Heterosexual Festival to Celebrate Straight People Planned for Pride Month
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A "heterosexual awesomeness" festival is being planned for Boise, Idaho, in June, during LGBTQ+ Pride Month, which is celebrated nationwide.
Newsweek reached out to Hetero Awesome, which is organizing the festival, for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The LGBTQ+ community celebrates Pride month in June. It coincides with the 1969 Stonewall Inn riots in New York City, a cornerstone moment for the battle for LGBTQ+ rights.
GLAAD, a LGBTQ+ media advocacy group, reported there were 2.5 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents each day in 2024, noting the rise in incidents follows new efforts to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in states across the country.
Proponents of Pride Month point to this data as to why it is important to celebrate the community and say that straight pride is not necessary because heterosexual people do not face discrimination due to their sexual orientation.
Critics, however, have argued that Pride Month is unnecessary and that the community should not be celebrated over straight people. There have been large protests against companies that have participated in celebrations in recent years, such as Bud Light or Target.
Demonstrators march at an LGBTQ+ pride parade in Budapest, Hungary, on July 24, 2021.
Demonstrators march at an LGBTQ+ pride parade in Budapest, Hungary, on July 24, 2021.What To Know
Hetero Awesome announced the "Heterosexual Awesomeness Fest" for downtown Boise on June 20 and 21, 2025. The group touts in a press release that it will bring "live music, food trucks, kid-friendly chaos, and hard-hitting talks" to the city.
"This ain't your limp-wristed woke fest; it's a full-on celebration of family values with guts," the group's website reads.
More details about what the event entails or who the organization is partnering with for the festival are yet to be announced. It's unclear whether any protests are being planned for the festival.
The event will not take place on the same day as Boise's Pride festival, which is celebrated in September.
Hetero Awesome states its goal is to "expose the anti-family agendas tearing at society's core, arm the masses with clarity, and rally the brave to stand tall. No grift, no fancy cars, no padded pockets—just pure, unfiltered truth."
According to GLAAD, there were eight anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in Idaho in 2024. In 2022, members of the group Patriot Front were detained while on their way to crash a Pride event in Coeur d'Alene.
There have been some straight pride events in recent years, including one in Boston and another in Modesto, California, in 2019.
What People Are Saying
Old State Saloon, a business in Boise, wrote on X: "In partnership with @HeteroAwesome, we are throwing a free Heterosexual Awesomeness Festival downtown Boise in front of the capitol building. Mark your calendars for June 20-21."
Pam Hemphill, a January 6 defendant who has since changed her political viewpoints and rejected a pardon from President Donald Trump, wrote on X: "I'm coming to fly a Pride flag to represent freedom for everyone!"
What Happens Next
LGBTQ+ Pride month will begin on June 1, 2025. Festivals and parades are planned across the country. It's yet to be seen how many protests or "straight pride" events will be held across the country, but the debate over LGBTQ+ rights is unlikely to stop anytime soon in the U.S.
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