Organizers of Molalla Pride have canceled the fourth-annual LGBTQ+ celebration after receiving increasingly concerning threats online.
Hendy Appleton said she had taken steps to expand the festival this year after three successful years organizing the LGBTQ+ celebration without major pushback in the small town south of Oregon City.
She asked LGBTQ+ serving organizations to host carnival games. She invited vendors and a magician, and local businesses stepped up to donate prizes.
She also organized a drag queen story hour.
The story hour was intended to both showcase drag as part of gay culture and signal to children the importance of accepting difference, diversity and personal expression, Appleton said. But the story hour appeared to be a “bridge too far” for Molalla, Hendy said.
Shortly after she announced details of the Pride event Aug. 6, the festival began to receive threats on social media from locals who expressed “outrage and disgust” toward the celebration, which had been scheduled to …