What's at stake:
As LGBTQ+ communities face growing threats, many of Fresno’s religious groups continue to stand in solidarity, offering messages of love, support, and inclusion.
Jeffrey Robinson, who led and founded Fresno Rainbow Pride until his death in 2022, was instrumental in shaping the event into a cornerstone of Fresno’s LGBTQ+ community.
In its early years, the Pride event was held on the first Sunday of June. But that changed when local faith leaders approached Robinson with a request: They wanted to participate, but Sunday services made it impossible.
In response, Robinson moved the event to Saturday—a decision that made space for religious communities to stand in solidarity with LGBTQ+ people. That change stuck, and today, Fresno Pride continues to create space for a growing number of religious communities to take part each year.
This year’s annual celebration is gearing up for its 35th anniversary to honor LGBTQ+ communities and champion equality and inclusion for all. Fresno Pride is the third-largest parade and festival in California following San Francisco and Los Angeles.
This year’s theme, “Throwback to Stonewall,” pays tribute to the historic 1969 Stonewall Uprising—a series of events that happened at a predominantly gay bar in Manhattan, New York, that helped spark the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. The first Pride marches took place in several U.S. cities on June 28, 1970, marking the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.
Fresno Pride will take place on Saturday, June 7, in the lively Tower District, drawing crowds from across the region for a day filled with celebration, solidarity, and community connection.
Alongside the parade and festival, attendees can expect a variety of performances, informational booths, and opportunities to engage with local organizations supporting LGBTQ+ rights and wellbeing.
Bryan Esparza, president of Fresno Rainbow Pride, said 15 congregations will be in this year’s parade, the same number as last year and one more than the previous year.
Esparza said he’s seen a meaningful shift in how religious organizations engage with the LGBTQ+ community. As major denominations adopt more inclusive stances, including recent moves toward acceptance within the Catholic Church inspired by the late Pope Francis’ messages of welcome to LGBTQ+ people, attitudes within local congregations are beginning to shift as well.
“The local churches who are part of these bigger congregations, who are now more open, accepting and affirming of our community, feel that they have maybe more freedom to participate out,” said Esparaza. “The more people who are allies, who are maybe not necessarily, members of our community that show up to support that is super important to our community.”
Esparza noted that posts about Pride, whether in Fresno or elsewhere, often attract a wave of negativity on social media, especially in the comments sections of local news outlets and public pages. Despite that, he said it’s encouraging to see support coming not only from within the LGBTQ+ community but also from allies outside of it.
“It makes people in the community feel more supported, more appreciated, knowing that there’s a lot of people who support them, and it’s not all negativity,” said Esparza.
How local congregations are gearing up for Pride
Brian DiPalma, associate pastor at Willow Avenue Mennonite Church, said this will be the congregation’s third year participating in Pride. Their float will be decked out with “as much rainbow stuff as we can get on there,” including rainbow umbrellas, fabric draped over hay bales, and colorful lights.
The decision to participate in Pride, DiPalma said, follows closely on a larger congregational decision to welcome and affirm LGBTQ+ people in every possible way in the life of the church, whether through serving on commissions, preaching, or participating in community events like Pride.
DiPalma said the church aims to make a clear statement that it welcomes and affirms everyone—emphasizing that “all” means “all.”
He highlighted the urgency of this message in light of ongoing efforts to target LGBTQ+ communities through legislation, such as Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the case, some religious groups are seeking to opt their children out of exposure to books that feature LGBTQ+ people or themes, claiming their religious freedom is being violated because they are not given the option to remove their children from classrooms where such books may be included in the curriculum, even as nonmandatory supplemental materials.
“It’s clear that there are various movements that seek to oppress and discriminate against LGBTQ+ people,” said DiPalma. “And that’s not something that we as a church understand to be consistent with what it means to be followers of a God who is all about love. We think that love extends to and through everyone so it’s important for us to be out there and to be a witness to who we understand God to be.”
The church will also host an informational booth at the festival, offering details about the support services they provide for the LGBTQ+ community.
This includes details about a documentary screening on June 14 from 1 to 4 p.m., exploring the first appearance of the word “homosexual” in Biblical translation, followed by a panel discussion on its impact on LGBTQ+ communities.
They will also be handing out poppy seeds as part of an effort to promote more ecologically conscious living and encourage people to become better stewards of our watershed.
‘We don’t want to go down the fascist route’
Bill Knezovich, pastor of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, said his congregation has been involved in Pride since 2015—the same year they became a “Reconciling in Christ” congregation, a designation for Lutheran churches that openly affirm and welcome the LGBTQ+ community.
Each year, Knezovich’s congregation built floats for the parade. Their first one featured a banner of rainbow-colored hearts surrounding the cross of Christ serving as a joyful symbol of their commitment to welcoming the LGBTQ+ community.
Their most recent float, in 2023, displayed large images on their RV of the church’s windows, which had been smashed, possibly by vandals with ties to the Proud Boys hate group, earlier that year in retaliation for the congregation’s support of the LGBTQ+ community.
“Especially in the political climate right now, we don’t want to go down the fascist route, as some have done in the past,” said Knezovich. “We just want to make sure that everybody has a safe place, a voice, and can be who God created them to be, not what some sect or religious whatever wants them to be according to their interpretation of Scripture.”
After the vandalism, Knezovich said faith communities from across denominations—including Episcopal, United Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalist, Methodist, and other Protestant churches involved in Pride, were nothing but supportive.
“The pastors came and stood with us; they’re always there,” said Knezovich. “The one thing that we want to provide in our saviors, is a safe and affirming place for people, regardless of how they believe or regardless of who they are, because, from our perspective, that’s God’s mandate.”
The congregation now organizes Pride’s children’s area, featuring activities and entertainment that vary each year.
This year, kids can look forward to bounce houses and games with prizes. One activity that always stands out, Knezovich said, is bubble-blowing—a simple joy the children absolutely love.
Fresno Rainbow Pride
Where: Tower District, the streets will be closed for the event.
When: Saturday, June 7
- Parade: Starts at 10 a.m.
- Festival: Runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Parking & Transportation:
- Free parking at Fresno City College (FCC) with free shuttle to/from parade
- Recommended lots: B, C (closest), E, T, V
- Shuttle drop-off near fountain, off McKinley Ave
- Parade float drivers go to Palm & Olive; other participants park at FCC
Security:
- New bag policy for public attendees:
- 1 clear bag (max: 12″x6″x12″)
- 1 small non-clear bag (max: 4.5″x6.5″x2″)
- Bags for setup/booth items exempt, but subject to inspection
- Security checks:
- Metal detector wands at public entrances
- Increased campus police and private security
