At LGBTQ Pride events and Drag Queen Story Hours, the Parasol Patrol faces off against hate groups who are protesting these inclusive events. With rainbow umbrellas in hand, volunteers help protect children and families from anti-LGBTQ protestors. The group’s co-founder, Eli Bazan, a Marine Corps veteran, recounted how he started standing guard at an all-ages drag show in northern Colorado in 2019, after receiving numerous death threats. Since then, he and hundreds of other volunteers have been patrolling LGBTQ-friendly safe spaces across the country to help ensure they remain safe and welcoming.
To join the Parasol Patrol, volunteers undergo training on how to be non-confrontational, and not engage with potentially dangerous protestors. The volunteers focus on creating an environment of joy and celebration, twirling their umbrellas and singing Disney songs to distract children from the protests. Heather Spillman, a volunteer, recalled how the group broke into song, singing the entire score from “Frozen,” while facing off with a group of vocal protestors. The children were so distracted by the singing volunteers that they never even noticed the protestors.
The Parasol Patrol’s mission is personal for many of its members. Pasha Ripley, an activist and volunteer, hopes to be the adult she needed during her lonely youth, growing up queer and Asian in rural Oklahoma. Other volunteers, like Hillman, who has a gay child, are motivated to join the group to help protect the LGBTQ community. Despite the record number of bills targeting the LGBTQ community, the group urges event hosts and venues not to cancel events, but instead to seek their protection.