents deserve real transparency and notification. Taxpayers deserve accountability. And our children deserve to grow up without adult sexual and ideological agendas thrust upon them.
The library and public institutions belong to all of us — not to any one movement. Granite Staters, this is happening in our backyard. Contact the library, city officials, and your representatives. Speak up before this becomes the new normal.
Contact:
Keene Public Library: (603) 352-0157 | akraemer@keenenh.gov
Keene City Officials & Library Trustees
