Santa Barbara Celebrates Pacific Pride Festival as Foundation Marks 50 Years
Ryder Christ
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Thousands gathered at Chase Palm Park on Saturday for the annual Pacific Pride Festival, a day filled with music, food, performances and a strong message of community and inclusion. This year’s celebration also honored the Pacific Pride Foundation, which is marking its 50th anniversary of serving the Central Coast LGBTQ+ community.
The festival featured live entertainment across multiple stages, including Santa Barbara’s own DJ Darla Bea, drag performer Vivian Storm, and a headline performance by Jessica Wild from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The Santa Barbara Gay Men’s Chorus performed a set that included “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” a nod to LGBTQ+ history and culture.
Despite humid weather along the waterfront, attendees were in high spirits, many describing the event as a much-needed moment of joy. “It means everything to me to see this community come together,” Storm said. “After all of the devastation that is happening around the world, I think we can use a little joy, and seeing our community come together today has been just that.”
Beyond the entertainment, the day emphasized unity across differences. “We have people with different political backgrounds, agree to disagree and just love one another, regardless of what side you’re on,” said event volunteer Amadeus DeVinus. “Left wing, right wing — it flies the same bird, you know?”
This year’s theme, Rooted in Pride: Embracing Our Past – Empowering Our Future, reflected on the foundation’s five decades of advocacy, support services and community building.
For many, the day was about more than music and celebration. “I get this overwhelming feeling of being full for the first time in a long time,” Storm added. “Full in terms of joy, in terms of happiness, in terms of being seen and being heard. I also feel the love that many of us do not feel on a daily basis. It is all right here in this space in Santa Barbara.”