Pride Kel-So is back for another go-round this fall. After drawing more than 1,600 last October to the Keller-Southlake area, the inaugural event, organizers say, demanded a follow-up. Slated for Sat, Oct 3, the second annual Pride Kel-So will take place at the same location as last year’s event, St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church (223 S Pearson Ln, Keller, 817-431-2396), helmed by The Rev. Alan D. Bentrup.
Pride Kel-So is the brainchild of the married lesbian Kel-So couple of April and Shaina Dreyson, owners/CEOs of The Dreyson events business, who were thrilled that last year’s event went over so well.
“It was so amazing,” April said. “Now, as the organizers, it was hectic for us in the moment, but we were still able to have moments to look around and realize how healing this was for a lot of people in the Keller/Southlake community.”
More than 3,000 had registered to participate, but April feels many did not show due to the hostile political climate. The Keller-Southlake area is a conservative stronghold.
“We strongly believe the reasoning behind the attendees being lower than those registered was due to fear that came as a result of local politicians’ irresponsible and incorrect statements made about Pride Kel-So leading up to it,” April said. “The issues were, again, a result of local politicians’ rhetoric online regarding Pride Kel-So. Up until then, while there were threats of violence now and again, it hadn’t really ramped up, definitely not toward us as the organizers like it had for Rev. Alan,” who faced considerable online hate.
April goes on to say that “it got so bad in those final weeks, a time when we really needed to be hyper-focused on execution of the event, that we were advised not to go in public in Keller or Southlake until after the festival. Think about that. Looking back at Pride Kel-So and how it was truly the most innocent festival of all kinds that I have seen in a long time, for that to invoke so much hatred and fear in people, I feel bad for them, honestly.”
The biggest in-person problem faced by Pride Kel-So last year was one protester with a (very loud) bullhorn, who said many “inappropriate and disgusting” things toward adults and children that the Dreysons are amazed he wasn’t arrested.
“It was not just hate speech,” April recalled. “It included describing sexual acts, again, in front of children. These are things that the LGBTQ+ community gets blamed for but would never subject kids to.”
The guy with the bullhorn was not the only protestor. April said the KKK was also there but that they adhered to the rules and did not cause trouble “as much as you can say hate groups can be respectful.”
The inaugural Pride Kel-So overflowed with highlights, April said, including “the joy on people’s faces, watching kids that were strangers to each other before become fast friends, seeing the number of allies that we have, who showed up in droves to Pride Kel-So.”
April also loved the drag performances and seeing the pride of the vendors, many of whom were participating in their first Pride event. “It was just beaming off them.”
For this year’s Pride Kel-So, the perimeter will be tightened, “bringing everything closer together and creating a better atmosphere,” April said. “This will also allow us to bring privacy fencing into the private property, helping to block out any protestors on bullhorns.”
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There will also be more activities and food trucks — and “a few surprises,” April said.
“Pride festivals matter because representation matters,” she went on. “Equal rights matter. Pride is still, at its core, a protest. Pride Kel-So matters because queer and trans kids, or kids with queer or trans families, in Keller and Southlake deserve to see themselves and their families celebrated in their own story. Especially here locally, we are seeing queer and trans people treated as a problem to be solved elsewhere. Our school boards are talking queer people and queer stories in a negative light without any regard for how that impacts people. The rhetoric around this area has been so harmful, and we need to bring in something to counteract that. We all deserve to feel seen, loved, and safe in the places we live, no matter where that is.”
Pride Kel-So, April said, “has enabled us to start building a local year-round network of affirming families, resources, faith communities, and programming, so that when the youth in this area is asking their parents if there’s anywhere safe for them, the answer is yes, and you don’t have to travel far to find it.”
Perhaps the biggest highlight still appears in the Dreysons’ email inbox every day. “There are still so many people just getting comfortable being themselves in that area. There’s also a surprising number of people who weren’t really sure about this ‘whole Pride thing’ that have reached out to let us know they continue to educate themselves and they’re becoming true allies. There are too many things to list, really. It was just beautiful. I strongly believe lives were saved that day.”
