Celebrating Pride In Caldwell County

Denis O’Donnell of Lockhart, Texas, in Caldwell County has four things: a bar named O’Donnell’s, a friendship with Austin drag queen Brigitte Bandit, no patience for bigots, and a pistol. When Pride of Caldwell County launched in 2021, O’Donnell’s was one of the first businesses to sign up as a venue for events. Ever since, O’Donnell has vigorously defended LGBTQIA+ equality with pure orneriness that personifies small-town Texas life. 

“We're in this together because we are friends and we love each other and I have [Bandit’s] back,” he said in a phone interview. “Last time they went to speak in San Antonio, they were crying and afraid because all these cosplay, soft-handed [expletive] little [expletive] showed up to threaten them with their AR-15s and camouflage. I wasn’t going to let her be afraid, so I showed up with my pistol stuck in my belt.”

There’s no doubt that Pride Month is bigger in Texas cities. In Houston, the Pride festival and parade draw 700,000 visitors annually, the second largest event after the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. While Pride was born in cities like New York and San Francisco, rural America is taking up the mantle.

Of the 330 official Pride events in 2022, half were held in municipalities of less than 50,000. The small-town aspect has an additional upside. As the big city celebrations grow, they tend to become more corporate and civic. The days of Houston’s Pride festivities being centered on the traditional queer neighborhood of Montrose are long gone, replaced with sponsorships from major banks and gated access in a park across city hall.

Pride of Caldwell County, on the other hand, rekindles the original community spirit of Pride. Rather than a highly organized one-day affair, the town spreads out events in local venues throughout the week. There will be a drag brunch here, a night market there. There’s no parade yet, but the sense of solidarity is strong. A full list of events can be found at the Pride of Caldwell County official site.

“We've had a lot of support from our local businesses downtown,” said Pride of Caldwell County founder Sandy Jones. “We don't pay for venues or anything like that. We just reach out to our locals and say, hey, can we do this here? Or they'll reach out to us and say, hey, do you want to do something here? And it just works out really, really well. And it also keeps us out of the heat.”

One thing Jones is particularly proud of for the 2026 celebration is a queer Q&A being held at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church Parish Hall. The church has been looking for ways to become involved with Pride of Caldwell County for years, and they finally settled on a venue where visitors can ask genuine questions about the LGBTQIA+ experience in a safe, personal environment.

“Some of the people on our board were concerned that people would be afraid to show up at an event or not feel safe to go to an event at a church,” said Jones. Aware that much of the anti-LGBTQIA+ movement is framed as religious opposition. “But this year we felt that we were ready to do that. And being that it's the Q&A, which is more of like an event that really is suited for that environment.”

However, Jones knows there could still be bigoted elements. Questions for the Q&A have to be submitted in writing and screened beforehand to weed out hatefulness. There’s also the fact neither the City of Lockhart nor Caldwell County yet provide any additional support. Keeping the celebrations away from official political entities helps mitigate the antipathy some residents feel. No one can claim that tax dollars are going to Pride.

O’Donnell’s will be hosting a free dance party featuring DJ Ed West, another queer artist that O’Donnell has become fast friends with. The event is likely to be packed, as O’Donnell points out that his association with Pride of Caldwell County has been extremely financially beneficial as well as a chance to support the marginalized.

But it helps that Denis is no one to mess with, and he makes sure that patrons know he will not tolerate hate in his small-town bar.

“Anybody in Caldwell County want to talk to me about why the queers are here? It's going to be like, what are you talking about, man? Look around, man. This is your Lockhart,” he said. “ For them to feel safe in a place is important. And if anybody wants to get mad on that, I guess they can fight me.”