By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
If the goal of a children’s storytime is to convey a positive message, Betty Baker truly sparkles.
An audience of about two dozen got their chance to share that sparkle Saturday at St. Andrew’s United Church in Grafton, when Betty appeared with her puppet sidekick Butch for Drag Storytime.
Cathy White of the church’s Social Justice Committee said they were delighted to partner with the Alnwick-Haldimand Public Library on this special observance of Pride Month.
Betty (the name selected by creator Isaac Maker in honour of his grandmother) introduced her puppet partner Butch (with some behind-the-curtains help from her mother, retired educator Michelle Fenn).
Then she picked up her ukulele to start the show with music and a reading of Mary Wears What She Wants by Keith Negley (based on the story of a 19th-century physician named Mary Edwards Walker who shocked society by wearing pants).
Betty and Butch discussed the book afterwards, Butch allowing that Mary must have been very brave indeed.
We all have our own way to sparkle, Betty said, sharing a song about that very concept (“I sparkle because I’m me. There’s no one else I’d rather be…”) before reading The Grateful Book by Angela Kohler. After that, she sang verses about the different things audience members are grateful for.
The joy in the room was not the least diminished by there being an all-adult audience, and organizers will brainstorm ways to get the word out next June in time for a younger turn-out.
Betty and Butch stayed to pose for pictures with individuals and groups, and Butch got a special treat when church members introduced him to their own small colony of puppets who sometimes pull duty for Sunday service.
In May 2014, St. Andrew’s (part of the Grafton-Castleton Pastoral Charge) became the first multi-point pastoral charge (and the second in Canada) to become an Affirming church. That anniversary is celebrated every June with the flying of the Pride flag on the church’s flagpole and a special Affirm service.
For the first time this year, the Alnwick-Haldimand Township municipal building is flying the Pride Flag, thanks to a request from White. And within easy walking distance from St. Andrew’s, both St. Mary Elementary School and Grafton Public School fly a Pride flag.
Even so, a couple of male members of the congregation stood ready to cope with any picketers who might arrive. Although none did, that is not always the case with Betty Baker and Butch shows.
Isaac Maker was only 15 years old when he began experimenting with drag five years ago, and has been performing storytime shows for four years.
“It has been a really incredible experience, because there have been so many families who just leave with such happy, smiling faces, and so many kids who feel more confident and comfortable being their true, authentic selves,” she said.
Her message is that each of us has our own way to sparkle. And if wearing what they want brings that sparkle out, she’s delighted to hear about it.
Betty credits her family with helping her have the courage to do that very thing at such a tender age. She learned to make her own costuming, and surprises at every appearance. Social Justice Committee Members White and Marsha Jones saw her read in Warkworth in pink hair and a fluffy dress. For St. Andrew’s, she chose to be a redhead in a more demure print dress (though her eye make-up sparkled with glitter).
Baker is also a writer, having authored an article called Storytelling, Decolonizing and Dancing with Queer Education in the current OSSTF journal Education Forum, relating how she found to courage to live life (as she put it in the article) as a “visibly” queer person. She gives her mother credit as the “mastermind” behind her story presentations, which began as on-line shows during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now they are a full-time career – at least when she’s not busy studying performance production at Toronto Metropolitan University.
A Peterborough resident, Betty has engagements next month in Lindsay and Fenelon Falls, before returning to her own home-town Peterborough Public Library July 13 for a 10:15 a.m. show.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
