Once upon a time, humans began telling stories. Heroes journeyed far and wide, kings led armies to battle, peasants fought oppression. Gods intervened, sorcerers conjured magic, demons haunted the lands. Great minds brought new inventions, grand cities rose, people yearned for the good life. And the action rose to a climax! In the end, humans crave stories. We read, we write, we speak and we listen. We invent, we imagine. We connect.

Storytelling is the theme during the 2021 Tucson Humanities Festival and we are proud sponsors of this year’s events. Join us on October 30th on the Bookmans Entertainment Exchange Facebook page with none other than Drag Queen Story Hour to celebrate. All month long, you can attend a wide variety of unique events hosted by the University of Arizona College of Humanities.

The University of Arizona College of Humanities began presenting an annual series of public outreach events in the spring of 2009, showcasing timely projects and topics of broad interest. Under the name Humanities Week, this program continued, with attendance steadily rising and presentations expanding from faculty speakers to film screenings and distinguished guests, reflecting the interdisciplinary scope of the College’s programs. In 2016, the name of the series changed from Humanities Week to the Tucson Humanities Festival, which has now grown to a month-long series of events.

Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) is just what it sounds like—drag queens reading stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores. DQSH captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models. In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real.