Festival brings Pride to South Bay

South Bay Pride is like a piña colada. The local art and music represent the white rum and coconut cream and the community becomes the pineapple juice, the ingredient that gives it its flavor.

The celebration took place at Chula Vista’s Bayfront Park on Sept. 9, one day after Chula Vista city hall commemorated LGBTQIA Day.

“South Bay Pride is to show that there is a community here, it’s welcome and it has space,” said Leo O’Driscoll, youth partner for Our Safe Place.

Turnout increased from 200 in its original 2007 run as the South Bay Alliance’s “Gay Day in South Bay,” to 7,000 at this year’s celebration. This is smaller than San Diego Pride’s 300,000 on a single day, but shows the South Bay’s growing representation.

Rick-Arlo Yahlira, community and civic leader for San Diego Pride, said he believed it was important to have Pride celebrations.

“Although San Diego Pride is great to have in the city, I think it’s important to have visibility in every single place in San Diego,” Yahlira said. “Having this pride festival is really important for a lot of people to feel that they belong.”

South Bay Pride is not as a separate being, but a branch of the movement to give a platform for the underrepresented to have a voice. Festivities kicked off at noon and gave the community a chance for residents to experience a normalized celebration of everything LGBTQIA. Vendors throughout the festival lead to the main stage, where local performers showcased their talents.

Attendees showed up with glitter lining their cheeks, flowers in their hair and most notably, political statements across their shirts. Many shirts blasting President Trump were accompanied by rainbow lanyards and buttons with various Pride flags.

Along with art and music, the festival was a way to shed light on programs that help the community. Our Safe Places collaborates with San Diego Youth Services and the YMCA of San Diego County to create safe places for LGBTQIA youth support for alcohol and drug abuse, family relationships, transitioning and resume writing. The facility also offers fun activities for the youth aside from the support.

Leo O’Driscoll, youth partner for Our Safe Places, said seeing LGBTQIA acceptance from the community was one of the most fulfilling parts of his job.

“We’ve had a bunch of parents and caregivers who have their youth attend the program and they have been really instrumental in spreading the word about the program and helping to build and guide it,” O’Driscoll said.

Given the increased spotlight on the LGBTQIA community, which has historically been targeted by violence, heightened police presence patrolled the event. Though some protest the presence of police officers in this context, the protection could represent a shift in inclusivity.

Together with Stonewall Citizens Patrol, the event felt like a safe space.

Sean  Redmond, executive director of Stonewall Citizens Patrol, is a retired from the Air Force and a gay man. Redmond said growing up in rural Washington gave him an appreciation for the importance of community. After the Air Force, he was led to a life of activism. Redmond assisted a former colleague that worked for the Pentagon to help rewrite “don’t ask don’t tell” for the Air Force branch after its repeal.

The Stonewall Citizens Patrol calls itself a “neighborhood watch,” which focuses on three main objectives: Patrol, educate and raise awareness. They mainly cover northern San Diego neighborhoods like Hillcrest, North Park, University Heights, Normal Heights and Banker’s Hill, but that does not mean that they could not show their support for South Bay Pride.

“A community is their community is our community which is everybody’s community,” Redmond said.

It also rings true to allies in the community. Redmond said people that identify as straight have approached him.

“They’re here for multiple purposes,” Redmond said. “They’re here to share their resources. They’re here to share the services they provide to a community.”

Although the night passed, the celebration still goes on all year round. We can only look forward to the drink packing a larger punch, with an even more colorful umbrella.