13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. Pride is struggling. Here's why Oaklash is thriving
At a time when many LGBTQ organizations are struggling due to the elimination of government grants and sudden abandonment by corporate sponsors, the leadership at Oaklash is cautiously optimistic about the future.
The nonprofit arts organization, which produces large-scale drag events year-round, is back with its signature Oaklash drag festival, from Friday-Sunday, May 16-18, and the lineup is stacked. The three-day queer celebration in Oakland will begin with the ApocaLipstick kickoff party at the downtown Oakland White Horse Inn, dubbed 'a party fit for the end of the world,' and book ended by Oaklash Kick Back, featuring workshops like queer calisenics and 'twerklates' (think pilates with twerking dance moves) and various performances.
The centerpiece, its Saturday Block Party in old Oakland, boasts 60 performers and seven DJs over four blocks and two stages. They've even booked international drag performer Yvie Oddly, the winner of Season 11 of 'RuPaul's Drag Race,' as the headliner.
But in spite of that marquee name, leaders said they're weathering the difficult climate for queer organizations because they've been focused on the Bay Area LGBTQ community. The organization has also been careful not to depend too much on any one type of funding and has made sure not to grow beyond its means.
'It's proof that something that we thought was sustainable — relying on corporations for our communities — is not a long-term solution,' said Mama Celeste, cofounder and executive director of Oaklash, referring to funding cuts organizations like San Francisco Pride have faced so far in 2025.
Much of Oaklash's funding this year comes from individual donors and fundraising events, tactics that rely on community connections and goodwill rather than the whims of politics. This move by the now 8-year-old festival prepared them to navigate the current anti-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion moment the country is facing under the second Trump administration.
Another pivotal decision that positioned the nonprofit for today's reality was launching year-round programming in 2023.
While Oaklash was on a growth trajectory following a successful return to in-person programming in 2022, Mama Celeste said that now, 'the objective is stability and deepening our roots.'
In keeping with Oaklash's mission, that means leaning 'more into the nonprofit sector and really think about the queer arts environment and queer nightlife economy as ecology-building,' explained Mama Celeste, who is also a drag performer. 'That's where my head is at as the executive director.'
Although the organization lost a $14,000 festival grant from Oakland when the city cut their 2025 festival grants program, Oaklash Board President Charles Hawthorne describes the organization's finances as healthy.
'The thing we have learned repeatedly is we like to put our money into people who help create our events, and we also like to focus our efforts and our energy towards uplifting people and performers who are not uplifted in other areas of our community,' said Hawthorne. 'I think, in this moment when the resources are being taken away, what's been really beautiful to see is how much people are still excited about Oaklash.'
Over the past two years, Oaklash has expanded beyond its signature festival into a year-round queer arts program, focused on producing large-scale drag events and mentoring emerging queer and trans leaders in nightlife. It's set up the Oaklash Disability Fund, offering unrestricted grants to disabled LGBTQ artists in the Bay Area. It's also made accessibility practices a cornerstone of its ethos, staffing events with ASL interpreters and exclusively presenting in ADA-compliant venues.
Oaklash has also hosted a number of community workshops on issues ranging from arts funding and money management to makeup and wig artistry. In February, the organization even launched its first trio of artists-in-residence: performer and disability rights advocate Glamputee, performer and classical musician Obsidienne Obsurd and performer and visual artist Evian.
Meanwhile, the organization has a long history of political and social advocacy, which Mama Celeste said the community 'demands of us.' That has included boycotting Israeli products due to the country's conflict in Gaza and resisting what co-founder Beatrix LaHaine has described as 'joy-washing' and the 'weaponization of kindness' as a way of avoiding addressing bigger issues beyond the LGBTQ community.
'It's not just joy for the sake of disassociating and coming together and forgetting about everything that's happening in the world,' said Mama Celeste. 'A big part of why we did this in Oakland to begin with is Oakland has always had that vibe where the community doesn't mess around out here.'
