Concerns arise over the organization of Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s pride event

In 2022, Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s pride event delighted the LGBTQ+ community, but received backlash from Fresno pastors, local church leaders, and at least one city official, reported The Fresno Bee. 

This year’s event, dubbed “Rainbow Family Day,” had high expectations from the community it was celebrating after 2022’s successful event. However, the organization and handling of the 2023 event have left some participating organizations and attendees concerned.

LGBT-Fresno was initially invited to participate in “Rainbow Family Day” in April via an email from Development Program Manager Dan Carter. At the time, the event was scheduled to be held during the weekend on Sunday, June 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

However, in May participating organizations received notice from another staff member that the event was being postponed to the end of pride month on a Thursday afternoon from 2 to 7 p.m. The zoo’s Sophia Torres explained that the schedule change was “due to the delayed opening of [the] new exhibit, Kingdoms of Asia (June 3), and ticketing restrictions associated with this.”

The ticketing restrictions, Marketing Manager Emily Valdez explained in a separate email when asked, were to “make sure [the zoo] would have enough parking to accommodate guests.” 

When LGBT-Fresno attempted to use marketing materials previously distributed by the zoo to advertise the event, they were asked by Valdez via email on June 1 to remove the “event [page] and unauthorized artwork” because the event had not yet been publicly announced.

Once the event was officially announced and prep began, one participant in a planning meeting for the event told LGBT-Fresno that drag performances would be prohibited at this event despite being included last year. When asked to confirm whether or not that was the case, Valdez replied that, “The Fresno Chaffee Zoo is celebrating Pride this year just as we do with all other community events – as a joyful, inclusive daytime event that brings the entire zoo community together. Furthermore, the zoo welcomes everyone from our community 364 days a year.”

On the day of the event, there were no drag performances. The event featured a dance party, crafts, storytime, and a resource fair. A wide range of organizations tabled throughout the zoo to provide resources, including both LGBT-focused nonprofits as well as businesses such as Sam’s Club. 

For many attendees, however, the change to a weekday rather than a weekend date, as well as the “vibe” of the event, were disappointing. 

“I had to come over right after work. It kind of sucks to pay almost $20 to come to the zoo for just an hour or two,” said one attendee, who requested to go by their first name, Rebecca. “Last year felt really inclusive and welcoming. This year, it’s a different vibe. It just feels like your obligatory pride event.”

Another attendee, Kevin Tran, expressed frustration at the changes the zoo had made from the previous year’s event.

“I got here [at 5 p.m.] after I got off work and it’s been pretty empty. I feel like if it was [on Friday] instead of today, there’d be a lot more people. It upsets me because it’s more important now than ever to show support for the queer community,” Tran said.

By 5 p.m. there were still 817 admission tickets available for purchase online, and at least three organizations that were tabling for the resource fair were packing up to leave or already had packed up and left. At the exit, a few attendees said they hadn’t had time to see as much of the zoo as they wanted to because they were busy during the weekday. 

The event, described as “low energy” by Tran, was in stark contrast to last year’s sold-out crowd of 2022.

Fresno Chaffee Zoo is not the only organization to have toned down pride celebrations this year, however. Several businesses have changed the way they celebrate pride or faced controversy for the way they handled pride, including Bud Light’s collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and Target’s removal of items from its pride collection after backlash.

But for attendees like Rebecca, the change from a trusted organization in their hometown is particularly upsetting.

“Like I said, last year felt really special. I don’t always feel safe or supported in Fresno, and it meant a lot to me to have an event like that. I haven’t felt safe or supported in general this year, and I was really looking forward to this event, and now I feel like an afterthought,” they said.