Join us in celebrating Pride Month this June, which serves as a time to promote the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of the LGBTQ+ community.
The last several years have posed significant challenges for our queer community members. In addition to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, LGBTQ+ people across the United States have also faced widespread anti-trans and anti-queer legislation, as well as book bans. The condemnation and erasure of queer lives and experiences comes with a devastating cost to the mental health, physical health, and well-being of the queer community.
It has been over 50 years since the Stonewall Riots, but the fight for queer rights is still ongoing. To help ensure that queer joys and struggles are never erased, Sonoma County Library is launching new opportunities for queer people to add to the shared history of our county and to connect with each other. We are also actively working to make sure that our collections, programs, and services reflect, represent, and uplift the lives and experiences of queer people. Our library branches are spaces where the queer community will always be welcomed and celebrated, not just during Pride Month, but every day.
Check out the following projects, events, book lists, and resources compiled by librarians at Sonoma County Library to help you celebrate Pride this year!
Here + Queer, Sonoma County
Share your pride. Reclaim your history. Connect with your community.
Here + Queer, Sonoma County collects, archives, and amplifies the histories of Sonoma County’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) communities. Throughout history, LGBTQ+ people have fought for equality, representation, and dignity in society.
Here + Queer strives to uncover the rich and dynamic stories of queer culture and activism, documenting the struggles and joys of queer life.
This project accepts digital content in the form of personal narratives, essays, anecdotes, photographs, creative works, audiovisual material, and more. The project actively seeks submissions from all ages and backgrounds, from all time periods in Sonoma County history. Anonymous submissions are supported, as well as submissions in English and Spanish.
Your stories will empower, enrich, and deepen our understanding of queer communities. This project launches this June 2022, and will continue beyond Pride Month.
Sonoma County Library Events
Queer Book Club (adults) - Virtual
Wednesday, June 8, 6:00pm
One Last Stop by Casey Mcquiston
Join librarians virtually to discuss books centering on LGBTQ+ voices. Meetings are on the second Wednesday of the month (January-December) from 6-7 pm. For more information please visit: https://sonomalibrary.org/queerbookclub
Physical copies of the book are available (while supplies last).
Create Teen! (ages 13-18)
In-Person @ Roseland Regional Library
Friday, June 10, 4:00-5:00pm - Pride Keychains
Come and craft at Roseland Regional Library! Snacks and all materials will be provided.
To celebrate Pride Month in June, this week's craft will be Pride Keychains! You can paint your pride flag, your pronouns, or whatever else makes you feel like celebrating Pride.
Friday, June 17, 4:00-5:00pm - Rainbow Wall Hanger
This week we will be celebrating Pride Month again by making rainbow wall hangers! Using rope, yarn, felt, and twine, we will create a colorful rainbow that you can hang anywhere!
Windsor Teen Craft Time (grades 7-12)
In-Person @ Windsor Regional Library
Tuesday, June 21, 4:00-5:00pm
It's Pride Month, so celebrate by making a cute Pride Flower Crown! First come first served. Limited supplies.
In-Person @ Guerneville Regional Library
Wednesday, June 22, 11:00-11:45am
Join us on our little patio off the children's area in the Guerneville Library for a Storytime Celebrating Families of all shapes, colors and sizes! We'll sing some songs about L-O-V-E and make something crafty to celebrate Pride Month.
Family Storytime celebrating LGBTQ Pride (Designed for those 0-6 and their caregivers)
In-Person @ Rincon Valley Regional Library
Friday, June 24, 10:30-11:30am
We will read books, sing, and play, and take home a rainbow themed craft.
In-Person @ Sonoma Valley Regional Library
Friday, June 24, 4:00-6:00pm
Join us for a Pride Month event - Pride at the Movies, screening the documentary "Southern Pride". This documentary features people from two towns in Mississippi organizing gay and Black pride events in in the wake of the 2016 US Presidential Elections. Limited seating.
Este programa estará presentado en inglés.
Reading Justice: A Family Book Club Live Event
Friday, June 24, 4:30-5:30pm - Virtual
Reading Justice is a program designed to give families an opportunity to talk about potentially challenging topics. Each month we will feature a different book on a topic and offer registrants access to the video of Adriel Ahern, Children’s Librarian at the Sebastopol Regional Library reading a book and discussing it. For the Month of June we will be featuring books about Gay Pride and Gender Identity.
Stories with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
In-Person @ Guerneville Regional Library
Saturday, June 25, 11:00am- 12:30pm
Join the Guerneville Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the local library community for songs, stories and a little outdoor revelry in celebration of Pride Month!
Colors of the Rainbow Storytime
In-Person @ Guerneville Regional Library
Wednesday, June 29, 11:00-11:45am
Join us on our little patio off the children's area in the Guerneville Library for a Storytime all about the Colors of the Rainbow, and how it takes all colors to make the world beautiful. Learn the rainbow song and create a rainbow heart banner to help spread the love of all colors!
Sonoma County LGBTQI+ History Timeline
In- Person @ Central Santa Rosa Library
Wednesday, June 29th at 6:00pm
What did gender non-conformity look like in this area during the 1970s and 80s? How did Sonoma County help stop a national anti-LGBT movement? Why did teenage girls at Los Guillicos riot in the early 1950s?
Explore the community building, cultural and social change forged by local LGBTQI+ people during the years 1947 – 2000, and join us for a lively discussion about community and other topics important to North Bay LGBTQI+ life.
Presented by Tina Dungan and Shad Reinstein, LGBTQI+ Historians who together created the Sonoma County LGBTQI+ Timeline.
This program will be in-person at Central Santa Rosa Library, and though registration is encouraged, it is not required. This presentation is intended for teens and adults.
Virtual Pride Club for Teens (ages 13-18)
Every Tuesday at 5pm - Virtual
Join other teens in this weekly club to discuss books and other media that showcase queer voices and experiences. June’s theme is All Things Pride! You can select a book or other media that fits that theme based on recommendations by librarians or choose your own. This club is a great way to make friends, foster community building, and discover queer media all at the same time!
Register to receive a free pride-themed craft kit! You will receive the necessary Zoom information 30 minutes before the session starts.
Explore Pride at Your Library
In-Person @ Sebastopol Regional Library
Visit the Sebastopol Regional Library all month long to participate in a rainbow craft station and scavenger hunt for school aged children. Visit or contact the Sebastopol Regional Library for more information!
June Take & Make Craft Kits: Rainbow Jinglers
Available at all 14 library branch locations! Kits are available on a first come, first served basis. While supplies last. For ages 5 & up w/ adult supervision.
Summer Reading Scavenger Hunt
Register for the Sonoma County Library's family friendly virtual community scavenger hunt (June 6th to August 13) and look for a Pride themed activity along the way!
Library Appearances at Community Events
Saturday, June 4
Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa
Parade: 11:00am-12:00pm
Festival: 12:00pm-5:00pm
Come visit us at the Pride festival! We will have fun giveaways and the Library’s Bibliobus will be stocked full of LGBTQ+ library materials for you to check out!
Saturday, June 11, 6:30-10:30pm
West County High School GSA, Positive Images, LGBTQ Connection, and the Sonoma County Library are proud to present Sonoma County Queer Prom 2022! Tickets are $25 but no one will be turned away for lack of funds; if you need a scholarship ticket, email info@posimages.org.
Who: Sonoma County High School Students, 14-18 years old (Attendees must bring a form of ID for entry, no exceptions to age range)
When: June 11, 2022, 6:30-10:30pm
Where: The Barlow, Sebastopol, CA
Theme: Fairytale
Attire: Dress up, dress down, costumes, cosplay - all attire is welcome.
During the event, visit the Library’s “Chill Space” area to unwind, read a book, make a craft, or just hang out in a comfy space.
Rohnert Park Pride Night with Sonoma County Pride
Friday, June 24, 5:00-9:00pm
at the Rohnert Park Farmers’ Market in the Rohnert Park-Cotati Library Parking Lot.
Saturday, June 25, 2:00-9:00pm
Held on the Town Green on Saturday, June 25, join us for a day of music, food, games and colorful surprises. This family-friendly event celebrating love in Windsor among all people, including the LGBTQIA community, will be Free and Open to All.
Live performances at the Music Fest, fun activities in the KidZone, resources at the Community Fair, food and Drinks at the Street Fair.
Books, Collections, and Resources
Staff created book recommendation lists:
Queer Fiction for Adults
Click here to download the list as a PDF
Adult Non-Fiction
Click here to download the list as a PDF
Queer Books for Teens
Click here to download the list as a PDF
For more queer YA recommendations, check out these additional lists created by Librarians at Sonoma County Library:
Children’s Book Lists
Picture Books
Click here to download the list as a PDF
by Jarrett Dapier
(he/him)
and illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
(they/them)
E DAPIER
by Ryan Brockington
(he/him)
and Isaac Webster
(he/him)
illustrated by Lauren May
(she/her)
E BROCKINGTON
Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle
by Nina LaCour
(she/her)
and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita(she/they)
E LACOUR
by Katherine Locke
(they/them)
and illustrated by Anne Passchier
(they/them)
E LOCKE
by Margaret McNamara
(she/her)
and illustrated by G. Brian Karas
(he/him)
E MCNAMARA
Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution!
by Joy Michael Ellison
(they/them)
and Teshika Silver
(she/her)
J 306.76 RIVERA
by Sharice Davids
(she/her)
with Nancy K. Mays
(she/her)
and illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley
(he/him)
J B DAVIDS
by Megan Madison
(she/her)
and Jessica Ralli
(she/her)
and illustrated by Anne/Andy Passchier
(they/them)
TOD MAD
Books for Kids Ages 8-12
Click here to download the list as a PDF
Digital Resources
Explore this multiformat list of hoopla offerings curated for Pride Month. There are over 50 items to choose from ranging from audiobooks to movies.
Browse through eBooks & eAudiobooks in our new LGBTQ+ guide, now available in the Libby app! This guide will stay up all year and refreshes with new books as they are added to the collection.
Drawing from their incredible library of LGBTQ+ films, Kanopy has curated a collection for Pride Month. To view these films that cover everything from historical events to pioneers bravely taking a stand against injustice, visit go.kanopy.com/pride.
Community Partners
Visit the websites of our fantastic community partners for more events and resources for June and beyond!
For more information on their planned pride events, you can visit their calendar here.
For more information on their planned pride events, you can visit their Facebook page here.
For more information on their ongoing programs and services, you can click the following links:
For more information on their planned pride events, you can visit their calendar here.
Give Out Day Fundraiser event on June 30 from 3 - 9pm
Please save the date for APT's annual Give Out Day Fundraiser at The Block in Petaluma. All are welcome. Family friendly, DJ, dancing, food, local raffle prizes, games & more!
For more information on their ongoing projects and plans, you can click the following links:
Wine Country’s LGBTQI Film Festival brings to Sonoma County outstanding films that explore the vast diversity of our community and celebrates our unique history. They show a monthly film on the third Thursday of the month at Rialto Cinemas,Sebastopol.
This summer they will be showing the following films:
- Poppy Field - June 9, 1pm & 7pm at the Rialto Cinema, Sebastopol
- This film weaves themes of freedom, art, repression and identity as a Romanian police officer Cristi fights his internal and external identity. His private and public persona is challenged when his unit is called to a volatile anti-LGBTQ+ protest at cinema. The tension between his life with boyfriend Hadi and his in-uniform image spills over during a night of suspense. His ability to hide his sexual orientation challenged by an audience member who recognizes him from a previous encounter. The film is based on an actual event in 2017.
- Mama Bears - June 16, 7PM at the Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol
- This film follows three conservative Christian families confronting the bigotry that is negatively impacting their LGBT+ children by supporting and advocating for them. The film’s subjects are part of the support group named “Mama Bears'' because of the fierceness with which its members fight for their offspring’s rights in statehouses, at school board meetings, and in their places of worship. This film by award-winning director Daresha Kyi is a powerful and poignant story of the transformative power of unconditional love.
For more information on ticket prices and availability, visit: https://www.outwatchfilmfest.org/.
