An Idaho bar owner is organizing a counter event to local Pride celebrations, giving it the amazingly cringe name of Hetero Awesome Fest. Far from outrage, the online gays have responded as they do best—skewering the event with jokes and memes.
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Mark Fitzpatrick, owner of the Old State Saloon near Boise, is planning to host Hetero Awesome Fest outside the state capital in the month of June. The event follows last June’s Heterosexual Awesomeness Month, in which the bar gave free beers to straight cis men on Mondays and discounts to straight cis couples on Wednesdays.
According to social media promos, Hetero Awesome Fest plans to feature live music, speakers “who are on the front lines defending traditional family values” and local food and drink vendors. However, Fitzpatrick has had little luck so far securing sponsors.
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That’s the plan, anyway. We can only imagine how something called Hetero Awesome Fest will actually turn out.
me and my bros at the Hetero Awesome Fest
— Max the comics guy who does comics about comics (@waitingforthetrade.bsky.social) April 29, 2025 at 1:04 PM
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Seeing as we reproduce ourselves out of their bodies, I say we drop by the bar and buy all the straight people a drink to thank them for their service. www.joemygod.com/2025/04/idah…
— Dan Savage (@dansavage.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 1:40 AM
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Panels to include: -Making Gay Jokes for Fun and Profit but Let’s Be Real Mostly Profit (feat. Ryan Reynolds) -Unlocking the Untapped Power of Beige -Chase Dark Thoughts Away With Overhead Lighting Absolutely Everygoddamnwhere -Pickleball: The New Racewalking www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn…
— Glen Weldon (@ghweldon.bsky.social) April 30, 2025 at 3:10 AM
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“The Hetero Awesome Fest and Heterosexual Awesomeness Month aim to celebrate the traditional family unit and address concerns about cultural trends influenced by liberal progressivism,” Fitzpatrick told NBC News in an email.
“Our event is not about targeting any group but about raising awareness of practices we find troubling, such as the encouragement of ‘gender transitions’ among children or their exposure to inappropriate content.”
At the same time, Fitzpatrick has said on social media that “Pride month exists so LGBTQ can march down the street doing disgusting and criminal activities while demanding to be celebrated” and that the queer “community encourages children to cut off their sex organs.”
While the city has actually relocated its Pride event to September since 2020, Fitzpatrick still chose June to counter Pride, despite never having attended a Pride event before.
In a social media video, Fitzpatrick said he has reached out for corporate sponsors who previously donated to Pride events. Those corporations told him that they only donate to registered nonprofits, so he created Heterosexual Awesomeness Inc. as a nonprofit. He has yet to hear back.
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