Rainbow Reflections…

A column about LGBTQ life in Laguna

By Craig Cooley

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Photo by Mary Hurlbut

Craig Cooley

A new Board of Directors

Laguna Beach’s own Laguna Beach Pride 365 organization has become a nonprofit California corporation and will soon be recognized on the federal level with its 501(c)(3) application in process. With that the organization will have a new Board of Directors. 

 Craig Cooley, yes moi, will serve as President, Jonathan Colliflower as Vice President, Michelle Volz as Treasurer, and Harry Huggins as Secretary. There remain two BOD vacancies to be filled. If you might be interested, let us know and attend one of our meetings to find out what it is all about and how rewarding volunteering can be! 

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New Board of Directors: (L-R) President Craig Cooley, Vice President Jonathan Colliflower, Treasurer Michelle Volz, and Secretary Harry Huggins

Laguna Beach Pride 365 is all about the community and giving back to it in many ways. From the group’s relationship with other nonprofit organizations to the education and awareness of the diverse culture that is a big part of Laguna Beach; from addressing the challenges of LGBTQ youth at risk, and yes, indeed, an annual festival to celebrate the positive aspects of “Pride.” 

The most recent contribution was the entire BOD’s volunteering to assist a very successful community organization, G4G, that is “Gay for Good’s,” 10th year anniversary celebration this last Sunday in Los Angeles at the LA River Center and Gardens.

This Friday, April 12 at 6 p.m., at Nirvana Grille, Laguna Beach Pride will host its own Silent Auction fundraiser. Local community businesss have generously donated more than $5,000 in auction items, from hotel stays to yoga training sessions. 

Restaurants top the list: Watermarc, Skyloft, Mozambique, and Dizz’s, to name a few. It is a great opportunity to bid on an item and win it, often at half or less of the retail cost! And to also support the diverse community we all enjoy. The silent auction benefits the annual Pride Festival that is just a few short weeks away. If you can’t make it to the Silent Auction at Nirvana and you would like to support the organization, just link to Laguna Beach Pride 365 at www.lagunabeachpride.org/corporate-sponsor.

More about the Pride Festival weekend: Planned is a full host of events for three days, May 31 - June 2. This year it is more about activities like hiking in the canyon.

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Hiking activities planned for Pride Festival Weekend

And events such as social mixing with a Saturday afternoon Drag Bingo hosted by none other than our iconic local entertainer “Endora.”

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Drag Bingo with Endora

The venue, Seven 7 Seven (formerly Tivoli Too), is located in the Canyon at, appropriately, 777 Laguna Canyon Rd. There will be more than 20 informative organizations represented at the event. From the local Gay Realtors Association to the local Laguna Beach Police Department, from yoga demonstrations to health and wellness booths, from social groups to community assistance programs…just about everything will be represented! There is some great entertainment scheduled too – from new artists to popular dance DJs. To see a full celebrity schedule and list of events and activities, go to www.lagunabeachpride.org/festival-2019. 

Here, a first…in Laguna Beach!

The big news in the LGBTQ community is that there is a gay Presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg. I know, hard to pronounce (try Pete BOOT EDGE EDGE). But for all of us here in Laguna Beach, that is nothing new, as our very own Fred Karger officially ran for President in 2012. Yes! We have many firsts here in Laguna Beach. So, I have started a one-man campaign, by myself, and that is to get Pete to visit us here in Laguna Beach. 

And if he can’t do that, then maybe he can call in on my weekly Rainbow Radio program for 20 minutes or so. I would love to have Fred Karger in the studio with Pete on the phone.

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Fred Karger

We could ask all the “Barbara Walters” kind of questions – the ones everyone needs to know – well, professional presidential questions that is.

He is a serious contender and has placed third behind Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders in fundraising and is positioned to be included the preliminary presidential debates. He was indeed on Meet the Press this last week. Check it out, he makes excellent sense. 

So, I have sent a message to Pete’s offices and asked if he could spare 20 minutes for the radio program, or even the Laguna Beach Pride event the first of June. If you are so inclined, help me out, maybe a GoFundMe for travel expenses to entice Pete to our fair beach city! Now that would be very cool.

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Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg

To contact Pete Buttigieg, connect with his team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Mailing address: Pete for America, P.O. Box 1226, South Bend, IN 46624

So, there you have it for this week – lots of going on here in our beautiful beach city – lots to be prideful of. 

Until next week…Craig Cooley here doing my best to keep up with all the LGBTQ fun in Laguna Beach. 

If you would like to submit suggestions, please contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as we love to keep everything interesting and relevant, and well, fun and entertaining!

With love to all, from Craig at Rainbow Reflections…