Festivals, parades, performances, and resource fairs are happening up and down the Central Coast throughout Pride Month in June.
Santa Ynez Valley Pride is hosting an event nearly every week; Santa Maria’s House of Pride and Equality makes a comeback with its first in-person Pride festival since the pandemic; and SLO County’s Central Coast Pride is hosting a burlesque and drag show, a festival, and the return of its famous Pride in the Plaza. So get a group of your friends together, dress in your most colorful gear (glitter recommended, but not required), and support the LGBTQ-plus community.
SLO’s Central Coast Pride Festival, June 2
San Luis Obispo County has been celebrating Pride since 1997, and has continued growing since its first celebration in SLO’s Mission Plaza, said Central Coast Pride Director Laura Albers.
“It’s a place to be you and have that be totally OK, and unfortunately we don’t have enough places like that in our world,” Lastra said.
In 2022, Central Coast Pride—which is a GALA Pride and Diversity Center program—hosted its first two-and-a-half-day Pride Festival at Laguna Lake Park, steering away from its longstanding tradition at the Mission Plaza.
“Having it at Laguna Lake Park, you had to intend to come there, whereas in Mission Plaza people didn’t [have to] know what was going on and they would happen upon it. Having it in a place where people had to intend to be there created a really wonderfully safe environment for people,” she said.
As a “trial year,” Albers and her team decided to include everything Central Coast Pride’s planning committee considered doing for Pride, including a Drag and Burlesque Show at the Fremont Theater on June 2 (which is now sold out), its Pride Festival at Laguna Lake Park on June 3, and Pride in the Plaza on June 4, she said.
“Our theme this year is We Are Family. We’re doing as much as we can to promote the idea that this is family, we are family, and we have families,” Albers said. “Families come in all different configurations, but they are still humans and still Central Coast residents and still doing the things families do.”
Pride is not just about celebration, it’s also about building awareness as a historic amount of anti-LGBTQ-plus legislation has passed in states across the country in the last year—particularly targeting transgender people, she added. With this expansion of events, Lastra said she hopes LGBTQ-plus people will feel supported and allies or “allies in training” learn something new.
“First and foremost, they are the most fun events ever; there is no party like a Pride party. No, you do not have to be identified within the LGBTQ-plus community at all,” she said. “All are welcome, and we want you to come out. They are fun places you can be you no matter who you are.”
Visit slopride.com/events for Central Coast Pride’s full calendar and more event information.
Santa Maria Pride Festival, June 10
Santa Maria-based organization House of Pride and Equality (HOPE) is hosting an in-person Pride festival for the first time in nearly three years after the pandemic halted its operations, HOPE Board President Suzette Lopez said.
“We’ve been in a time of transitioning and we are rebuilding and the board has had some changes with leadership,” she said. “We’re trying to do events people would be interested in. Some are for all ages, some are for older groups, but it’s nice to see the people that come in and make community with us.”
This year’s festival will be held on June 10 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Santa Maria Fairpark and will feature a drag show, live music, a dance tent, a photo booth, a children and youth lounge, plenty of food, a beer garden, a resource fair, and a maker’s market, Lopez said.
“At the end of the day, Pride events are a celebration of love, and that’s why we decided to make that our theme this year: Love is Love. Everyone should have the opportunity to celebrate that, and that is our main goal—to create a space where people can share some love with us,” she said.
The founding board members, Lopez said, saw a great need to grow support for Santa Maria LGBTQ-plus community members—especially those also in the Latino community—after the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting where a gunman entered the gay nightclub, killed 49 people, and wounded 53 more.
The organization hosted its first Pride in 2017 and grew each year until the pandemic hit, halting that momentum. HOPE hosted virtual Pride in 2020, and hosted the Santa Maria Drag Show in 2021 and 2022 in honor of Pride, she added.
While HOPE is still searching for a permanent location, Lopez said the priority is to continue building community partnerships, make sure HOPE’s name is known in the community, and invite residents to join the organization.
“Right now, what we’re trying to do is get back in our lane and keep moving forward, and one of those ways is building those relationships again and [reminding] people what HOPE has done and what it will continue to do in the community,” she said.
As of May 19, HOPE was still looking for more volunteers and more vendors to participate in the makers market. Visit houseofprideandequality.org for more information.
SYV Pride Parade and Festival, June 24
While the first Santa Ynez Valley-based nonprofit dedicated to the LGBTQ-plus community is holding its second annual Pride Parade and Festival, SYV Pride is also hosting wine tasting events, a karaoke night, a silent disco, and yoga in the park throughout June, Vice President Alyce Barrick said.
“Last year, our Pride parties/events were mainly during one week that supported our parade, and this year we’re taking on the entire month of Pride—from the 1st to the 30th,” Barrick said. “The biggest takeaway is that we are highlighting places that are queer friendly, a safe space, and inclusive.”
SYV Pride President Lauren Lastra added that they’ve been intentional with what vendors and tables they allow at the festival in Solvang as well—making sure they align with SYV Pride’s mission and support the queer community “outside of one event every month.”
“Of course it’s a huge celebration, but it also goes much deeper than that in what we’re building and creating,” Lastra said. “Really for the queer community, visibility can be a matter of life and death. To feel seen and a sense of belonging in the community can mean a lot to people.”
Earlier this year, SYV Pride supported fellow LGBTQ-plus nonprofit The Rainbow House Inc., and students in Santa Ynez Valley Union High School’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) in their separate efforts to bring more LGBTQ-plus representation to Solvang and the greater Santa Ynez Valley—which resulted in community backlash against the efforts that garnered international attention and caused the high school principal to resign.
“We did intentionally keep our parade in Solvang to have that presence, to affirm that we are here, we’re not going anywhere, and we are going to continue amplifying and lifting up the community,” Lastra said.
Lastra added that State Sen. Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), and the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus have reached out to SYV Pride with interest in attending this year’s event and showing support in light of the turmoil.
“Since our established presence in the valley, there have been ebbs and flows … but here we are again going into Pride Month and we’ve been floored by the community outreach saying they want to partner, celebrate Pride, and be a part of this community as allies and members of the LGBTQIA-plus community,” Lastra said.
Find SYV Pride’s full event calendar and more details at syvpride.org/events. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor, from New Times’ sister paper, the Sun, at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Pride 2023.
