Society & Culture
Once a month in Denver, Mile High Comics and Miss Jessica, host Drag For All Ages - a family friendly show to raise funds for the community. The entertainers are kids of all ages - celebrating diversity with their own costumes and performing to their favorite music. Outside of Mile High Comics, it’s a different story. Vile protesters line the street with signs and masks, chanting terrible hate-filled rhetoric as the children and their families arrive. The Parasol Patrol was formed out of a need to protect these children from the onslaught of hateful speech from the protesters. The group provides the children hearing protection to muffle the hateful taunts and use colorful umbrellas to shield them from the signs and angry faces. This human shield of heroes is comprised of all community volunteers, who do what they do out of the spirit of peace and love so children can have a safe place to express themselves and share their talents and creativity. Eli Bazan and Pasha Ripley are co-founders of the Parasol Patrol. Eli is an Honorary Board member of Feeding Denver's Hungry and fundraiser at Majestic Hearts. Pasha is an activist and Whistle Blower who testified against Colorado University during the CU football rape scandal, and Executive Director of Red Light Resources International, an anti-human trafficking & harm-reduction human rights nonprofit organization. https://parasolpatrol.org https://www.facebook.com/parasolpatrol.org/