Downtown Half Moon Bay fills with pride

Half Moon Bay Pride, a fun-filled celebration that included a parade, performances, vendors, informational booths and plenty of joy and allyship filled downtown on Sunday, June 22. Crowds of people flowed into the small city to find two blocks of Kelly Avenue lined with booths and rainbow colors all along Main Street.

“People need to connect and celebrate pride. We live in such a nurturing community,” Barbara Dye, president of Coastside Democrats, said, noting that her group displayed only positive signs and would not engage in attacks on others. 

The event, which was organized by CoastPride with sponsorship from many local businesses, officially kicked off at 11 a.m., with the parade commencing shortly after noon.

Numerous local elected officials joined the Democratic contingent in the parade, including U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo, state Sen. Josh Becker, San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller, Mayor Robert Brownstone, members of city council, and college trustee Lisa Petrides.  

“When things are difficult, we show up for each other,” said Brownstone. “It’s tough times for a lot of people, no matter their identity.” Brownstone went on to explain how to be an ally to the queer community. “It’s easy to check in. We can do it for each other and we can do it more often.” 

Brownstone praised the charm of a small-town pride event. “It’s so intimate in Half Moon Bay. It’s always nice to see your neighbors at events like this.” The mayor encouraged everyone to participate and make positive contributions to their community.  “Democracy is only as strong as its weakest link,” he said.

“Regardless of what’s going on in the world, it’s important to find joy and strength in the Coastside community,” Liccardo said. “What’s unique about the Coastside comes out in places like this.”

After marching in the parade, Becker occupied a booth on Kelly. He emphasized the value of leadership that supports everyone in the community, especially “with a president whose goal is to create division.” 

After the parade, performers entertained the crowd from the stage on Mac Dutra Plaza. The line-up included drumming by Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS), drag numbers, a band covering songs by singer Chappell Roan, a DJ and more. 

“Spreading and sharing joy is the goal,” said Xochi Batlle, a volunteer and performer at the event. “Joy is an act of resistance. It’s about not letting the political climate and fear influence us.”

Batlle said that a big goal was to make the event a family-centered celebration that appeals to local youth who might not be able to make it to larger pride events out of town. 

“A while ago, I didn’t even know we had a queer community in town,” Antje Hipkins, a CoastPride volunteer, said to emphasize the goal of supporting the local community. “We need to stand together in unity. Events like this help bring together young local members of the LGBTQ+ community like myself.”

Basa Pielert, a CoastPride board member, emphasized the importance of creating a safe space at the event. “We have to create a seal of joy where all the haters are sealed out.” Prior to the event, a group of CoastPride volunteers attended a workshop on nonviolent de-escalation so they could, as Mimir Castro put it, “ focus on happiness and not on people who misunderstand.” 

With assistance from the San Mateo Sheriff’s Office and other pride organizations, the volunteers succeeded in making this year's pride event safe for all. 

Nicolas Gonzalez, a vendor attending his first Half Moon Bay Pride, attracted a long line of customers by offering free screen printings for anyone who brought a T-shirt or other materials to the booth. Gonzalez described the current political climate as “crazy, wild, bananas” but said they won’t give up at a time like this. “This is my art so I won’t let anyone stop me. If people spread fear, we just got to stand together strong,” Gonzalez said while screen printing “Together We Rise. Juntes Crecemos” onto fabric.

Hipkins said organizers wanted to expand the scope of the event by bringing in new vendors like Gonzalez. Three of the vendors who participated for the first time came from Oakland and are members of the Quartz Pride Market that takes place there every month. “I’m grateful an event like this exists in this town and is growing,” said Sab of Blush Spice. Sab’s partner, Rizza of Gems by TSG, a co-founder of Quartz Pride Market, also said they were overjoyed to be part of the event. 

Lilith Spillz, another Quartz Pride Market co-founder, was selling fetish fashion from recycled rubber. Spillz said the current political climate would not stop them from showing up. “I’m very out, so it wouldn’t stop me from coming.” 

The Coastside Pride Chorus returned to the event with a booth for the second year. Artistic Director John Lehrack invited people to sign up and join. “We currently have 20 members, which includes some allies,” Lehrack said. The musical group is all about spreading awareness. The theme of their last concert was resistance through art. “At times like this, people are the last stand. So people should come sing with us.” Lehrack said.

Chris Thibodeaux from San Mateo County Health strolled around Kelly Avenue talking to people about gender and its many nuances. “My two goals are to let people know about our services, which include aiding non-gender conforming people receive health care, and to educate curious people about gender through the gender unicorn,” Thibodeax said while passing out flyers and explaining his gender unicorn chart. Thibodeaux encourages all who need assistance from the gender clinic to reach out to him at (650) 573-2521. 

Two drag queens, Nia Politin and Jubilee, said they were overjoyed to have been hired by CoastPride this year. “Pride gigs are great because it’s super open, meaning people of all ages can attend and no one has to stand in a bar for three hours,” said Jubilee. 

The two did share concerns about performing in public, knowing drag queens make for big targets. But Jubilee likes to remind themself that “being loud and obvious is the whole point of drag.” 

“Everyone has done drag at one point in their lives,” Nia Politin added. “It’s all about putting yourself out there and giving yourself that power.” The drag queen duo emphasized that it’ important for the queer community to see who comes to pride events and, in Nia Politin's words, “put their money where their mouth is.”

Mimir Castro made a point to remind everyone that “Pride is one month a year. CoastPride is still around the other 11.”