Reporting on Charlotte’s “Festival of Oddities.”
For the past few years now Charlotte, Michigan in hopes of attracting tourists to the town has held what they have called “A Festival of Oddities.” That title is definitely a euphemism. A more accurate title would to have it be called “A Festival of the Occult.”
Because this year found the added twist of asking a Drag Queen Troupe to perform I was contacted as a minister to see if I would be outraged enough to protest this festival. Of course, as it doesn’t take much to tip over the needle on my outrage-meter I agreed to do what I could and so I showed up to protest this making Charlotte synonymous with Sodom-Gomorrah.
It started with meeting a central locale to pick up the necessary protest signs. I picked up my sign and walked away saying… “Well, I’m off to make people angry.”
I internally rolled my eyes and responded;“Do you really think these people are going to read this sign and feel the love of Jesus?”
I had scoped out the Festival briefly before picking up my sign and said to myself, “When this kind of thing can take root in small town America you know the country is toast.”
What did I see at this version of Vanity Fair?I saw a young lady with a mid-riff T-Shirt that said “Slut for Halloween.” By the looks of her it was easy to believe the advertisement. I saw Drag Queen wearing a HUGE Tiara walking around all in black. I saw a man and woman wearing matching outfits while pushing a baby carriage. They were all tatted and pierced up and the matching outfits (she in a skirt and he in a shirt) had as the material the faces of all kinds of different mass murderers and serial killers in the fabric. I saw “guys” with gauges in their ear lobes with the lobes going down to the shoulder. I almost forgot to mention the young lady with sky blue hair and in a mini mini skirt walking around the “Festival of Oddities” with a four foot tongue flicking lizard (Iguana?) draped across her shoulder. I had to do a double take on that one. I’ve never seen that before. Goth was definitely the fashion style embraced by most of the participants.
Of course that is just a Whitman’s sampler of what I witnessed.
Next comes the various booths.There was one booth where the vendor, who, by his own testimony, was a Warlock. The Warlock makes and sells human part replicas complete with the gory blood. He was also selling plastic models of aborted babies as well as various plastic lifelike human organs. It was all very realistic. Dismembered hands, arms, and feet were for sale. Just the gift for that loved one who is difficult to buy for. I was shocked and stood there dumbfounded. I eventually was able to ask Mr. Warlock if he could actually make a living selling this stuff. He curtly answered “yes.”
Another booth found a lady who sold herself as a “ribbon reader.” I had never heard of ribbon reading before and so I asked her “what is ribbon reading.” She told me that for $20.00 dollars she will read what color you present yourself as then tell you about what that means for you. There were booths for palm reading, booths for automatic writing, booths for tarot card readings…. there were booths there for just about any occultic thing you could possibly imagine. There were booths specializing in spell casting. Booths where one could pet your favorite snake. Think of it all as C. S. Lewis’ “Screwtape Letters,” being wildly successful.
“Hate Evil, Love Good”
Keep in mind that the Drag Queen performance was being sold as “family friendly.” Yeah, and Dracula is really just a chap who runs a blood bank.
As I carried my signs I received the usual vitriolic stares. One woman referred to be a “weird religious zealot.” Another portly woman (some kind of Board Member of the Festival) chased me off the Courthouse grounds telling me I was trespassing. She was, of course, very snotty. Yet another Jezebel like woman asked me why I had a problem with Drag Queens. I told her, “God’s Word prohibits that behavior” and cited the appropriate text. Jezebel promptly told me, “that’s just your opinion.” I responded, “Actually that is God’s declaration on the matter and I am better off listening to Him than listening to her say Drag Queens are wholesome.” She then told me … “The Bible is Bullshit and the Drag Queens are going to put on a wonderful performance.” I told her, in parting, “I am amazed that a 50 year old woman like yourself can not discern the obvious unnaturalness of Drag Queens.” She swore at me and turn and departed. I told her in parting that she needed to repent. This is all pretty typical behavior one gets when one protests wickedness.
I was disappointed by the lack of support from the Churches. Now it is true this protest only had 48 hours or so to put together a showing but still the turnout was pathetic. Ainger Bible Church provided most of the personnel protesting. However, I was the only clergy there protesting and I was told by someone in the know that a couple of those reputed to be “conservative pastors” who have gone on the record with the Mid-Michigan media to denounce me in times past told the organizer of the event that “we are too afraid of the backlash.” Rev. Randy Royston was the name of that coward. Another coward was Rev. Andy Shaver who one suspects didn’t carry signs of protest because it would have hurt his campaign to be a Michigan State congress-critter. I think John Bunyan would’ve named them “Talkative” and “Hypocrite” if Bunyan were around writing today. Shaver did show up to pray with the group thus burnishing his “I am Holy” credentials but he was AWOL when it came to actually protesting. Just more evidence that the visible Church is DEAD.
Charlotte has something like 23 Churches and I was the only Pastor who could see that this “Festival of Oddities” has something worthy to stand against? Look, I’m as much a coward as the next person but there are times when cowardice has to be put in the rear view mirror so one can quit themselves like a man.
Of course it is my prayer for many of those Christians protesting that the Lord Christ would open their eyes to what they are missing in their Baptist “Christianity.” Having said that, at least they were out there making their faith practical. That is more than what can be said for the 23 odd other churches in Charlotte who declined to get involved.
In finishing up I had my eyes opened once again to how deep the declension is in America. Not only are we holding Vanity Fair Carnival for the Occult we can’t even get the Church to manfully respond except for a very few brave souls.
Ah well… as it was in the days of Elijah, so it is in the days of McAtee. 
Yet God still reserves 7000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
Postscript — While praying in preparation I did find myself wondering if Jesus would have wept over the Canaanites that were about to be destroyed at His command. In other words, I was struggling with what love looked like in that debauched setting. Should I weep over them as Jesus did Jerusalem or should I have the compassion God had for the Priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel.
Maybe and probably both.
I saw a tiny dose of this at Walmart two days ago, shoppers wearing pentagram t-shirts and such, perhaps because Halloween season is coming. When a society tolerates open displays of satanism and sodomy they have turned their back on God. America is beyond a political solution to her problems. Almost everyone from MAGA to the Constitutionalists to the League of the South to the Q weirdies seem to focus on *political* solutions and overlook America’s spiritual decline.
Hello Joe,
Yes these USA is beyond a political solution. This is why elections don’t matter that much to me. What is wrong with us will not be solved by voting our way out of the problem.