Mitchell Boatman | The Holland Sentinel | June 20, 2023
HOLLAND — An upcoming event exploring the history of drag is moving to a larger location after an “overwhelming” amount of interest from the community.
Holland Museum announced earlier this month it would host Out On The Lakeshore director Kate Leighton-Colburn for an event titled “Yas Queen! The History of Drag.” The event was originally scheduled to take place at the museum but has since been moved.
Leighton-Colburn’s presentation will now be from 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 22, at the Holland Armory, 16 W. Ninth St. in Holland. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. It will focus on “the history of drag on an international, national, and local level.”
The Holland Armory, located at 16 W. 9th St. in Holland
Holland Museum Development and Communications Associate Director Joseph McClusky told The Sentinel via email the museum “received an overwhelming number of registrations” for the event and is “encouraged by the community’s interest.”
The event is part of Holland Museum’s Cultural Lens Series, which was established to “host community dialogue about diversity and inclusion.”
Leighton-Colburn is a Holland native and Hope College graduate. After six years running LGBTQ+ and youth engagement programming for The Door — A Center for Alternatives in New York City, she moved back to Holland in 2022 to begin her work with OOTL.
“We are excited to collaborate with Kate and Out On The Lakeshore for this important conversation,” Ricki Levine, executive director of Holland Museum, wrote in a statement. “The Holland Museum is a place where everyone’s story is welcome, and this program could not have come at a better time.
“There are so many questions swirling around about what drag is and who (it’s) for, both locally and nationally. Rooted in the museum’s values of inclusion, curiosity and education, this program will seek to answer some of those questions through a historical perspective.”
