Montgomery Parks and Brookside Gardens to host virtual Drag Story Hour sessions in May and June

Sessions are free and open to the public and will be available online. 

 WHEATON, Md. – Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and Brookside Gardens will host virtual Drag Story Hour sessions on May 13 and June 3, 2023, from 10 – 11 a.m. Drag Performer D’Manda Martini will read stories virtually and lead a craft activity. Participants must register at this web page to receive the Zoom link to the free, virtual story hours.  

Brookside Gardens will host the story hours online in the interest of the safety of visitors, staff, and performers. 

“We have had overwhelming support for Drag Story Hour. It is such an important program that encourages acceptance of differences while providing an enjoyable literary experience,” said Stephanie Oberle, director of Brookside Gardens. “We are pleased that we will be able to safely host the sessions virtually and reach even more people.” 

Drag story hour features storytellers using the art of drag to read books to kids in libraries, schools, parks and bookstores. Brookside Gardens began hosting story hours in July 2021 at the gardens to provide art and performance events throughout the year that reflect the diversity of Montgomery County. 

About Drag Queen Story Hour 
Drag Story Hour (DSH) was created by Michelle Tea and RADAR Productions under the leadership of Julian Delgado Lopera and Virgie Tovar, in San Francisco in 2015. It started out as drag queens reading stories to children in libraries and grew into a global phenomenon! DSH now offers literary and creative programming for kids and teens of all ages led by drag queens, kings and all other royal beings. 

About Brookside Gardens 
Brookside Gardens is an award-winning 50-acre public garden within Wheaton Regional Park. The gardens include several distinct areas: aquatic garden, azalea garden, butterfly garden, children’s garden, rose garden, Japanese style garden, trial garden, rain garden and woodland walk. The formal gardens areas include a perennial garden, yew garden, the maple terrace and fragrance garden. Brookside Gardens also features two conservatories which are open year-round. Admission to the gardens is free. 

About Montgomery Parks      
Montgomery Parks manages more than 37,000 acres of parkland, consisting of 420 parks. Montgomery Parks is a department of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), a bi-county agency established in 1927 to steward public land. M-NCPPC has been nationally recognized for its high-quality parks and recreation services and is regarded as a national model by other parks systems. MontgomeryParks.org  

Accessibility     
Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, encourages and supports the participation of individuals with disabilities. Please contact the Program Access Office at 301-495-2581 (Voice/TTY), MD Relay 7-1-1 or 800-552-7724 or ProgramAccess@MontgomeryParks.org to request a disability modification. Visit Montgomery Parks Accessibility for more information.   

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