Santa Barbara Raises City’s First Pride Flag, Kicks Off Pride Week

For the first time in the city's history, a rainbow flag is flying above De la Guerra Plaza, outside Santa Barbara City Hall — and for many who gathered beneath it Monday morning, the sight was hard to put into words.

City leaders, LGBTQ+ residents, allies and longtime activists stood together in the plaza, looking up as the flag caught the breeze over one of Santa Barbara's most historic public spaces. The moment marked the official kickoff of Santa Barbara's Pride Week, culminating in Saturday's Pacific Pride Festival at Chase Palm Park, as the Noozhawk reported.

City Administrator Kelly McAdoo called the moment "truly an honor — for me personally, also for the city."

"This moment reflects years of advocacy, partnership and commitment with so many individuals and organizations who have worked tirelessly to ensure Santa Barbara is a place where everyone feels valued and safe," McAdoo said.

That framing — years in the making — was echoed by many in the crowd. While Pride celebrations have long been part of the South Coast's summer calendar, this was the first time the Pride flag has flown over Santa Barbara's City Hall, a milestone that advocates said carries weight well beyond symbolism.

"More Than Color and Fabric"

Julio Roman, executive director of the Pacific Pride Foundation, said this year's Pride Week theme — "Out, Proud and Unstoppable" — speaks to the continuing effort to build communities where people can live openly as themselves, a point he made with direct reference to current efforts to roll back transgender rights around the country.

"This is why more than ever, this flag-raising means so much," Roman said. "Because this flag is more than color and fabric. Today, flying over our city has become a statement and a symbol. You belong here. You are valued here, and your story is a part of Santa Barbara's story."

For Deja Hartley, director of programs for the Pacific Pride Foundation, the significance was especially personal. She said she hopes the flag makes every LGBTQ+ person — particularly young people — feel that their lives and futures matter, and that they are woven into the fabric of the community.

"Today, we didn't just raise a flag; we raised visibility, we raised hope and we raised the standard for what belonging can look like in Santa Barbara," Hartley said.

"Thank you for making history with us today," she added. "Happy Pride, and let's keep moving forward out, proudly and unstoppable."

A Full Week of Events

The flag-raising opened a packed calendar of Pride programming across the city, running through the weekend.

On Tuesday, the Marjorie Luke Theater hosts a screening of the award-winning documentary "50 Years of Fabulous: The Story of the Imperial Council," followed by a panel discussion from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The film traces the Imperial Council's growth from a San Francisco organization creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people into a nationwide force for advocacy and fundraising. The Santa Barbara Gay Men's Chorus opens the show, and the post-screening discussion features the film's producer, David Lassman — the 36th empress of San Francisco's Imperial Council — alongside representatives from the Pacific Pride Foundation. Tickets are $17.85 including online fees.

Wednesday brings the Sunset at the Canary, a free monthly LGBTQ+-friendly rooftop gathering at the Kimpton Canary Hotel with DJs and live performances, running from 6 to 8 p.m.

On Thursday at 7 p.m., the Santa Barbara Gay Men's Chorus takes the stage for Pride Cabaret at The New Vic Theater, 33 W. Victoria St., performing Broadway classics and ballads, with ticket sales supporting the chorus. (The event is listed as "Pride Cabernet" in some listings; the theater's Victoria Street address is confirmed.)

The Festival Takes Over Chase Palm Park

The week's centerpiece arrives Saturday, when the Pacific Pride Foundation hosts the Pacific Pride Festival at Chase Palm Park from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Vivian Storm serves as the official festival host, with Morgan McMichaels — known from "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" — joining as special guest host. Headliner Ada Vox, a former "American Idol" and "Queen of the Universe" contestant, performs on the main stage alongside live bands, DJs, drag entertainment and community performers.

A dedicated family-friendly stage rounds out the day with all-ages performances, sing-alongs, arts and crafts, and dance parties, making the festival one of the more inclusive community events on the city's summer calendar.

Closing With Blessings and Brunch

Pride Week winds down Sunday with two very different traditions. At 10 a.m., the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, at 1535 Santa Barbara St., holds an LGBTQ+-affirming service featuring a "glitter blessing" — a symbolic ritual affirming identity, diversity and self-worth, according to organizers.

Then, at Wildcat Lounge, the weekly Drag Glitter Bunch brunch show — hosted by Vivian Storm and Angel D'mon — closes out the week. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., the show begins at 12:45 p.m., and there's a $10 cover plus the cost of dining.

Back at De la Guerra Plaza, the flag will keep flying as the celebrations unfold — a first for Santa Barbara, and, as Roman put it, a message now visible from the heart of the city: you belong here.