Over the course of multiple meetings in February and March of 2023, the Huntington Beach City enacted a ban on Pride Flags being displayed by the city government in any capacity. In response, a small group of us worked together to organize a reactionary Pride event in HB on May 21st, 2023, the city’s first. We raised funds to create the largest homemade Progress Pride flag in California (33' x 24'!) and marched to the end of the pier to display it there for over an hour.

Our organization has since expanded from a reactionary event to become something greater and more collective. We realized on that day that the need for collective action and connection in the queer community was greater than was being met, and began our journey to where we are today.

Our non-partisan mission at Pride at the Pier is to educate, connect, and empower the LGBTQ community to get involved involved in local politics and civic systems. There’s close to 4 million people living and working in Orange County, and according to the last U.S. Census, over 385,000 of us are LGBTQ - and yet it doesn’t feel that way. Pride at the Pier is working to build a future where LGBTQ folks aren’t political prey, but a voting bloc.

We see the fear and bigotry that is plaguing our region, and the lack of safety queer folks feel here, and we are working together to change that through coalition building, education and empowerment, and intersectional community conversation. Orange County queer folks deserve to feel safe, respected, and valued both in their neighborhoods and in their city council meetings, and that’s what we are here to change.