Two weekends ago, a drag queen named Miss Annie read to some children at the Lansdale Public Library, and the event got local and national headlines. There were protesters in front of the library, but more importantly, there were three to four times as many people that showed up in support.
These supporters created a wall to shield the children from the protesters, and I was there in support. Why? Miss Annie, also known as Annie Christ, performs at my live entertainment venue, The Underground. Out of costume, Eric has been a loyal customer and mug club member at the pub for over five years. Eric is one of us, and we always protect and support our own.
Truth be told, that little event at the library was largely my doing. Well, It was not directly my doing. I did not propose it, nor did I schedule it, but I am largely responsible for kicking off a series of events which grew into the environment where this could happen. It all started about six years ago, when I took a gamble on hosting drag events in Lansdale. We started with adult trivia. Then we added a quarterly drag show, that then grew into a monthly show.
In April 2017, in response to the support of both our pub and the drag shows, we opened the Underground to host multiple drag shows, as well as regular open mic nights, comedy and live music. We accepted drag into the Round Guys family, and as we saw at the library event, Lansdale embraced drag as well. I saw drag shows as a way for my small fledgling business to host a unique night of entertainment and nothing else. This was not an attempt to push an LGBTQ agenda.
My only agenda is to make beer and create an accepting environment to enjoy that beer. Round Guys has always been open to all, and our only requirement is that you are tolerant and accepting. We host all sorts of groups and events. We have held fundraisers for Home and School Associations, veterans groups, women’s shelters and church groups. From our early days, two of my favorites regular groups were “ACDC,” the After-Choir Drinking Club, which was a group that grabbed beers after church choir practice. The other was “God on Tap,” a church group that would drink beer and discuss the Bible. Drag queens and bible study, can it get any more diverse than that?
Quite coincidentally, we will be releasing our first drag queen beer next month. #Im So Fanci, will be the first in a series of five beers highlighting our core drag queens. This has been in the works for well over four months. Each beer is going to reflect the tastes and characters of the drag queens with the first beer as a double IPA with cranberry, coconut and oranges. This is going to be fun, and the cans will see limited distribution.
Six years ago, some told me that tying our brand to drag queens would be risky. I don’t see it as a risk anymore. I see it as part of who we are, and a part of what Lansdale has become. My experiences hosting drag shows and becoming a member of the drag community have been transformative for me as a brewer, father, husband and person. In my next article I will delve into this a little bit more.
For today I just want to say thank you to the residents and regulars who showed up at the library event in support of Annie. For a morning, I got to sit back and see how much love and support this town has for its own. We showed that Lansdale is an amazing place to live, work, own a business and raise a family. I will be forever thankful for all you have done to accept me, my brewery and the drag queens that I brought to this town on a gamble.
See also:
Round Guys: How Podcasts Help Shape Our Brand
Round Guys: Ignoring the Comparison Culture
Round Guys: Hops are Killing Variety
Round Guys: A Shift In The 'Why'
Annie Christ: Lansdale's Culture Queen
