By Barrett White
Deep in the hole of Texas.
That’s the slogan plastered across the bottom of the official poster for Texas Pride Online, a cooperative Pride event taking place on June 28, 2020. With COVID-19 cases surging in Texas following Governor Abbott’s bungling of the economic reopening and his overreach into local mask-order enforcement, many Prides are trying to figure out the safest way to celebrate. Some are rescheduling to later in the year, while others are going virtual. When Houston’s own Space Kiddettes (Trent Lira and Devin Will) learned of a virtual Pride being planned in Austin, the musical duo—already planning a similar event in Houston—offered to join forces and help to create a statewide event to serve the Lone Star State from the desert to the Gulf.
Curators of the digital event have thoughtfully gathered LGBTQ+ performers from eight Texas metros—Austin, Bryan-College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, San Antonio, and the region of West Texas. Artist bookings range from musical performances to spoken word, making for a queer goodie bag of “alternative” Pride.
The collab was made possible by bbatx (#bossbabesATX), ASHwell Sexual Health Clinic, Avita Pharmacy and Y2K Technologies. The Space Kiddettes, a fan favorite in the Houston queer music scene, curated the Houston lineup including Blackberri, Genesis Blu, and Chloe Crawford Ross.
“There’s something so uplifting and comforting about watching a virtual performance,” says Will. “Everyone is so emotionally exhausted with the state of the world that there’s a sense of comfort that comes from watching a virtual drag show that doesn’t require you to leave your home.”
Other performers include Dykes You Should Know (Austin), DJ Girlfriend (Austin), Sauvignon Blanca (Marfa), and Corpus Christi up-and-comer Quentin Arispe, who is fresh off of a recent Rolling Stone magazine photoshoot.
All curators and performers will be raising funds to donate to bailout funds, artist relief funds, Black queer and trans organizations, and more—beneficiaries include The House of Rebirth, Transform Houston, allgo, Austin Justice Coalition, and Montrose Grace Place.
“We picked Transform Houston because they really work in the realm of legislation,” says Lira of the Houston-based beneficiaries. “We really admire Monica Roberts [who works with Transform Houston] and wanted people to support the organization. Montrose Grace Place works closely with LGBTQ homeless youth in the city and the predominant population of homeless LGBTQ youth is Black—so we want to do our best to provide them funding and get their name out there.”
“It’s a very conscious effort,” Lira continues. “We want the focus to be on these organizations that we’re raising funds for.”
Texas Pride Online is scheduled to simulcast across Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and Vimeo. It is free to tune in, but there is an opportunity to participate and interact with entertainers providing commentary via Zoom with the purchase of a ticket.
For Zoom ticket sales and the full lineup of Texas Pride Online, please visit their official site. The official Facebook event can be found here.
