The drag show during North Brookfield's Pride celebration will go on

A drag performance during a Pride celebration in central Massachusetts can go on as previously planned, according to an attorney for the town.

A North Brookfield Select Board vote last month had put into question whether drag would be allowed as part of the Small Town Pride event in June. After they voted against including the drag performance, the ACLU of Massachusetts wrote to town officials, saying declining the drag show was a violation of constitutional rights. They asked the board to restore permission for the drag show to “avoid potential litigation.”

In a letter North Brookfield attorney Brian W. Riley wrote to the ACLU of Massachusetts on Friday, he said host organization Rural Justice Network can continue with its Small Town Pride event in June, and include the drag performance two of the three select people had previously voted against.

The town granted its authorization, saying that the permission originally given in March for all components of the Small Town Pride event will stand.

“I trust my statements above will enable RJN to feel confident that it may proceed with planning for the June 24 event and that there is no need for further insinuations of litigation regarding this matter,” Riley wrote. “I assure you that I have impressed on the Board members that it is in everyone’s best interest to leave the March 28 authorization in place, and that is the status.”

“This is welcome news for everyone in North Brookfield who will enjoy this joyous celebration of inclusivity,” Ruth Bourquin, managing attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts, told GBH News. “We hope that all Massachusetts communities take note: discrimination against those who choose to express themselves through drag is inconsistent with our state and federal constitutions.”

The board initially voted to grant permits for the drag show to take place on the Town Common during a March 28 meeting, but then rescinded all of the permits for the Small Town Pride event at its April 11 meeting. Then the three-member board then voted to allow the Pride events again but excluded a permit for the drag show in a 2-1 vote, with board chair Jason Petraitis calling drag “adult entertainment.”

After the ACLU wrote the board on April 18, the new vote happened April 25, with the board rescinding its previous vote approving the event without the drag show. In a more confusing move, the group held a second vote that approved a permit for the whole June 24 event, with Petraitis and Vice Chairman John Tripp abstaining, and selectwoman Elizabeth Brooke Canada voting in favor. Under state law, that means the measure failed, so the Rural Justice Network and ACLU were unclear what it meant.

Friday’s letter from Riley clarified.

“The result of the April 25 meeting is that the vote taken on March 28 has not been rescinded or otherwise altered (since the Board expressly rescinded the April 11 vote). As such, the RJN event remains authorized consistent with that March 28 vote.”

Chairman Petratis and the select board didn’t respond to requests for comment.

“Now we can focus our energy on looking for sponsors and gathering volunteers. We’re just so happy to be able to move forward with this in the way that we had originally planned,” said Tashena Marie, president of Rural Justice Network.