This LGTBQ+ icon to open Pride at Fresno’s Tower Theatre. Why it’s an ‘obvious’ choice

Fresno Rainbow Pride’s first outing was more of a march than a parade.

It was almost exclusively activists and advocates walking through Fresno’s Tower District with “borrowed” shopping carts and old laundry baskets. It was protested by the Klu Klux Klan.

By contrast, 16,000 people lined up along Olive Avenue to watch this year’s parade in June and 13,000 attended an accompanying festival at Fresno City College.

“We’ve come a long way in 34 years,” said the group’s president, Bryan Cauwels, during a news conference inside the Tower Theater on Thursday. “We’re super excited for 2024.”

The group made an early announcement for the 2024 Pride parade and festival, unveiling the date, theme and branding, and also a special pride-season kick-off fundraiser at the Tower Theatre headlined by LGBTQ+ icon Sandra Bernhard.

“Hey kids, I’m coming to Fresno,” Bernhard said via video message.

“We’re going to go nuts! We’re going to have the best time ever with the Sandyland Squad Band. We’re going to turn it out,” she said.

“We’re selling you tickets and you’re going to buy them and love it.”

Sandra Bernhard performance in Fresno

The singer/actress and comedian performs May 11. Tickets are $35-$70 and on sale now.

The Pride parade and festival happens June 1 with the theme “Rainbow Wave: Navigating through the Current.”

Bernhard made a name for herself as a stand-up comedian in the late 1970s and ‘80s before becoming a television staple with credits on shows such as “American Horror Story,” “POSE,” “Brooklyn 99,” “You’re the Worst,” “Will& Grace,” “The Sopranos” and, perhaps most notably, “Roseanne.”

She was also a pioneer in the genre of the one-woman show.

Having the Tower Theatre as a venue was important, Cauwels said, for both the fundraiser and the group’s announcement of the event.

“If you think about two years ago, or even a year ago,” he said, “this might not have been possible.”

’Obvious’ significance of booking Tower Theatre

The theater had once been slated to be sold to Adventure Church and was the center point of wide public debate over proper usage of the landmark building. This included weekly protests from members of the LGBTQ+ and Tower District communities. Those were often met with opposing demonstrations that included members of the Proud Boys.

The city eventually bought the theater and hired a new management company to run the daily operations. It has already hosted several similar community events, including Swede Fest and the Fresno Reel Pride film festival.

There is an obvious, and ironic, significance in bringing Bernhard to the theater in support of Pride, said Tracie Cisneros, the group’s volunteer coordinator.

“It was the only obvious decision to make.”

This is the earliest Fresno Rainbow Pride has done a save-the-date announcement and also the first time someone of this caliber has came to Fresno to support Pride. Organizers hope to host more events like this in the future, and also bring other big-name performers to its festival stage.