June means one thing for the LGBTQ-plus community across the Central Coast and beyond: It’s Pride Month! That translates to events in Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo that celebrate the season, including drag shows, concerts, and even plays. For our annual Pride issue, Senior Staff Writer Caleb Wiseblood talks to PCPA about Pride Nights […]
Pride
Posted inPride
PCPA pairs performances with pre-show Pride Night festivities
Dressing for the occasion takes on a whole new meaning during the Pacific Conservatory Theatre’s (PCPA) Pride Night events. Audience members are encouraged to don attire that may get them mistaken for cast members, Event and Development Coordinator Lolly Tolan explained. “You can’t go wrong with a cowboy hat and bolo tie,” Tolan (whose pronouns […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
The stories behind the drag queens performing at drag shows for June Pride
Inspiring others to step into the creative performer inside of themselves is an important part of dressing up and hitting the stage for Santa Maria drag queen Nova Cane. Onstage, Cane levels up the energy with thigh-high boots, contoured makeup, and performances that hit with songs by Doja Cat, Rihanna, and Kylie Minogue. Her goal […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Pride Issue 2025
Celebrate the season with wines that support advocacy organizations and local establishments that support the community
It’s officially Pride Month, and despite the national politics surrounding certain LGBTQ-plus issues, the community is ready to celebrate with events across the Central Coast. As part of our annual Pride issue, Senior Staff Writer Caleb Wiseblood speaks with a handful of wineries that are contributing a portion of wine proceeds to support local LGBTQ-plus […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Pop a cork: Vintners across Santa Ynez, Santa Maria, and Lompoc valleys celebrate Pride with wine-based fundraisers
Since its inception, Los Olivos’ Future Perfect Wine hasn’t let a year go by without donating one of its wine’s proceeds to a cause close to owner and winemaker Sunny Doench Stricker’s heart. “I have released a Pride rosé every year since the tasting room has been open, and we just celebrated our fourth anniversary […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Pride parties: Local businesses attempt to bring LGBTQ+ nightlife to the Central Coast for Pride month and beyond
Time and place Chido Bar is located at 221 N. Broadway in Santa Maria. For more information, visit facebook.com/ChidoBarSantaMaria or call (805) 631-5007. For more information about Libertine Brewing, visit libertinebrewing.com or call (805) 548-2338. The venue is located at 1234 Broad St. in SLO. To find more Pride events happening during the month of […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Overdue breakthrough
The Pride in Mental Health Act hopes to make accessible mental health care services for LGBTQ-plus youth the law
A host of Democrats across the United States are trying to bolster access to mental health care and support for LGBTQ-plus youth. U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-California), the first Black and openly gay senator to serve in the Senate, introduced the Pride in Mental Health Act on March 14—a day after the Oklahoma medical examiner […]
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Pride Issue 2024
Out and about: Our Pride issue highlights a social group for older members of the LGBTQ-plus community and the need for the Pride in Mental Health Act
With this year’s annual Pride issue, we’re taking a little time to focus on support systems for the LGBTQ-plus community—what exists and what needs to exist. Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor talks to the Pacific Pride Foundation about a program it’s expanding into North County intended specifically to provide a sense of community that may be […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Connection, socialization
Pacific Pride Foundation’s Lavender Elders program is designed to bring older LGBTQ-plus folks together
Get together Visit pacificpridefoundation.org to learn more about Lavender Elders and other programs that Pacific Pride Foundation offers. While there are many options for the LGBTQ-plus community to get together during Pride Month in June and throughout the year, it can be challenging for older community members to have that experience. “Things like going to […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
It’s Pride Month
The Central Coast is celebrating the LGBTQ-plus community this June with events in SLO and Santa Barbara counties
As we roll into national Pride Month, celebrating the LGBTQ-plus community seems especially poignant following a year of anti-trans legislation across the country, attempts to ban gender identity and sexual orientation from sex education, and fights in local schools and cities over rainbow flags and crosswalks. In 2023, SLO and Santa Barbara counties are hosting Pride events all June long. For this year’s annual Pride issue, Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor has event details for you; and New Times Staff Writer Adrian Rosas from the Sun’s sister paper writes about trans visibility and what local organizations are doing to lift them up.
Posted inSpecial Issues
Pride Issue 2022
Our annual Pride issue is coming a little early this year, but is it ever really too early to celebrate the activism and visibility of the LGBTQ-plus community? We talk to the Pacific Pride Foundation about the upcoming summer of in-person events, why it’s important to remember the activist roots of Pride, and the current […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Pride Issue 2020
June was Pride Month, but the usual parades and events that commemorate the occasion were waylaid by the COVID-19 pandemic. The month also coincided with the Trump administration and the Supreme Court of the United States respectively taking steps backward and forward for the LGBTQ-plus movement. There’s still a long way to go, and despite […]
