Nazareth venue revokes permission for drag bingo fundraiser due to ‘pushback’

Feb 17, 2024

The drag bingo planned for Oct. 28, 2023, at The Phoenix event venue in Nazareth was canceled. The venue board president revoked permission, according to the event organizer.Courtesy of Nazareth Together

A drag bingo fundraiser planned at the Phoenix event venue in Nazareth was canceled by the Phoenix board president, according to the event organizer.

Event organizer April Gabriel-Ferretti said she was told Tuesday by Phoenix board president Frank Stampf that he was getting too much “pushback” over the event and couldn’t allow it to take place.

“No comment. Thank you,” Stampf said when reached by phone Tuesday by lehighvalleylive.com.

The event has been moved to the Bayou restaurant in Easton, Gabriel-Ferretti said Tuesday evening.

This is the second LGBTQ-friendly event Gabriel-Ferretti has organized this year only to see it pushed out of the Nazareth area.

Nazareth Area Pride Day had to be relocated from Tuskes Park in Upper Nazareth Township to New Creation UCC Church in Palmer Township. Upper Nazareth Township Supervisors Chairman Scott Sylvainus said the event got too big too fast and needed more planning before it could come off in June, although Gabriel-Ferretti believes “pushback” is responsible for that event cancelation, too.

The drag bingo will raise money for the newly-formed nonprofit organization Nazareth Together. The organization supports marginalized communities, including the LGBTQ community. Funds raised from the drag bingo would go toward next year’s Nazareth Area Pride event.

She put down a deposit on the venue Aug. 14 and started circulating flyers for the event that was supposed to take place Oct. 28 at the Phoenix at 515 W. Mauch Chunk St. in Nazareth.

Then she got a call Tuesday from Stampf telling her the event was off.

The venue was once part of the Holy Family Club, a social club with ties to the Holy Family Catholic Church in Nazareth. The club is still on the lower level of the building but the upstairs event hall was partitioned off to become an independent event venue.

Gabriel-Ferretti was told there’s still a “spiritual” connection between the venue and the parish, that members of the community have come out against the event and that it’s “not acceptable” for the venue.

She said Stampf didn’t know the event was happening and was told it should have been approved by the board at the Phoenix. It’s unclear whether the board approves every wedding reception or graduation party hosted there, Gabriel-Ferretti said.

Within hours of her call from the Phoenix, Gabriel-Ferretti re-scheduled the event at the Bayou restaurant at 64 Centre Square in Easton. It will run from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29.

Like the Nazareth Area Pride event, the drag bingo was set up to show that everyone in the Nazareth community is welcome regardless of their sexual orientation.

“The queer community deserves representation. They deserve to know that they’re welcome, that they’re safe and that there’s a place for them,” Gabriel-Ferretti said in June prior to the pride event.

Although Gabriel-Ferretti signed an agreement with the Phoenix to hold the event, she was told the deal was off and she’d be refunded her deposit. Even if the Phoenix reconsiders, Gabriel-Ferretti won’t move the drag bingo there.

“I won’t give them a penny of (Nazareth Together’s) money,” she said.

For more information about the drag bingo at the Bayou, check out the event website.

For information about Nazareth Together, you can reach Gabriel-Ferretti on Facebook.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated at 6:47 p.m. Monday, after Gabriel-Ferretti told lehighvalleylive.com she moved the event to the Bayou.

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Rudy Miller may be reached at [email protected].

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