Beginning a Pride celebration for a city that has never had one is a big deal, especially for its LGBTQ population. Local nonprofit the House of Pride and Equality (HOPE) brought Santa Maria’s first Pride festival to life in 2017, and this year’s event on June 30 is slated to be even bigger and better. For this week’s cover, editor Joe Payne sat down with HOPE’s board and got their firsthand account of what it takes to make Pride happen, and what it means to the Santa Maria Valley’s LGBTQ community.
This article appears in Pride Issue 2018.