A drag queen interacts with a young festivalgoer at the 2023 Davis Pride Festival. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

By Wendy Weitzel

The rainbow crosswalks are being painted Sunday in downtown Davis, signaling the path to a month full of Davis Pride celebrations ahead in June.

This is the 10th year of Davis Pride activities, organized by the nonprofit Davis Phoenix Coalition. For 2024, highlights include the Davis Pride Community Fair and Music Festival, an after party, a fun run, skate night, comedy night, and plenty of drag.

This year’s theme is “Davis Pride – Because Yolo County is for Everyone!” It follows the Davis Phoenix Coalition’s recent lawn sign messages “Davis is for Everyone” and “Yolo County is for Everyone,” to counter the far-right actions experienced in the community.

The 10th annual Davis Pride Community Fair and Music Festival has a new location this year: Civic Center Park, at Sixth and B streets. The community-focused, family-friendly event includes a music festival, resources, vendors, food, drinks and more – from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 1.

Gloria Partida, left, Jessica Uzarski, Yolo County Supervisor Lucas Frerichs and Mily Ron jump for joy after volunteers complete the rainbow crosswalk painting in downtown Davis on May 30, 2023. This year’s painting will be from 6 to 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 26 around Central Park in Davis. (Courtesy photo)

By Wendy Weitzel

As the Davis Phoenix Coalition marks its 10th year of Davis Pride activities next month, its members also want to honor those who painted that rainbow road.

Pride celebrations in Davis go much deeper than a decade. Every June from 1996 to 2006, local LGBTQ+ activists Shelly Bailes and Ellen Pontac coordinated the Yolo County Lesbian and Gay Picnic Day. After it took a hiatus, the event was revived in 2015 by the nonprofit Davis Phoenix Coalition, which rebranded it as Davis Pride. Rising from its origins as a single-day event with 500 participants in the 1990s, it has become a monthlong June celebration, drawing close to 10,000 people. These participants come from all segments of the local population, happy to gather in support of LGBTQ+ rights.

This year, highlights include the Davis Pride Community Fair and Music Festival, an after party, a fun run, skate night, comedy night, and plenty of drag.

Gloria Partida founded the Davis Phoenix Coalition in 2013 after her son, Lawrence “Mikey” Partida was brutally beaten in an anti-gay attack. She and other organizers started Davis Pride with the idea of a fun run, and added a family-friendly festival for the whole community.

Despite successes like the federal legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015, they knew Davis Pride would be controversial. She saw what Bailes and Pontac went through. “They had a lot of pushback when they were doing the work,” Partida said.

Soroptimist International of Davis will celebrate its 70th anniversary with a disco-themed dinner on Sunday, May 19.

The event is from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Stonegate Country Club, 919 Lake Blvd., Davis. Tickets are $40 and include dinner, a drink ticket, and disco lessons led by Pamela Trokanski. Groovy attire is encouraged. Tickets may be purchased at https://bit.ly/GetGroovyWithUs. The event is open to the public. Please RSVP by May 10.

Soroptimist is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. It was founded in 1921 in Alameda County. Soroptimist International of Davis was chartered in May 1954. Local members join some 75,000 Soroptimists in 122 countries and territories to contribute time and financial support to community-based projects benefiting women and girls. Its core values are gender equality, empowerment, education, diversity and fellowship.

SI Davis offers cash Live Your Dream Awards to female heads of household seeking education or training, and assists King High students through its Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls program. It also funds high school scholarships, and grants to nonprofits that align with the Soroptimist mission.

SI Davis members meet twice a month on Wednesdays – once at lunchtime and once in the evening – and connect for other fun activities and service. Learn more at https://www.sidavis.org/.

Festivalgoers enjoy the 2023 Davis Pride Festival. This year’s event is June 1 (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

(From press release) The Davis Phoenix Coalition plans a month full of events to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride, beginning with its 10th annual festival on June 1. Activities also include a festival after party, fun run, skate and comedy nights, and plenty of drag queens.

The activities share the theme “Davis Pride – Because Yolo County is for Everyone!” It follows the Davis Phoenix Coalition’s recent lawn sign messages “Davis is for Everyone” and “Yolo County is for Everyone,” to counter the far-right actions experienced in the community.

The 10th annual Davis Pride Community Fair and Music Festival has a new location this year: Civic Center Park, at Sixth and B streets. The community-focused, family-friendly event includes a music festival, resources, vendors, food, drinks and more – from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 1. Headlining the musical lineup is Davis’ own Butterscotch, a Season 2 finalist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Other performers include Deuces & Diamonds in a special reunion performance, the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus, Team Davis Singers, and the always popular Drag Revue. Other artists will be announced soon. There will be activity zones for children, teens and seniors.

Patrons enjoy the first Picnic in the Park of the 2023 season. The annual Davis Farmers Market tradition returns in May, and runs every Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. through September in Central Park. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

(From press release) The music, food and family fun of Picnic in the Park returns to the Davis Farmers Market on May 1.

The popular event is every Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m., May through September. A local band plays each night. There’s children’s entertainment, loads of food vendors, and plenty of opportunity to gather as a community. October through April, there’s a traditional farmers market on Wednesdays, from 3 to 6 p.m.

Upcoming bands on the 2024 Picnic in the Park schedule are: Cold Shot (dance party) on May 1; 5-Star Alcatraz (indie, alt rock) on May 8; Kindred Spirits (folk rock) on May 15; Penny Lane (Beatles) on May 22; According to Bazooka (indie, folk, pop) on May 29; The Teds (rock) on June 5; Island Crew (beach tunes) on June 12; and Julie and the Jukes (classic blues) on June 19. Bands are still being booked through September. Check the entertainment schedule at https://www.davisfarmersmarket.org/entertainment-schedule/.

Tables and chairs in the Market Food Court are sponsored by A Grand Affair Party and Event Rentals. They are for use while enjoying market-purchased food. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets for picnicking on the lawn.

During operating hours, the market will have an open-container permit, allowing patrons to consume alcohol, whether it’s canned beer from one of the four Davis breweries rotating each week, a bottle of wine from Heringer Estates, or a beverage they brought from home. Check the brewery rotation schedule at https://www.davisfarmersmarket.org/2024-beer-schedule/.

Picnic in the Park will focus on family-friendly children’s activities and music, along with a wide range of food made from market ingredients. There is a clown, face-painter and children’s activities. The Davis Schools Foundation is organizing the pedal-powered carousel.

(From press release) Thursdays in The Davisphere, the concert series launched in 2022 by Davis Downtown, is on hiatus until 2024.

The board of the Davis Downtown Business Association decided this month to cancel the 2023 event, planned for Oct. 26 in Central Park. In 2024, the organization is looking to bring Thursdays in The Davisphere further into the downtown core, to add vibrant energy to its downtown member businesses.

DDBA Executive Director Brett Maresca said several factors led to the difficult decision. The postponement gives the organization time to raise funds and plan for a spectacular 2024 series.

The inaugural season of Thursdays in The Davisphere was weekly in September and October 2022, thanks to funding from a city of Davis grant to revitalize local businesses emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. A follow-up survey showed a nearly 90% approval rating of the event, citing the energy and vibrancy it brought to the downtown. Davis Downtown provided a designated nonprofit beneficiary to receive a portion of proceeds from beer and wine sales.

Davis Downtown is recruiting sponsors and vendors. Sponsorships would allow the organization to offer multiple Thursdays in The Davisphere events in 2024. For details, email [email protected].

Davis Downtown leads and energizes the downtown as the primary business, entertainment and cultural center of Davis. Alive with activity seven days a week, downtown Davis draws locals and visitors alike to experience fine food and beverages, retail, professional services, arts and entertainment in an extraordinary and sustainable gathering place.

• For more information on The Davisphere, visit thedavisphere.com.
• Learn more about Davis Downtown events and programs at davisdowntown.com.
• To stay abreast of activities, sign up for the Davis Downtown email newsletter at davisdowntown.com/subscribe.
• Follow Davis Downtown on Facebook at @davisdowntown and on Instagram at @davis.downtown.

Crowds gather in Davis’ Central Park on Sept. 29, 2022, for one of the Thursdays in The Davisphere events. The next concert is set for Oct. 26. (Courtesy photo)

(From press release) Thursdays in The Davisphere, the concert series launched in 2022 by Davis Downtown, will return to Central Park on Oct. 26.

The spooky-themed, family-friendly event is from 4 to 9 p.m. in Central Park. 301 C St. It will include food, drink, craft, art, retail and other vendors. Attendees are encouraged to dress in costume. The entertainment lineup will be announced soon.

The inaugural season of Thursdays in The Davisphere was weekly in September and October 2022, thanks to funding from a city of Davis grant to revitalize local businesses emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. A follow-up survey showed a nearly 90% approval rating of the event, citing the energy and vibrancy it brought to the downtown. Davis Downtown provided a designated nonprofit beneficiary to receive a portion of proceeds from beer and wine sales.

The 2023 event welcomes UC Davis students who are back in town. It will include mobile food and beverage vendors as well as a beer and wine garden. Patrons are also welcome to bring food and nonalcoholic drinks purchased from downtown businesses.

I'm curious what the people of Davisitesville think of this mega-hit's message. 

My reaction, from the lyrics, is this could be a punk song sung by 'Oliver' as a raw country ballad.  Rage!  Stickin' it to the monarchy, the man, the machine.  Anger at what the government is doing to us, against the men in power.  Yet this song is being labeled a 'conservative ballad'.  True, it is catching fire in conservative circles, but I don't see that in the lyrics.  I can easily hear a Johnny Rotten or a Henry Rollins versions of this song.

There's a reference to 'minors on an island'.  That happened.  Davis liberals don't defend pedophiles (do they?). 

By Scott Steward

The 54th Whole Earth Festival held on the UCD Quad, and sponsored by ASUCD, is a beautiful sunny event that everyone can enjoy.  This year’s theme is "Sell Out to Love" at this alcohol and smoke free event.

I recommend getting there early to enjoy the vibrant green brought on by all that rain! Bring a soft frisbee but expect to share space with spike ball, a game where young people furiously throw a malleable ball object downward into a small trampoline and then alternately palm the ball up in the air before hurling it again.

There are 130 stalls of goods for sale neatly organized around the perimeter of the Quad. The quality of the merchandise is high and higher still than I remember at the 50th. The Festival has always crept towards being more mercantile, but the education corner is poignant and the Kids Space well supplied and staffed. There are few lectures about counter culture and alternative living (that proliferated in the early years of WEF), but the legacy of that ground work is woven into the comfortably open green grass and open sky of this healthy pubic common.

There are 18 food booths and entertainment a plenty. Bring your own personal shade and something to carry water. It is up to those of us, who have seen decades of Whole Earth Festivals, to share our WEF stories. It is particularly important to make the connection from past to present to mend the pandemic multi-year gap in the continuum of this youth led event.  Find yourself starting a conversation in the shade of a tree on the west Quad.

For 54 years WEF goes on with the lightness and importance of being born of and remaining youth led. Children of all ages come celebrate mother earth.

The Davis band Cold Shot features René Martucci and Richard Urbino. (Courtesy photo)

(From press release) The dance-party band Cold Shot will be the first musical group to play when the Davis Farmers Market’s Picnic in the Park returns on May 17.

The family-fun event will be every Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m., May 17 through Sept. 13. A local band will play each night. There will be children’s entertainment, loads of food vendors, and plenty of opportunity to gather as a community. Late September through early May, Wednesdays swap back to a traditional farmers market, open 3 to 6 p.m.

Cold Shot, featuring René Martucci and Richard Urbino, brings together a dynamic selection of upbeat rock ’n’ roll, pop and dance party songs that span decades of iconic artists. Other bands on the 2023 Picnic in the Park schedule are Julie and the Jukes on May 24, Pleasant Valley Boys on May 31, Odd Man Out on June 7, The Teds on June 14, They Hey-Nows on June 21, and According to Bazooka on June 28. The Peter Franklin Band plays on July 5, The New Harmony Jazz Band is July 12, 5-Star Alcatraz plays on July 19, It’s About Time is on July 26, and Putah Creek Crawdads are Aug. 2. The Geoffrey Miller Band is Aug. 9, Penny Lane is Aug. 16, Wealth of Nations is Aug. 23, Kindred Spirits is Aug. 30, Island Crew is Sept. 6, and The Kalapana Awa Band is Sept. 13. To see the calendar and band descriptions, visit https://www.davisfarmersmarket.org/entertainment-schedule/.

Tainted Love will bring the best of 1980s music to the Davis Pride Festival on June 4. (Courtesy photo)

(From press release) The 1980s tribute band Tainted Love will headline the June 4 Davis Pride Festival. The music is part of a weekend of activities in downtown Davis that celebrate International LGBTQ+ Month.

“A Tainted Love performance is like reliving the ’80s,” its promotional material states. “The band will take you back in time while keeping the party going.”

Based in San Francisco, Tainted Love – the Best of the ’80s Live performs at major clubs, ballrooms and rock venues across the country. Its high-energy show has a loyal fan base, and is appreciated by every generation.

The band’s name is inspired by the 1981 Soft Cell hit “Tainted Love,” but it plays a wide variety of hits from the 1980s, including “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, “Jesse’s Girl” by Rick Springfield, “Don’t you Forget About Me” by Simple Minds, and “Beat It” by Michael Jackson. Other covers include songs by Billy Idol, Bon Jovi, John (Cougar) Mellencamp, Madonna, Phil Collins, Prince, The Police, Van Halen and others.

The music festival, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. that Sunday, includes several local and international bands, choirs and a drag queen revue. It’s just part of the ninth annual Davis Pride Festival and related events. The community-focused, family-friendly weekend includes a skate night, fun run, music festival, drag queens, vendors and more – June 3 and 4. 

The events, produced by the Davis Phoenix Coalition, follow the theme “I am Davis Pride.” This year, Davis Pride’s presenting sponsor is BluPeak Credit Union. The highlights of the weekend include:

A drag queen performs at the 2022 Davis Pride Festival. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

(From press release) The rainbows return to Davis’ Central Park in June for the ninth annual Davis Pride Festival. The community-focused, family-friendly weekend includes a skate night, fun run, music festival, drag queens, vendors and more – June 3 and 4. 

The events, produced by the Davis Phoenix Coalition, follow the theme “I am Davis Pride.” This year, Davis Pride’s presenting sponsor is BluPeak Credit Union. The highlights of the weekend include:

• Skate with Pride, starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 3. The free night will include a disc jockey, disco lights and food trucks. Skating will be under the Davis Farmers Market Pavilion in Central Park, Fourth and C streets, downtown.
• Run for Equality at 8 a.m. on Sunday, June 4. It includes a 5K and 1K run/walk from Central Park. Registration is $25 until May 28 and $30 after.
• A community fair kicking off the Davis Pride Festival at 10 a.m. on June 4. It continues until 5 p.m. in Central Park with educational booths, food, drink, and vendors coordinated with the assistance of Davis Craft and Vintage Market.
• A music festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. that Sunday, with local and international bands, choirs and a drag queen revue.  This year’s music headliner is Northern California favorite Tainted Love – The Best of the ’80s Live.
• A Ride with Pride bike party ride starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 23, from Central Park.

(From press release) The community missed its lazy Wednesday evenings in Central Park – the music, food and family fun. The Davis Farmers Market listened, and found a way to bring back its beloved Picnic in the Park.

Starting May 17, Picnic in the Park will return, and continue every Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. through Sept. 13. A local band will play each night. There will be children’s entertainment, loads of food vendors, and plenty of opportunity to gather as a community. Late September through early May, Wednesdays swap back to a traditional farmers market, open 3 to 6 p.m.

Randii MacNear, executive director of the Davis Farmers Market Alliance, is thrilled. With a redesigned layout, it will be more manageable. “I’m so happy, because I really feel like we broke people’s hearts. There was no solution except to try to bring it back – if we could find a way.”

The new layout of the Wednesday market is designed for success. Food trucks will fill the patio area, and the band will play from the top of the stairs, facing the lawn. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets for picnicking. Tables and chairs will no longer be provided.

During operating hours, the market will have an open-container permit, allowing patrons to consume alcohol on the grassy area, whether it’s a bottle of wine from Heringer Estates, or a beer they bought from a downtown brewery or from home.

Ada Vox (Julián P. Ledezma/Courtesy photo)

(From press release) Drag queen singer Ada Vox and pop music’s OneUp Duo will headline the June 12 Davis Pride Festival. The music is part of a weekend of activities in downtown Davis that celebrate International LGBTQ+ Month.

Vox was a semi-finalist in ABC’s “American Idol” in 2020, and the runner up this year on the Paramount+ drag queen singing competition “Queen of the Universe.” The San Antonio-based singer lists her influences as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Aretha Franklin and Patti Labelle. Notable performances include The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun,” Jennifer Holiday’s “And I am Telling You I am Not Going,” and Journey’s “Open Arms.” She was the first drag queen in Idol’s history to make its Top 8. She recently released her first single, “Because of You.”

OneUp Duo (Courtesy photo)

OneUp Duo is a Detroit-based pop/soul vocal combo comprised of husbands Adam and Jerome Bell-Bastien. The team was a finalist on NBC’s “The Voice” in 2018, serving under coach Kelly Clarkson. The couple rose to fame with their blind audition video of The Spinners’ “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love?” The pair was the show’s first same-sex duo, and known for dynamic, high-energy performances. OneUp Duo’s new single is “TRN IT UP.”

Celebrate Davis Pride with several events, June 11 and 12 in Central Park, 301 C St. Produced by the Davis Phoenix Coalition, activities include:

(From press release) The Davis Odd Fellows invite the community to 'Music for Natalie 2022' on Saturday April 2nd from 12 to 5 pm at the Odd Fellows Lodge at 415 Second Street in downtown Davis. The event will be held outdoors at the back of the Odd Fellows and Lyons Realty properties.

Music for Natalie is free and open to all. As one Lodge member said, “Music for Natalie is an opportunity to celebrate the memory of Officer Corona. Her service to our community was special. We hope our scholarship program will encourage others to serve in similar ways”. There will be Handheld Sweet & Savory Pies, lemonade, a beer garden, and live music by local bands Major Six, Mike Blanchard and the Californios, and the Natalie Cortez Band. The music starts at 1 pm.

Music for Natalie is held annually and is part of the Odd Fellows’ outreach for the Officer Natalie Corona Odd Fellows Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship program was started to help high school seniors who want to follow in Natalie's footsteps and is funded by an endowment started by the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge. Information about the program and how to donate will be available at the event and also at the link below.

https://www.davislodge.org/officer-natalie-corona-odd-fellows-memorial-scholarship/

At 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, Monday November 2, Faith leaders from around the Davis area will be offering reflections, music, and readings for our country and our community, live streamed at the Davis Area Interfaith Religious Leaders Network Facebook page: DAIR Leaders Network Facebook Page.

We'll focus on our three themes for election week: Be kind. Be strong. Stay together.

Tylar Traum performs in DMTC Teen Cabaret, 2015.

By Rachel (Hoover) Rycerz and Marc Valdez

Tylar Traum came of age onstage at Davis Musical Theatre Company (DMTC) before heading to New York City to study Theater and New Media at Marymount Manhattan College.  This year during school breaks, she brought her skills back to her home town of Davis.  Over winter break, she taught an Audition Workshop for 7-17 year olds at DMTC.  In July, she taught singing, dancing and acting for the same age group at DMTC Summer Camp.   Her latest project has been directing DMTC’s 2019 Teen Cabaret.

The first Teen Cabaret was held in in 2006.  It was created to showcase the talents of teen performers in DMTC’s Young Performer’s Theatre (YPT), as well as to help fund DMTC’s two theater youth scholarships.  DMTC first established a scholarship in 1995, initially for the amount of $100.   A second scholarship was added in 2003.  Currently, two $500 scholarships are given annually.  Tylar herself received one of the awards in 2017 for her dedication to YPT, including performing in the cabaret.

Producers Steve and Jan Isaacson present Tylar Traum with DMTC Award, 2017.

This year, seven teens will be performing songs from “DMTC…Past & Future.”  The singers include Nora Baggarly, Katarina Detrick, Ella Del Favero, Katelyn Reeves, Stella Silver, Annie Whiteford and Lindsay Whiteford.  You can see them onstage at DMTC, 607 Pena Drive this Saturday, August 10^th at 7:00 pm and Sunday August 11^th at 2:00 pm.  Tickets are $10 (plus a $2 facilities fee), and proceeds go to the Teen Scholarships.

DMTC 2019 Teen Cabaret Performers. Standing, L-R: Ella Del Favero, Annie Whiteford, Katarina Detrick and Katelyn Reeves. Front Row: Stella Silver, Nora Baggarly and Lindsay Whiteford.

Rachel (Hoover) Rycerz grew up on stage in Davis, performing in 30 shows before heading to Berkeley to major in English. She returned to the stage in Davis this past November as Miss Hannigan in "Annie."  This July, she played Hannah Pitt in Angels in America at Roseville Theater Arts Academy.

Marc Valdez is a community theater volunteer, and has served on the Board of Davis Musical Theatre Company (DMTC) since 2002, and keeps a blog, Marc Valdez Weblog, at http://marcvaldez.blogspot.com

By Joan Baez
"Together we can create an unstoppable force for good"

Last night, not a seat was empty in the UC Davis Mondavi Center as Joan Baez paused from singing to deliver this powerful exhortation.  Her music and her message were greeted with standing ovations. After the Show Baez gave the Davisite.org permission to share her words. 

There is no such thing as a slow burn now. Only lightning fast destruction, and the residue of floating ash. The haze is real. It is ash filled smoke, blanketing a good portion of the state of California. This is our Armageddon. And, yet now it's we who must be the fire brigade. No one will appear on the clouds of glory to deliver us.

We must be the fire brigade.