The lady with the head of flowers, oversized pink reading glasses and leather heels turned the page on a small book and pointed to a picture of a raccoon standing upright.

鈥淐an you walk on your tiptoes?鈥� they asked the room full of children, who happily obliged. 鈥淚 have to in these shoes.鈥�

The parents laughed, and Chase Adams鈥檚 bright purple lips smiled before their continued on with the story.

Adams, a local drag performer whose real name is Ryan Gallant, was the latest guest reader at Kootenay Kids. Every Wednesday the childcare centre, when possible, invites a community member to spend 15 minutes reading and interacting with kids and parents.

With the exception of Pride events, such as a brunch held earlier this year, Adams rarely wears drag during the day. Their performance outfit, they said, is far more provocative than the heavily accessorized yellow and black dress they borrowed from their partner for story time.

鈥淚t鈥檚 couture,鈥� Adams quipped.

There were no questions from the group about Adams 鈥� the target audience was too young to discuss topics such as gender identity 鈥� but Adams said just being there helps children and parents learn about diversity and acceptance.

They pointed to their three-year-old daughter Ella, who was in the audience for the reading, as their biggest fan.

鈥淭he kids don鈥檛 have that filter about gender or expectations,鈥� said Adams. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more about fun and being able to be accepting. They鈥檙e our greatest teachers. To see kids almost not even think twice about the whole getup is so great because it鈥檚 learned later about acceptance and different biases.

鈥淪o it鈥檚 great for them to get this experience when they are younger so they know it鈥檚 OK to be whatever they want to be.鈥�

Previous readers have included a pair of grandmothers and a letter carrier, with a chef set to visit for Halloween. Nicole Purvis, the children鈥檚 playgroup facilitator at Kootenay Kids, said the centre had been looking for the right person to do a drag story time.

鈥淒rag story time is a thing that happens in bigger cities but hasn鈥檛 happened here yet,鈥� said Purvis. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been talking about it for a while, the literacy community has been talking about it. It was just a matter of finding somebody who was willing.

鈥淐hase is a member of the parenting community in Nelson, so Chase was a really natural fit and was willing and has a comfort with young children. So it was a perfect fit. I鈥檓 not sure we knew we would find that.鈥�

tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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