SYV Pride receives state, local recognition for LGBTQ-plus advocacy

Through months facing community backlash, advocating for the LGBTQ-plus community on local and international levels, and a second Pride flag theft in Los Olivos, Santa Ynez Valley (SYV) Pride came out on the other side with a very successful Pride month, Vice President Alyce Barrick said.

“This has probably been the most emotionally fulfilling month for me,” Barrick said. “Nothing could have distracted us … . We focused on the positive and it worked.”

PRIDE IN SACRAMENTO: (From left to Right) SYV Pride Vice President Alyce Barrick, President Lauren Lastra, and Board Member Adrianna Reyes visited the Capitol on June 28 to attend the California LGBTQ Caucus’s largest fundraiser and meet with Assemblymembers Gregg Hart and Chris Ward. Credit: Photo courtesy of Alyce Barrick

SYV Pride filled June with an event every week, leading up to its second annual Pride Parade and Festival on June 24. Supporters stood shoulder-to-shoulder to watch a maxed out parade go through Solvang’s downtown, she said. David Silva, Buellton’s first openly gay City Council member, spoke at the parade, and State Assemblymembers Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) and Chris Ward (D-San Diego), State Sen. Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), and the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus attended.

Limón gave SYV Pride a recognition award and the Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB-CAN) gave SYV Pride the Social Justice Award for its work to empower the local LGBTQ-plus community, Barrick added.

“It was so lovely and fulfilling to have this solidified allyship and group of supporters in our community. It’s a call to allyship and now more than ever, this was where our true colors were shown,” she said. “There were zero hecklers, not one. But this would have been the year for anyone to be a heckler.”

SYV Pride stood with the local LGBTQ-plus community and supported The Rainbow House Inc.’s proposal to hang Pride-themed banners in Solvang in June and The Santa Ynez Valley Union High School’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance’s repainting of a school crosswalk during an anti-bullying week—both of which caused community pushback with valley residents saying that the rainbow flag and its imagery promoted political ideologies that didn’t belong in Solvang or the Santa Ynez Valley.

Leading up to the parade and festival, another Pride flag was stolen in Los Olivos on June 22, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, but Barrick said this didn’t stop the celebration.

“The minor pushback is not doing anything, we’re fine. We’re incredibly inspired for next year,” she said. “We replaced the flag and didn’t pay it any attention and we just moved on.”

Once the festival concluded, the California LGBTQ Caucus and Assemblymembers Hart and Ward welcomed SYV Pride to the state Capitol on June 28 where Barrick, SYV Pride President Lauren Lastra, and board member Adriana Reyes toured the Assembly floor and attended the caucus’s biggest fundraiser in Sacramento.

“It was lovely to know that we are supported and we are represented. We’re only moving forward,” Barrick said. “Going to the Capitol was one of my most humbling experiences ever. Never did I expect that I would end up walking the [Assembly] floor.”

Assemblymember Hart said in a statement that he was honored to attend the parade and festival and pleased to welcome SYV Pride to the Capitol “to thank them and the many individuals who made the event a success.”

“Pride month is a time for our community to recognize, celebrate, and support our LGBTQ neighbors,” Hart said. “Despite much progress, LGBTQ people still face discrimination. … California has long been a leader in the movement for full LGBTQ equality and will continue to push forward.”

SYV Pride is already planning for next year, with hopes to host events throughout the month again. Visit syvpride.org or reach out to info@syvpride.org for more information.

This article appears in Santa Barbara County Fair Guide 2023.