A Roundup of Santa Barbara Pride Festivals

A Roundup of
Santa Barbara Pride Festivals

From SBCC to SYV

By Callie Fausey | June 4, 2026

Read more from our Santa Barbara County Pride cover story here.

Pacific Pride Foundation 

For more than 50 years, the Pacific Pride Foundation has supported the queer community in Santa Barbara County. Begun in 1976 as a Drug and Alcohol Abuse Counseling and Referral center for gay men and lesbians, it has since evolved into the foremost resource for the LGBTQ community, and for everyone living with HIV/AIDS on the Central Coast.

Over time, it has become a place for queer connection and celebration, including an annual festival in August. This year, the theme is “Out, Proud, and Unstoppable,” said Executive Director Julio C. Roman.

Last year’s theme, he said, was “Embracing Our Past and Empowering Our Future,” but as attacks on the LGBTQ community began to grow and the current administration in Washington turned away from supporting gay rights, the organization decided to celebrate their resilience. “We are unstoppable when we act collectively,” Roman said. “When our voices become waves, we move together.”

Festivities will highlight activists from all over California — with written-word pieces, drag show performances, and musical showcases. Businesses and nonprofits will provide information and resources, including free STD screenings.

Historically, Pacific Pride has funded the festival on its own, but a loss of state and federal funding has pushed them to turn to the community for support — whether that’s donating money, volunteering, or lending expertise. They want to keep the festival totally free — as few in California are — for the individuals and families who want to celebrate.

The Pacific Pride Festival will be held at Chase Palm Park on August 22, 2026 (the group organizes it in August to not compete with neighboring city celebrations in June). Learn more about the festival and Pacific Pride’s other pride events at pacificpridefoundation.org. 

Santa Ynez Valley Pride

Santa Ynez Valley Pride Parade and Festival is entering its fifth year with the theme “Pride in Action.”

Lauren Lastra is board president of Santa Ynez Valley (S.Y.V.) Pride, the first and only nonprofit dedicated to the queer community in the valley. “Pride is resistance, love, joy,” she said. “Looking at it through that lens is our anchor for this year.”

Santa Ynez Valley has experienced a wave of hate crimes and anti-LGBTQ sentiments over the past few years — pride flag burnings, rainbow crosswalks being painted over, and the Solvang City Council rejecting a proposal to hang rainbow banners around the town. Adding insult to injury, after rejecting the flags, a city councilmember referred to LGBTQ community members as “clowns” and “losers.”

As a result, S.Y.V. Pride has stepped up security, including partnering with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office to make sure the event is safe. “It just takes one bad seed to make people feel unsafe,” Boardmember Kevin Cabaniss said. “The political climate is very fiery, and S.Y.V. is just one small community, but there’s a big fire burning across the nation right now.” 

Festivities during S.Y.V. Pride’s parade and festival are meant to help extinguish those flames, at least locally. The community-focused, family-friendly event is completely volunteer-run, fueled by “heartfelt commitment,” Lastra said. Each year it continues to grow, connecting locals and visitors through live music, fun activities, food trucks, and vendors. Community members are also encouraged to reach out to the organization if they want to march in the parade.

“Hate is taught, and it can be untaught,” Lastra said. “But we’ve been resilient, remained community-oriented, and stayed focused on our mission: to provide a safe, supportive, and empowering home for the LGBTQ community in the Santa Ynez Valley.”

Cabaniss said he got involved in S.Y.V. Pride wishing he had something like it when he was also attending high school in a small rural community.

“I do think about those kids for whom maybe this is their first Pride, and it paves the way for them to feel like they are welcomed in the community that they grow up in,” he said.

The fifth annual Santa Ynez Valley Pride Parade & Festival returns on Saturday, June 13, in Solvang. The celebration kicks off with the parade from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. along Copenhagen Drive, followed by the festival from 12-4 p.m. at Solvang Park.

Pride on the Page

For Santa Barbara’s proud bookworms, Pride on the Page will be returning for its second year to showcase “Santa Barbara’s queer literary community,” organized by three friends: Michaela McGinnis, Patricia Fancher, and Celina Garcia.

Intending to uplift queer voices and stories, there will be a gathering of authors, poets, and storytellers, including Michelle Petty, Joshua Escobar, MT Vallarta, Solange Aguilar, and other established and young writers.

“I spend a lot of my time reading and listening to queer stories online or in print,” said Francher, who teaches writing at UC Santa Barbara. “These make me feel closer to the authors, but I still am left feeling distant from the community. I wanted to gather in person. We have so many talented authors and poets, from every walk of life. It’s been exciting to see the line up come together with so many different stories to share.”

The showcase will be held on June 11 at Seven Bar (235 W. Montecito St.) on the back patio, 6-9 p.m. The event is open to anyone age 21 and older. Donations of $5-$20 will go directly to the performers.

Santa Barbara City College Pride

Santa Barbara City College has long celebrated pride in a variety of ways — such as an annual pride flag raising — but this year, the school held its inaugural pride festival in April since the semester ends in June.

It was a complete success, with more than 300 attendees. Drag queens and an all-queer mariachi group from Los Angeles performed, many organizations offered information, and even “the weather understood the assignment,” said Selena Martinez, the student program advisor for SBCC’s Pride Program. With such an incredible turnout, they “absolutely want to do it again next year,” and make it “even bigger,” she said.

“A lot of what I hear from students is that they don’t know what’s happening around town, and they feel lonely, so this was an opportunity to connect them to campus groups and programs,” including a queer hangout group on campus, said Martinez.

Drag queen Melina Poinsettia, who graduated from SBCC, said performing at the first festival was a “full-circle moment.” Poinsettia was born and raised in Santa Barbara and didn’t see much LGBTQ representation growing up. “But we keep each other alive and going,” she said.

“There’s not many of us [drag queens] here, but the ones that are here, you know, we are in the community making a difference,” Poinsettia said. “We’re providing a service of joy to people, especially with this whole presidential administration and things going crazy right now in the world.”

Read more from our Santa Barbara County Pride cover story here.