WEEK OF MAY 18, 2023
VOLUME 10 | ISSUE 39
FREE
Riding for love
County changes fairgrounds policy after drag show backlash BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
On June 11, he will ride for her. The Alzheimer’s Association Ride to End ALZ Colorado will start and end right outside Colorado State University’s Canvas Stadium. The route Van Why has chosen will take him south from Fort Collins, back north to Laporte, along the foothills of Horsetooth Reservoir and finally back to where he started — about the same distance from Fort Collins to Boulder. “Oh yeah,” he said when asked if
It’s not every day that a Douglas County commissioners’ meeting includes a quote of Rihanna lyrics. Several area residents at the meeting expressed concern with last year’s drag show event at the county fairgrounds in Castle Rock, a topic that gave way to a broader discussion about a parent’s ability to choose what kinds of entertainment their kids can view. The meeting also heard accusations of indoctrination of children. Joy Overbeck, a Parker resident, referenced videos of performances she took issue with at the May 9 meeting. She referred to a performer “belting out” a song with the lyrics: “I may be bad, but I’m perfectly good at it. Sex is in the air, I don’t care, I love the smell of it. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but chains and whips excite me.” Another performance, Overbeck claimed, involved young girls on stage performing in a drag dance contest, mimicking the dancers. “This can only be called recruitment — promoting sexualization and sexual confusion to children,” Overbeck told the county’s elected leaders. Douglas County PrideFest held its annual event at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in August. During a drag show at the celebration, a performer’s breast plate and false nipple were temporarily exposed.
SEE IN MEMORY, P12
SEE BACKLASH, P13
Sam Van Why of Castle Rock will bike in the Ride to End ALZ Colorado on June 11 in memory of his deceased wife, Donna, who died of PHOTO BY ALEX K.W. SCHULTZ Alzheimer’s disease on Dec. 8, 2022. It will be Van Why’s third time participating in the Ride to End ALZ.
may feel like he’s “just survivBike trip will be in memory Why ing” at times as he pumps his legs and over for nearly four hours. of wife lost to Alzheimer’s over But the retired college professor, BY ALEX K.W. SCHULTZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
When Sam Van Why hops on his 22-speed Cannondale bicycle in a few weeks to take on a rugged 45-mile ride, it will be the perfect metaphor for what the Castle Rock resident’s life has been. The ride won’t be easy. In fact, Van
you can be sure, will keep going. He won’t for a moment think about stopping, even if his 74-year-old legs and body are pleading with him to do so. He’ll push and push until he crosses the finish line. That’s what Donna would have wanted. On Dec. 8, 2022, Van Why lost the love of his life, his wife of nearly 30 years, to Alzheimer’s disease.
VOICES: 14 | LIFE: 16 | CALENDAR: 19 | SPORTS: 26
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