City’s 1st Gay Pride Festival Is All Hue, Little Outcry

It wasn’t the mist hanging in the air that brought out the rainbows Saturday afternoon at San Buenaventura Beach.

It was the Gay and Lesbian Community Center that decorated the beach with the nationally recognized symbol of gay pride in honor of Ventura’s first Gay and Lesbian Pride Festival.

The event drew about 300 people and featured music by local bands, a barbecue, 13 booths selling memorabilia and a proclamation and brief address by Mayor Jim Friedman.

Betty Jetter, 67, drove from Pasadena to join two friends she had met in an Internet chat room.

She wore a bright purple shirt that said, “Outrageous Older Woman.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve bought any lesbian trinkets,” she said. “If I can find another shirt like this one, I’ll buy it.”

Although there were no shirts at the many booths flying the ubiquitous rainbow flag, there was an assortment of gay-themed and other paraphernalia.

Many festival participants poked their heads into booths selling goods and services like Tarot card readings, “every gay movie in print” and designer sunglasses at cheap prices. The majority of the laid-back crowd hung out on the grass and listened to music or drank beer in a fenced area.

Monique Wheeler and Marky Montgomery held hands and wandered through a booth selling gay flags, stickers and day organizers. Montgomery, who wore a rainbow necklace declaring her love for Wheeler said, “She had never been to one of these and wanted to come and see what it would be like.”

“I wanted to see other gay people,” Wheeler said. “You see rainbows on cars, but you don’t see couples holding hands. It’s nice to see it.”

Edie Brown, an enthusiastic woman wearing a black security shirt, said she was pleased with the turnout, considering the gray, hazy weather. “I’m pleased we had so many come to show their commitment and support,” she said.

Although the festival was the first in Ventura, it was not the first in the county. Simi Valley held its second annual gay pride event in May, which attracted close to 3,000 people.

That event drew protest from local religious groups, but Saturday’s crowd saw only one man holding a sign in opposition. While the mayor and three council members addressed the smattering of a crowd, he held a sign that read, “God Created Adam and Eve, Not Adam and Steve. Why Are You Proud?”

Security officials provided by the Gay and Lesbian Community Center said there was an area near the entrance set up for protesters, but the man refused to stay within the area. He was the only protester.

Friedman read a proclamation encouraging everyone to “practice tolerance and acceptance on an ongoing basis.”

City Council members Donna De Paola, Sandy Smith and Brian Brennan also attended the festival.

“It’s the duty of the mayor to give proclamations to those who request them,” Friedman said. “I don’t think it’s the mayor’s place to judge another human being. My personal philosophy is that as long as they aren’t hurting me they should be able to live freely.”

Carla Gatlin, a Ventura resident, said the festival was exactly what she had been looking for. “I just wanted to check out the first festival in Ventura,” she said while feeding her partner’s 2-year-old daughter, whom she adopted Friday. “It’s nice to see Ventura taking this step, because it has been a very closeted community.”