FORT BRAGG, CA., 6/14/26 — The Fort Bragg community showed up in force on a sunny Saturday to celebrate Pride Month, with a colorful Pride March stretching for several blocks through town. Three times larger than last year, the crowd responded to the City of Fort Bragg and several community organizations’ call to support efforts that ensure all members of the community can live openly, authentically and free from discrimination.
This was the second year of the event. Participants of all ages carried flags and signs with messages of support as they walked together in a celebration of diversity and inclusion.
Mendocino Coast Indivisible relocated its weekly Saturday rally from outside Fort Bragg Town Hall to the Pride event. Members joined the march, carrying signs in support of LGBTQ+ rights.
Organized by the Fort Bragg High School Spectrum Club and sponsored by the Mendocino County Safe Space Project, the march began in the heart of downtown Fort Bragg and concluded at recently upgraded Bainbridge Park. Spectrum is a club that aims to create a more inclusive and safe school environment for all students, specifically those in the LGBTQ+ community and their allies.
Maria Trombetta of Fort Bragg said she attended the event with her daughter. “We came here because it’s important. I feel, as a small town we need to have a real sense of community and a feeling of solidarity and courage and support people who in the past have been marginalized,” Trombetta said.
As a local Fort Bragg performance artist who uses the name “Emperor Phoenix” performed on his accordion, Fort Bragg’s Connie Webb sat on a bench nearby waiting for the march to begin. Webb said, “I am here as an ally. I believe in equal rights for everyone no matter what. That’s why I’m here in support of the gay pride and you know everyone has rights that should be protected.”
Phoenix paused playing as a Pride flag behind him rippled in the wind and said, “Everyone should have their rights, no one excluded.”
Ethan Zartman, vice president of Fort Bragg High School’s Spectrum Club, welcomed the marchers as they filed into Bainbridge Park. “I just want to say that I’m so happy with the turnout here today for the Pride event… This was really fun for all of us to put together and to see it show itself in this way. We are all ecstatic for how many people showed up.”
Spectrum Club member Madelyn Chan added, “Hopefully this event will garner more attention to the fact that a lot of people in this town are much more welcoming, and there’s no reason to hide who you are,” Chan said.
Chan explained that planning for the event began in April, with the safe space project securing the permits. “From there, club members coordinated events, invited performers, and we were all here decorating the site early in the morning,” Chan said.
Cynthia Coupé, co-founder of the Mendocino County Safe Space Project, said the students took the lead in planning the event, which featured lawn games, decorations and live music in addition to the march.
Rene Hohls of Cleone said she attended the parade to support the LGBTQ+ community and her daughter and stepdaughter, who are both queer. “I’m here because this community is part of our community… and I want to show my pride for my daughter and my stepdaughter,” she said. Hohls added she does not support the current administration, particularly policies she said “minimize, exclude or persecute” minority groups, including LGBTQ+ people.
As the festivities continued with live music and lawn games throughout the afternoon, Nicholas Petti, of the folk band Latchkey, and his mother, Sindi Petti, stood near the stage holding small pride flags. Sindi Petti said, “I am here to celebrate everyone from all walks of life.” Her son added, “This parade stands for democracy and for the vulnerable people among us. When they come for one of us, the rest of us are not far behind.”
Marilyn McCobb of Fort Bragg said she attended the event because she is “sick and tired of people hurting other people” and wanted to support LGBTQ+ residents. “We all have the right to exist,” she said. McCobb said she recently moved from Little River to Fort Bragg. She also called out the Trump administration, saying, “I just don’t understand how we got here.”
Fort Bragg’s proclamation
The celebration coincided with the Fort Bragg City Council’s proclamation designating June 2026 as LGBTQIA2S+ Pride Month. Issued May 28 and presented by Mayor Jason Godeke, the proclamation honors the contributions, resilience and diversity of LGBTQIA2S+ residents. The nonprofit safe space project accepted the proclamation on behalf of the community.
The proclamation reaffirms Fort Bragg’s commitment to ensuring all people are treated with dignity and respect and also acknowledges ongoing challenges facing LGBTQIA2S+ people, including discrimination and legislation affecting transgender individuals and their families. It calls on residents to promote mutual respect, understanding, acceptance and support throughout the community.
The acronym LGBTQIA2S+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual and two-spirit. This term is used to encompass a wide range of gender identities and sexual orientations, including gender minorities who may experience unique challenges and disparities.
Two-spirit is a term used by some Indigenous North American cultures to describe a person who embodies both masculine and feminine spirits or fulfills a traditional gender role that is distinct from Western binary categories of male and female. Indigenous communities that have traditional roles for gender-nonconforming people often use their own languages and specific terms to describe those individuals and the roles they hold within their societies.
The modern Pride movement began with the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City, when protests followed a police raid on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. That event is widely viewed as a turning point in LGBTQ+ rights activism and led to the first Pride marches the following year. What began as local demonstrations of resistance and solidarity has since grown into a global movement celebrating LGBTQ+ identity and advocating for equal rights and protections.
