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Southlake Pride festival denied permit by city leaders
Southlake City Council did not give a local Pride festival a permit necessary to hold the event, despite allowing the gathering last year. FOX 4's Dionne Anglin has more.
SOUTHLAKE, Texas - A Pride festival in Southlake scheduled for October was denied a permit by city leaders, and organizers are asking for an explanation why.
Southlake Pride event denied permit
What we know:
On Tuesday, September 15, Southlake City Council voted to deny Pride Kel-So festival organizers a permit to host the event, which is scheduled for October.
Two people spoke on the issues at the city council meeting, with one person in favor, and one person opposed to the event.
The vote was unanimous to deny the permit.
Pride Kel-So
The backstory:
The inaugural version of the Pride Kel-So festival was held in 2025 at St. Martin In The Field Episcopal Church in Southlake.
Organizers say 2,500 people attended from both Southlake and Keller, and say the family-friendly event had vendors, live music, and more to celebrate the LGBTQ community.
What they're saying:
"I am just in shock still."
April Dreyson, a co-founder of the festival, says she hasn't received an explanation on why Southlake City Council denied the permit after allowing the festival in 2025.
"We followed all the recommendations and did not expect, especially with no comments, no questions. If they had concerns they didn’t bring them up."
April Dreyson
Reverend Ellen Singer, an associate pastor with St. Martin In The Field Episcopal Church, spoke in support of the event at Tuesday's City Council meeting.
"It’s clear there is conflict. It’s clear there is some sort of rupture in the community and actually the goal of something like this is to bring people together, to celebrate being a community with one another," Singer tells FOX 4's Dionne Anglin.
Rev. Ellen Singer
The other side:
Southlake City Council did not provide an explanation on why they denied Pride Kel-So a permit to host the festival.
The speaker who opposed the event at Tuesday's city council meeting cited protestors who showed up last year as a reason against hosting the festival.
What's next:
Event organizers say they could downsize the event to avoid the need for a permit, which is required for gatherings of over 1,000 people.
"We're going to figure it out," Dreyson tells FOX 4.
The Source: Information in this story comes from organizers of the Pride Kel-So festival and Southlake City Council.