Orange County Pride Expanding Their Horizons - and Their Reach

Orange County Pride is back and poised for a major expansion, thanks to its new president, Zackery Glass. The festival, themed "Color Our World With Pride," will take place for the fourth consecutive year in downtown Santa Ana on Saturday, August 1.

For the first time, official O.C. Pride-related events will be extended beyond its previous geographical limits, as well as from one day to an entire week, Monday, July 27 through Sunday, August 2.

"Personally, I'm most excited about changing the format of the festival to make it more immersive and use more of downtown Santa Ana," Glass told me in a recent interview. "It's a step toward expansion and hopefully offering a parade next year. That's the goal."

Some in the community have been critical of the lack of an annual Pride Parade in Orange County. Expense, especially since the O.C. Pride Festival is presented free of charge to participants and space restrictions are the main obstacles. Glass, who became president after serving as director of programming last year and with several years as a volunteer, is working hard to overcome those obstacles.

"I'm really excited because for the first time, we have events going on throughout Orange County and beyond Santa Ana," he said. "I really want to extend O.C. Pride's reach to all of Orange County."

Glass admitted to a bumpy transition in assuming leadership. "It has been a challenge. We officially went out on our own this year as a separate organization. That whole process was something I didn't expect, but we got our 501(c)3 a few weeks ago and things are now going really well."

O.C. Pride annually partners with local LGBT and LGBT-friendly establishments, to promote events that spotlight various segments of the LGBT community, in an effort to increase visibility for each group. All events are open to everyone and are an opportunity for any person, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, to embrace one another. Youth and family-friendly activities will continue to be the highlight of the Pride Festival on Saturday, August 1, in downtown Santa Ana, which will open at noon and run until 10 p.m.

This year's exciting Main Stage performers, sponsored by the Yost Theater, will include "American Idol" alumni Frenchie Davis and David Hernandez, Lunden Reign, Katja Glieson and powerhouse singer Thea Austin, best known for her vocal contributions to such dance classics as "(I've Got) The Power" and "Rhythm is a Dancer." Several renowned DJs will be spinning all day in the festival Dance Tent and special speakers on a variety of LGBT topics will appear as part of the 2015 Rainbow Symposium.

Also, the annual Kids' Club will run from noon to 5 p.m. and includes a treasure hunt, cupcake walk and other fun activities for O.C. Pride's youngest attendees.

President Glass made a special recruitment pitch before ending our conversation. "If anyone is happy with the direction of O.C. Pride and this year's event," he said, "We'd love to have them volunteer with us and be part of our planning committee!" Potential volunteers can express interest via the website.

HERE IS THE CURRENT LIST OF EVENTS FOR THE "FIRST-EVER" O.C. PRIDE WEEK:

�MONDAY, JULY 27
Kickoff Party at Tin Lizzie Saloon in Costa Mesa

�TUESDAY, JULY 28
Lesbian Pride Night at Original Mike's in Santa Ana

�WEDNESDAY, JULY 29
Bisexual Pride Night at El Calor in Anaheim

�THURSDAY, JULY 30
Transgender Pride at The Center on 4th in Santa Ana
Transgender Pride Night at The Frat House inGarden Grove

�FRIDAY, JULY 31
Gay Pride Night at WTF Fridays at Shark Club in Costa Mesa

�SATURDAY, AUGUST 1
O.C. Pride Festival in Downtown Santa Ana
Rainbow Pride Party at Velvet Lounge in Santa Ana

�SUNDAY, AUGUST 2
Beach Party at West Street Beach
Closing Party at Main Street Bar in Laguna Beach

Ii>For additional information and updates on all events, visit prideoc.com