Modesto approved a public event application and parade route for a Straight Pride Parade, whose organizers plan to protest what they view as "(Americans being) destroyed by the inherent malevolency/evil of the Homosexual/Sodomy Movement".

It is scheduled for Aug. 24th from 12pm to 4pm, ending at Graceada Park.

The flyer with a pink border states, “Join us to celebrate heterosexuality, masculinity, femininity, babies – born and unborn – western civilization, our wonderful country, Christianity — Celebrate Life!”

The man behind the effort is Modesto Chiropractor, Don Grundmann of the National Straight Pride Coalition. He has also run, unsuccessfully, for senate.

The event was raising funds via Go Fund Me, when we reached out for comment, the campaign was pulled and the following statmenet was issued:

"The campaign was removed as it violated our terms of service.

Best,
Rachel Hollis"

When reached for comment, the parks department at the City of Modesto would only comment "The event has been issued valid permits". We've reached out for further comments from the city and parks department leadership, no reply was received at time of publication. Article will be updated if a reply is received.

What can you do?!

Read more: City of Modesto approves "Straight Pride Parade"

After an impressive winter, it has finally warmed up.  Summer is here, and we all know what that means...YES... Kampout is coming!  It's just a month away, and if you are like me, you can't wait to get up the hill, sit by the creek and enjoy the beautiful weather.

The Kampout Committee has been busy since last year’s Kampout, working on bringing you another fantastic weekend, and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

This year’s theme is Kampout Goes to the Circus.  Yes, there will be bearded “ladies” and strong “men”.  The carnival, the midway...we just ask that no clowns due to legitimate fears that some have.  As always, we will be having a contest for decorating your site, and we can’t wait to see what you clever kampers come up with.  Compete by yourself...or with a group...have a lot of fun and win some great prizes

Kampout will once again be held at our alternative site, which is just across the road on the left of Texas Flat Campground.  Texas Flat is closed for the 2019 season, but we are fortunate to have a beautiful site for Kampout.

Kampout is, as always, the weekend after Labor Day...this year Sept. 6-8.  The cost of the weekend is $40 per kamper.  This covers your kampsite, 2 beer busts, the Progressive Koctail Party, Saturday dinner, 2 breakfasts, and much, much more.

You can relax, or join in all the fun and games that are planned throughout the weekend...and win prizes!!  We have the Needle in the Haystack contest, the Yacht Regatta, and the always popular Kamptown Races.  Don’t forget the fabulous Kampstravaganza Show on Saturday night.  We encourage everyone to participate in this fun show...and compete for Kampout King and Kampout Kween.

Camping in the Sierras can cost over $20 a night, just for a campsite.  Kampout costs just $40 for the whole weekend...it is definitely the best bargain for your entertainment buck.

We want to advise you, that because we are on private property, there is no garbage service.  Be prepared to “pack it in, pack it out”.  Private campfires will be allowed only if they are in an above ground (backyard type) pit.  You must also have a fire extinguisher, water bucket and shovel.  All dogs must be on a leash at all times.  This is for everyone’s safety.

So, mark your calendars.  We hope to see you all at Kampout!

For more information, see our website www.kampoutfresno.com which has all the information you could want...or check out our Facebook page.

Pride Night and Resource Fair at Chukchansi Park on Thursday, July 25th
Gates open at 6:05 pm and first pitch at 7:05 pm

Here is the link to the ticket portal where you can purchase your special tickets
for the night and help support Fresno Rainbow Pride 2020, the 30th anniversary
of the parade and festival here in Fresno:

Facebook event for more information about the event.

LGBT Fresno is beginning our first bisexual social hour(s) event. It's Bi time we got together for a chat, and some food. Where are we all hiding? I'm not hiding. I'm told we happen to blend into the Cis world more easily, therefore, it's harder to find us? Umm, ok? haha! Lets make fellow Bi friends. This will be a Bi only event for adults (18 and over), and no kids. Your Co-Hosts and Bi enthusiasts will be Sonia and Andrea. Come enjoy no-host Friday night dinner with us in the back banquet room at Denny's in Clovis on Shaw Ave. We will have Pride stickers and a raffle for our first event. We will raffle 2 tickets to Six Flags. You must be present to win.

Hope to see you there.

If you have any questions you can email Andrea at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Location is at Shaw and Clovis AVE, just West of McDonald's

Independence Day will be here before we know it. It’s always a great day for food, friends, family and fun. Oh yes, and we can’t forget….. fireworks!

LGBT Fresno has now begun selling fireworks at our stand. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and we really need your support. The funds raised allows us to continue our work all over the Central Valley. So, if you are purchasing fireworks this year, please consider getting them from our stand. You can visit the Phantom website and get a $15 item FREE with purchaes of $69+ coupon instantly by clicking HERE (must print and complete). NEW this year: Pre-Order and have your order ready for pickup when you arrive.

The LGBT Fresno Fireworks Stand opens June 28th

Have a Blast this Fourth & Support Your Community Too!

Free $15 item with purchase of $69 or more!REGISTER TODAY AND GET YOUR COUPON!also signup for our daily specials email.

Go ahead, splurge on a spectacular display for your 4th of July party! So please plan to get your dazzling light displays for your Independence Day celebration and have a blast this fourth while supporting your community at the same time!

South West Corner of Shaw and Clovis (just West of McDonald's)
June 28th - July 3rd: 10am - 10pm, July 4th: 10am - 12am

This year LGBT Fresno will be selling fireworks for the 4th of July. This will be Fresno's ONLY LGBTQIA Fireworks Stand and all proceeds will go to support the efforts of LGBT Community Network, a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit and their divisions.

We'll offer great deals on packages, as well as many Buy One, Get One Free offers on your favorite items!!! Make your celebration a BLAST and support your local LGBT+ community.

The Fireworks Stand (from Phantom Fireworks) will open on June 28th at 12:00pm and will then be open daily at 10 AM through July 4th. The stand closes each night at 10 PM.

Don't wait till the last minute to plan your celebration!
Pre-order, plan ahead, and make your celebration one to remember!

Location:
South West Corner of Shaw and Clovis (just West of McDonald's)

Hours:
June 28th-July 4th: 10am - 10pm

Questions? (559) 862-4559

In the early morning of June 8th, a patron of FAB was was kicked out of FAB for fighting and harassing people. Her antics were captured and she was identified as the owner of Charming Autumns Boutique. (video below)

On June 9th Comments were posted on facebook saying, “Change the name of this club to Pulse nightclub since you will share the same fate.”

“I received in my Facebook messenger that we will show up tonight, you won’t see us, but we’ll be watching you,” Story explained.

Fresno police were stepping up patrol.

On June 13th Jose Isabel Lechuga, 28, of Selma, was arrested and booked into the Fresno County Jail.

Chief Jerry Dyer said He was in possession of a semi-automatic handgun, and upon a search of his Selma home, officers found two shotguns, another handgun, and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Dyer said Lechuga admitted to making threats against FAB because he was upset about social media posts that were made about his girlfriend’s mother (from June 8th incident).

Read more: FAB Fresno faces turbulent pride month

Happy Pride month! What’s not to like about a parade and festival? It is so fabulous watching the long procession of near naked men dancing on colorful decorated floats; seeing those that serve in public office, the military, and in law enforcement, marching side by side as one of us! Pride celebrations are festivals of great music, great food, and endless exhibitors. Yes, we do know how to throw a parade and party, party, party! But Gay Pride is not just about the party now is it?

I’ve seen so much progress for the gay community in my lifetime. I see our youth today, so young and so open about their sexuality and it makes me smile. For the first time in history, we have an openly gay man, Pete Buttigieg (not counting Abraham Lincoln!) making a serious bid for the White House. But none of that just happened. We fought for all of it!

Unfortunately, the fight is long from over. Just in the last two years, the United States has taken tremendous steps backwards in leveling equality for the LGBTQ community. We have seen the rights of our Trans brothers and sisters be reduced to almost no rights at all, especially those in the military defending our country. The anti-LGBTQ evangelical leaders and the GOP are becoming more brazen, more despicable and more venomous in their mission to diminish our rights to health care, adoptions, and marriage equality. Leaders are quietly planning and plotting out years into the future, placing hostile judges on the courts that will go directly to removing our rights before we could ever even see it coming.

Read more: It’s Not Just About a Parade

Annual ? Pride Month ?FREE Raffle

Over $2,000 in prizes!!!

To enter, click here and fill out a quick entry form. No cost and no purchase necessary!  You can enter daily, but the contest ends July 4th, so hurry!

Special Thanks to our Sponsors

Contest Prizes

Official Rules

With pride here and in full force, there are several different celebrations going on everywhere for everyone of all age groups. Visalia Pride kicked it off this year, and Fresno Pride follows next. There are many other local events and functions to attend, places to explore and things to learn about like the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, as well as all of our local LGBTQ+ organizations. Many people will often go out to the clubs to celebrate, party and dance the night away. Some will attend local events like Drag Story Hour with Leilani Price and friends where the kids get to see, interact and chat with them, as well as take pictures, play games and munch on snacks all while being able to sit and listen to children’s books being read to them. There are also events like Drag Bingo every other month at the Cellar Door, ART HOP events centralized around the LGBTQ+ community monthly in Downtown Fresno and Tower District, as well as Fresno Drag Festival (October 5th and 6th 2019) that have different strokes for different folks.

One thing is certain, that when attending shows that feature these Drag Queens, Drag Kings and all LGBTQ+ entertainers in between, keep in mind that a lot of work and effort was put into a performance to entertain people. It takes an average of 3 hours for some local entertainers to get ready at times. In those 3 hours a person transforms their entire face to a work of art, shapes their body, gets dressed in clothing, accessorizes, and their hair (for some styles can take over a week to make), time to coordinate and detail their outfit(s) from head to toe, as well as hard earned money that is used to put back into their craft. Many people these days are learning more about the world of drag, some have started getting into drag recently thanks to shows like Rupaul’s Drag Race and Dragula, not to mention annual events like DragCon, and Austin International Drag Fest. Regardless of how big or little, how popular or unknown, how amateur or experienced an entertainer is if you enjoy watching them perform, if you smile while they perform, if you sing along to their number, if you catch yourself thinking during their number about what they are doing on stage, it is imperative that you show them your appreciation by cheering them on and paying attention, support them by buying their merch, tipping them on their electronic account like PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, etc., or even cash tips will do.

Read more: Drag Show Etiquette: Celebrating Pride With Drag Entertainers

June 1st—only about a week away— marks the 29th annual Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade and Festival, celebrating the Central Valley’s LGBTQ community. Last year’s attendance broke records and, this year, the community hopes to continue the trend with the theme: “2GETHER.”

One of the organizations taking part in the parade and festival this year is LGBT Fresno, formerly known as Gay Fresno. I recently had a chance to sit down with Jason Scott, the organization’s division leader, and Andrea, the volunteer coordinator, to get some more info about the event and ask why people— whether or not they identify as LGBTQ— should attend and volunteer.

The festivities are reason enough; nestled into Fresno’s hip-but-ancient Tower District, there will be food, entertainers, and raffles for bags full of items given to LGBT Fresno by their sponsors. Bobby Salazar’s, a much-loved Mexican food chain in the Fresno area, has donated two brunch tickets as a part of the raffle. The proceeds from those raffles go straight to funding LGBT Fresno’s various community services. The parade, itself, promises to be as colorful and fun as ever and, due to the yearly increase in attendance, some national organizations are starting to pitch in.

“Free Mom Hugs,” started by Sara Cunningham in Oklahoma in 2015, is a stand-out example. Sara was a devout Christian who, after her son came out as gay, reconciled her faith and her son’s sexuality. It was a long process, but as she said in an interview with Indianwomenblog.org: “there’s no rule that one can’t be gay and practice their faith at the same time.”

Unfortunately, her response was far from typical, especially in religious communities. Many families distance themselves from LGBTQ relatives, some parents going so far as to disown their own children. Noticing the trend, Sara’s organization dedicated itself to filling in for those unloving families by giving members of the LGBTQ community the unconditional familial love they deserve. These days, she sometimes stands in as a mother in weddings, if requested.

But, coming out to Pride doesn’t have to be a big political statement, nor does it require any baring of the soul. In fact, when I asked Jason what he liked best about Pride, he summed it up in two words:
“The lightheartedness.”

According to him, all you have to do is show up, have a good time, and hang out with people. It’s a family-friendly event, too. More and more families are joining the party, and there’s even been an increase of gay and lesbian couples arriving with their children in tow. Jason, himself, is among them. As a result, the organizers will be opening a kid’s area at Pride, complete with bounce houses.

Still, some non-LGBTQ people, regardless of their opinions of the community, can be reluctant to attend Pride events, worrying that the event isn’t “for” them or that members might be hostile towards those outside of the community. Luckily, Jason and Andrea weren’t the only members of LGBT Fresno I talked to. Johnnie Ann Huffman, a straight ally who’s been with LGBT Fresno for years, had her own pitch:
“This is not a political straight people suck parade,” she said. “This is a pride parade and a family event. You see whole families here. Mom and dad and kids and even their grandkids. It’s been made as inclusive as it can be, it’s meant to be welcoming. Everyone’s invited.”

Sure enough, that inviting atmosphere radiated through the restaurant where we had our meeting. But, there was one last topic to cover: even those in Fresno who support the LGBTQ community can be reluctant to make it out for Pride. They’d rather wait ‘til the end of the month and drive north to the bigger party, up in San Francisco. According to Jason, they avoid Fresno’s Pride Parade thinking it’s the same every year. It isn’t, of course; it’s been steadily growing.

To Jason, however, there’s a bigger issue at stake. He says that if no-one comes out to support the local community, it makes it easier to marginalize LGBTQ people: “A politican will look at an event, see how big it is. If they don’t see anyone, they won’t take us seriously or worry about our best interests, because they see us as a small group not worth their time.”

Johnnie, too, had something to say about the matter. She noted that most people know someone who is LGBTQ, even if they aren’t aware of it. And, for them, seeing someone they might not have known was an ally is like being stranded in a battlefield and suddenly finding someone who’s willing to fight alongside you. It makes them feel loved and supported.

“If you know one person who is LGBT, you should be here,” she said. “Don’t quietly support from your couch. Come out and show the community that you’re with them.”

Fresno’s Pride Parade and Festival will be in the Tower District, this year, and starts at 10am on Saturday, June 1st. The Parade is free, and the festival will only run you $5. If you want to do a little more, LGBT Fresno is looking for volunteers for the event. It’s a great way to meet the community and have an excuse to hang around Tower while helping a good cause. If you’re interested, please email Andrea at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About the Author:
Connor D. Johnson (C.J. Wilson) is a freelance writer specializing in journalism, game writing, and non-profit/advocacy work. He’s also a fantasy/sci-fi writer. You can contact him or find more examples of his work at his website, [here].