Organizers of the contentious PG-rated drag show planned for May 20 as part of the “Halfway to Halloween” event at the Porter County Expo Center have dropped the show from their event citing safety concerns after they, their vendors, and staff at the Expo Center received threats via email and voicemail.

“In regards to the threats, we had a lengthy conversation with the county attorney at the beginning of this ordeal about potential protesters, permits and safety. His response was that they don’t actually enforce the requirement for protesting permits and that if protesters became unruly or violent, it depends on what officer responds as to what is actually done,” the organizer of the event, Rogue Syndicate, said in an email.

“That was a very unsettling response directly from someone who stands for law in the county. From that point on we realized there would likely not be guaranteed protection for us or our attendees, especially knowing that we already had commissioners against us. We are only 2 people and responsible for close to 2000,” Rogue Syndicate continued.

Rogue Syndicate announced the cancellation in a Facebook post Thursday evening, in which organizers said they will be working on a new venue soon, “so that we can get back to creating safe, inclusive events like we have hosted since 2019 at the Expo.”

“They’re probably feeling threatened the same way I am,” said Lori Daly, director of the Expo Center, who has received many phone calls and emails. “We started locking the doors and keeping an eye on the camera.”

Daly said the majority of the communications were simply from concerned citizens, but one call threatened to take her out of her job, and an email from one man said he would come down to the event and stop it himself.

Controversy began when a Facebook post for the event said children 12 and under would be admitted for free. Four women voiced their opposition at the March 14 Porter County Board of Commissioners meeting and the controversy has only picked up steam since then with former Congressional candidate Republican Jennifer-Ruth Green giving out the organizers’ email address on her Facebook page four days ago and calling for followers to “Please communicate that our children deserve better.”

“I don’t know that we spoke out against their event. I certainly didn’t,” said Commissioners Vice President Barb Regnitz, R-Center, who said she feels sympathy for both sides of this controversy. “I’ve never spoken out against the event with anybody.”

Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North, doesn’t share Regnitz’s sympathies. He said an event that initially intended to mix adult themes with alcohol and free admission for unaccompanied children caught his attention, as it did for many others.

“I don’t believe I was put into office to support these types of events,” Biggs said. “They got the wrong commissioner in the wrong county.”

That said, he also doesn’t intend to violate anyone’s constitutional rights and has had to explain that to the many constituents demanding the commissioners shut the event down.

Regnitz said her concern when she saw that children 12 and under would be free was that the county might appear as a babysitting service, as no mention was made of requiring parental supervision for said children. She said Rogue Syndicate was very responsive to requests from the commissioners’ office to alter its advertising.

“They readily agreed to say children 17 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian,” Regnitz said. She also said concerns of Biggs’s that alcohol would be available in the presence of minors at a public event were addressed by Daly who suggested the implementation of a wristband as is commonly used at a variety of events put on by the city of Valparaiso.

“I hope at the end of the day things can heal around this,” Regnitz said. “I just don’t know how we can do a better job.”

Biggs said the controversy has made the board aware that it needs to thoroughly examine its policies for the Expo Center. “We’re in this business so you better strap in. It really wasn’t fair to the director and the staff out there that we weren’t better prepared.”

Rogue Syndicate feels people are jumping on the bandwagon of anti-drag sentiment sweeping the nation.

“We had almost 2000 attendees in September and have never received any negative responses from the community. Considering that was only six months ago, I think it’s safe to say that conservatives, whether in leadership or citizens, are just following suit in the hatred of drag across the country right now and participating in the agenda of normalizing homophobia,” Rogue Syndicate said in its email.

Commissioner Laura Blaney, D-South, doesn’t think the issue is so much about shifting culture as changing leadership. “Elections have consequences,” she said via text. “This show has taken place for four years with no problem. We have new leadership this year, and suddenly it’s perceived to be a problem.

“Fortunately, our youth are light years ahead of the rest of us when it comes to acceptance and understanding,” she continued. “It gives me hope for the future.”

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.