'Hetero Awesome Fest' in Idaho concludes with fighting, low attendance, and racism scandal
A so-called "Hetero Awesome Fest" held in Boise, Idaho over the weekend ended in disaster as its mere dozens of attendees witnessed its organizer fight a musician while a local podcast host bragged about the city's lack of Black residents. Mark Fitzpatrick, owner of the Old State Saloon, organized the event as a "celebration of traditional gender norms and heterosexual awesomeness" and an "alternative" to LGBTQ+ Pride Month. The festival, held on June 20 and 21 directly across from the Idaho State Capitol in Cecil D. Andrus Park, aint your limp-wristed woke fest; its a full-on celebration of family values with guts.And LGBTQ+ Pride it was not people actually go to Pride events. Still, the festival managed to draw attention over the past several days for all the wrong reasons. Here's everything that happened.Just four dozen people attendedOnly about 30 to 50 people attended "Hetero Awesome Fest" across the two days, according to estimates by local station KTVB. This is roughly the size of the self-proclaimed "World's Smallest Pride Parade" in 2023, which was held by a neighborhood of around 40 people. Similar "straight pride events" have a long history of attracting laughably low turnout. One event in California in 2019 turned out just 20 attendees in comparison to 200 pro-LGBTQ+ protestors, and an event the same year in Texas organized by the people who hosted Boston's failed straight pride parade attracted just three people, one of whom later said she did not know what the event was and rebuked it. So Paulo Gay Pride in Brazil is considered the largest Pride celebration in the world, attracting about three to five million attendees every year. The largest celebrations in North America are Toronto Pride and New York City Pride, which each attract millions annually. Pro-LGBTQ+ musician wrestled off stage@rowanastraa pro-LGBTQ musician managed to play the stage at hetero awesome festival in downtown Boise, ID. The organizers were not happy, pulled the mic, and kicked the musician out. This person is a hero. #lgbtq #boise #idaho #protest #musicA large swath of the few attendees at "Hetero Awesome Fest" were musician Daniel Hamrick and a group of his friends. Hamrick was invited onstage to perform at one point, but before beginning, he took off an overshirt to reveal a jacket with rainbow and pink triangle patches, and a crop top reading Keep Canyon County Queer." He then played his song titled "Boy" about a young transgender boy.They put him in dresses to keep him in line / They say Its a phase and Its all in his mind,'" Hamrick sang. "They put him in ballet, he wants to play ball / What matters to him doesnt matter at all."They grew out his hair but he wanted it short / Put him in a skirt, now hes all out of shorts / Its not just aesthetics, its down to his heart / Theyre breaking his will and hes breaking apart," the song continued. This kid has got no chance / To stop the woke advance, let teacher take a glance: Whats in your underpants? / Elephants taking pride in tr*nny suicide / When all the books are fried, well see how many die!As Hamrick sang the line Afraid of the news on his parents TV, his microphone was cut, and Fitzpatrick climbed on to the stage to forcibly remove him. Another man in attendance, who mistook Fitzpatrick as a protestor attempting to disrupt the festival, then jumped onto the stage to confront him. Security officers intervened, and escorted Hamrick and his friends from the event. "He sang a song with lyrics that go against our values," Fitzpatrick told KTVB. "This is yet another example of lies and deceptions from the Pride community. Thats what they are: liars and deceivers. They do it to victimize children. Its pathetic and evil."'There aren't any Black people here' (@) While "Hetero Awesome Fest" was being criticized for its anti-LGBTQ+ mission, clips began circulating online of podcaster at the event who made racist remarks about the small number of Black residents in the area."There's still very good bars around, great food, there's the Basque district, again, it's clean, there aren't any Black people here," said Dave Reilly, co-host of self-described "premier American Nationalist talk show" The Backlash.Fitzpatrick has received sharp condemnation for allowing Reilly to set up at the event. He told Idaho News 6 that Reilly asked to interview the speakers at the event, which he allowed without doing further research. He said that he does not share Reilly's views, stating that "as long as they recognize that they're a sinner and they know that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins ... doesn't matter what color you are.""You'll never hear that from me. I won't say that, nor do I think it was wise or a kind thing for him to say," Fitzpatrick said. "[Reilly] has to be responsible for what he says, so if people are throwing out allegations of racism to actually ascribe them to me is completely ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous."Reilly has doubled down on his statement, telling the outlet: "Diversity is a weakness, not a strength. The LGBTQIA+ movement is Satanic. Straight white people are welcome and wanted in Idaho. Christ is King."This is not the first time a "straight pride" event has been linked to White Nationalism the organizer of the 2019 festival in California admitted that the people behind the event are a "totally peaceful racist group."