The Gay Nightlife Orange County

Contents:

• THE CENTRAL COAST HAS A THRIVG LGBTQ MUNY, SO WHERE ARE ALL THE GAY BARS? 
• GAY/DRAG CLUBS - SANTA MARIA FOM
• GAY SANTA BARBARA: THE INSI SOP ON CALIFORNIA’S OFF THE BEATEN PATH WE COUNTRY
• GAY NIGHTLIFE SANTA FE: BT BARS, CLUBS, & MORE
• GAY SANTA BARBARA TRAVEL GUI
• GAY NIGHTLIFE ORANGE COUNTY
•  CALIFORNIA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
• IS THERE ANY GAY NIGHTLIFE ALONG THE CENTRAL AST? - SAN LUIS OBISPO FOM

THE CENTRAL COAST HAS A THRIVG LGBTQ MUNY, SO WHERE ARE ALL THE GAY BARS? 

As a teen, Rory Uribe fantasized about gog to a gay bar or club and fally beg able to be unabashedly gay public. Click to enlarge Photo Courty Of Matthew Lalanne GAY CLUB ALCHEMISTS Daniel Gomez (left) and Frank Domguez (right) are known for turng typil bars to hugely succsful, LGBTQ-clive parti. So Uribe always thought the gay bars Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo unti would provi that much-need and missg support system and work.

"I've dreamed of gog to a gay bar sce I was like, 16, " Uribe told New Tim. The lack of LGBTQ-specific nightlife on the Central Coast is an issue much of the lol gay and trans muny is forced to work around.

Santa Barbara's once thrivg gay club scene dwdled, and eventually pletely disappeared, as varyg sexual orientatns and genr inti beme more wily accepted and datg apps beme more readily available. But 's left the Central Coast whout a gay bar reach—the neart (acrdg to mor and Google) are Ventura, Frno, and San Jose—and many lols say the safety gay bars and clubs provi is still very much need, pecially the more nservative portns of the state. Uribe, who is now a stunt at Allan Hanck College, fally ma their gay bar dream e te this sprg while visg a iend San Francis.

GAY/DRAG CLUBS - SANTA MARIA FOM

Like so many other LGBTQ rints the area and across the natn, Uribe helped start an anizatn dited to givg gay, trans, and queer dividuals a safe space to meet up and build support systems. Uribe and other Hanck stunts revalized the school's long idle Queers and Alli Club last year, and the group regularly hosts meetgs, ffee meetups, and parti, which Uribe dubbed "gay bash.

He wanted to spice thgs up by startg a group that would make easier for lol LGBTQ dividuals to meet, and was mullg over the ia one day when he walked to the now closed Metro Brewg Company San Luis Obispo and jt happened to spot two gay upl si.

GAY SANTA BARBARA: THE INSI SOP ON CALIFORNIA’S OFF THE BEATEN PATH WE COUNTRY

"And I was like, 'Oh my god, is this a gay bar? One bar owner told SLOQueerdos that he didn't want his tablishment to be known as a gay bar, Domguez said.

GAY NIGHTLIFE SANTA FE: BT BARS, CLUBS, & MORE

Still, Domguez and his partner— bs and life—Daniel Gomez, who also -owns SLOQueerdos, agree that openg a gay bar on the Central Coast would be challengg. Rent is stly, liquor licens are hard to e by, and they qutned whether a gay bar SLO would have enough nsistent bs to stay open. While gay bars do provi LGBTQ muni wh sential social opportuni, Gomez said 's easier than ever to lk up through readily accsible onle datg apps like Tr and Grdr.

I thk [onle datg] has a huge impact on the gay club scene. "We jt make clubs to gay clubs.

GAY SANTA BARBARA TRAVEL GUI

Chufar and Johns are married, and they're both board members at Santa Barbara's Gay and Lbian Bs Associatn, a nonprof that funds scholarships awards each year to llege-bound and votnal stunts across the unty.

The anizatn was ianally created the '80s to support gay- and lbian-owned bs the area. As gayns gradually beme more wily accepted, so did gay bs, and that arm of the nonprof eventually halted s work.

The same thg happened wh Santa Barbara's gay nightlife, Chufar and Johns said.

GAY NIGHTLIFE ORANGE COUNTY

Johns has lived Santa Barbara sce the '70s, and said there were about six gay bars Santa Barbara alone at one time. The Wildt Lounge hosts "gay nights" every Sunday, but Johns said, "who wants to go out on a Sunday? Younger generatns are g datg apps to fd other gays town now rather than gay bars, and Chufar and Johns said that's OK.

But that's not necsarily te other, more nservative swaths of the Central Coast, acrdg to reprentativ of the Hoe of Pri and Equaly (HOPE), a Santa Maria-based anizatn dited to creatg safe spac for the lol gay and trans muny. Cee Chavez works wh HOPE, and said that while she might ocsnaly see openly gay upl North County, 's not as predomate or accepted as South County. That wouldn't be a problem if there was a gay bar somewhere the area, acrdg to Anthony Lover, another HOPE official.

 CALIFORNIA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS

It might be tricky to keep a gay bar nng this area, he said, but there has to be a way to do . Gay/Drag Clubs. Are there any Drag Shows, or gay bars at all?, I am straight but have gay fay g to vis California om Iowa and are expectg, well,....

Re: Gay/Drag Clubs. Santa Maria is an extremely nservative town, so not likely you'll fd exclive gay clubs, etc. Wh that beg said, I don't thk you'll have too many problems patronizg any bars Santa Maria wh your gay fay members, sce there is a fair amount of gay people who live there.

IS THERE ANY GAY NIGHTLIFE ALONG THE CENTRAL AST? - SAN LUIS OBISPO FOM

Jt thought of Blue Sky Cafe downtown San Luis Obispo, which is gay iendly, as 's owned by a gay man.