Creating Safe Spaces

A Rural Community Connection Series

A We Are Atascadero Pride project supported by California Humanities through its Connecting California program.

Building Community. Sharing Stories. Creating Belonging.

Everyone deserves a place where they feel welcome, where their stories matter, and where they can connect with others.

For LGBTQ+ people living in rural communities and small towns, opportunities for connection and visibility can sometimes be limited.

Creating Safe Spaces: A Rural Community Connection Series is We Are Atascadero Pride's initiative to bring people together through storytelling, the arts, cultural programs, and meaningful community conversations.

From Atascadero to surrounding North County communities, our goal is to create opportunities for people to connect, discover shared experiences, and build lasting relationships.

Everyone is welcome.

Made Possible by California Humanities

We Are Atascadero Pride is proud to have received a Connecting California grant from California Humanities for Creating Safe Spaces: A Rural Community Connection Series.

The project runs from July 2026 through July 2027 and supports public programming that encourages dialogue, celebrates diverse experiences, and strengthens connections within our rural community.

This partnership helps WAAP expand its work beyond our annual Pride celebration, bringing educational, cultural, and community-building programs to North County throughout the year.

Del Shores: Stories, Laughter, and Connection

Sordid Stories Comes to Atascadero

One of the featured programs of Creating Safe Spaces brought acclaimed playwright, filmmaker, and storyteller Del Shores to Atascadero.

Best known for Sordid Lives and his work exploring Southern families, LGBTQ+ identity, acceptance, and the wonderfully complicated nature of human relationships, Del Shores has spent decades using humor and storytelling to bring audiences together.

His Sordid Stories appearance offered our community an opportunity to gather, laugh, reflect, and connect through stories that celebrate individuality while revealing the experiences we share.

For WAAP, the event represented something bigger than a performance.

It demonstrated how theater and storytelling can create common ground, encourage conversation, and help people feel seen and understood.

Sometimes the most meaningful conversations begin with a good story and a little laughter.

The Power of Community

California Humanities provides important financial support, but the heart of this project is our community.

Volunteers, artists, businesses, and community partners contribute time, professional skills, donated services, and resources that help make these programs possible.

Their generosity reflects one of WAAP's guiding principles:

Ubuntu: I am because we are.

When people bring their different experiences, talents, and perspectives together, we create something stronger than any of us could accomplish alone.

What Comes Next?

Creating Safe Spaces is about more than individual events.

Through community conversations, storytelling, education, and cultural programming, we're working to create lasting opportunities for LGBTQ+ people, families, friends, allies, and neighbors to connect throughout North County.

As this project continues, we'll share information about additional programs and opportunities to participate.

Be Part of the Conversation

We want to hear from you.

What kinds of events, conversations, and experiences would help create a stronger, more connected LGBTQ+ community in North County?

Whether you volunteer, attend a program, share your story, or simply come to listen, you have something valuable to contribute.

Everyone is welcome. Every voice matters.

Visit WAAPCC.org for upcoming programs and ways to get involved.

With Gratitude

This project is supported by California Humanities through its Connecting California grant program.

We are grateful to California Humanities and to the many volunteers, community partners, artists, and supporters who help make Creating Safe Spaces possible.

Official funder acknowledgment and logo usage should follow the language and requirements supplied by California Humanities.