The LGBT+ Center of Orlando cancelled an upcoming drag queen story-telling event for children after the group says its received threats.
On Monday, the group issued a statement explaining their decision to cancel the next installment of their Drag Queen Story Hour series, which was scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 29.
“Due to several threats from hate groups aimed at The Center and to those participating in Drag Queen Story Hour, we have decided to cancel the event for this Saturday’s Halloween Edition,” reads a statement from the group’s social media profiles. “We take these threats very seriously and would not want to endanger or expose children and their parents and guardians to bigotry and hate.”
The regular series is hosted by The Center, which is located at 946 N Mills Avenue in the Mills 50 District, near downtown Orlando.
“We have the support of so many in our community including law enforcement, but as much as we would like to continue this fun-loving, innocent event, we feel that the safety of our community is our number one concern,” reads the post.
The group went on to thank those who have attended in the past and reiterated that it did not want to “expose or endanger innocent children to hate, bigotry, or violence” during “challenging times.”