Fresno drag festival goes on despite threats, Proud Boys outside its church venue
A drag festival featuring a cadre of performers in wild makeup and gowns went on as planned Saturday at a central Fresno church, despite threats against organizers and a small but vocal clutch of protesters denouncing the event.
The Fresno Drag Festival, billed as a “family friendly event” at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, attracted about 100 ticket-holders for singing and dancing by a variety of performers.
“Inside, it’s going amazing. People are having a good time, people are enjoying the performances,” said Isabella Ramos, the festival’s organizer. “We just got done finishing up a meet-and-greet with the queens.”
Protesters including members of the Proud Boys gathered on the sidewalks near the church denouncing the performances and jeering supporters of the event. Some held signs espousing Bible verses or likening the drag culture to the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And while the confrontation was at times loud and boisterous, police on hand to monitor the situation said it did not devolve into physical altercations.
“It’s unfortunate. What (the protesters) promote is Jesus’ love, but what we’ve seen today is not love,” Ramos said. “I don’t want to engage with people who only spew hate. For us here it’s love and light, providing a safe place for our children.”
Inside the fence line, volunteers wielded large umbrellas to shield the drag performers from view of the street as they made their way from a staging area to the church hall where they were to perform. But the protests did not disrupt the event.
Several recent high-profile acts of violence against the LGBTQ community — including a mass shooting last month at a Colorado nightclub that killed five people and injured 19 others — prompted extra caution by Ramos and other organizers for the Fresno event.
In addition to the highly visible presence of Fresno police officers on the streets adjacent to the church, armed security guards circulated on the church grounds.
Ramos, who is straight, said the festival is important to her because of her connection with her gay daughter. “When my daughter came out to me, I knew I had failed at some point because she was already older and didn’t come out when she was younger,” she said. “I felt like I needed to provide a safe space for her, to just listen to her and support her.”
That, she added, is why she promotes the festival as a safe and supportive place for the gay and transgender community. “I would rather stand up for my daughter than have to visit her at a graveyard,” Ramos said.
Ramos organized the first Fresno Drag Festival in 2018. The event was first held at the Fresno Fairgrounds, and then at the Piccadilly Inn Airport. The coronavirus pandemic sidelined the festival in 2020, but it returned in 2021 at the Lutheran church on North Fruit Avenue. This is the second year the festival was held at the church.
This story was originally published December 10, 2022 at 3:55 PM.
