Family-friendly fun and faith were in focus as an Idaho bar and restaurant planned to push back on “Pride” with the launch of “Hetero Awesome Fest.”
Located in the Boise suburb of Eagle, the Old State Saloon announced its intention to expand beyond a mere month-long promotion to bring the people of the Gem State a new festival honoring “the traditional family unit.” To do so, it planned to set up across the street from the Idaho State Capitol in June while other cities were hosting “Pride” events to declare “faith, family, and freedom are worth protecting.”
Partnering with Heterosexual Awesomeness Inc., the non-profit founded by the bar’s owner, Mark Fitzpatrick, the Old State Saloon announced the “Hetero Awesome Fest” was scheduled for June 20-21 at the Cecil D. Andrus Park.
“This ain’t your limp-wristed woke fest,” read a description for the free event that was set to have live music and speakers. Likewise, a promotional video expressed, “This festival is more than just an event. It’s a declaration that faith, family, and freedom are worth protecting.”
In partnership with @HeteroAwesome, we are throwing a free Heterosexual Awesomeness Festival downtown Boise in front of the capitol building. Mark your calendars for June 20-21. We’re looking for sponsors, volunteers, bands and speakers! Come celebrate traditional family values!… pic.twitter.com/P7PgC3FU4E
— Old State Saloon (@OldStateSaloon) April 19, 2025
In an email to NBC News, Fitzpatrick, who held an inaugural “Heterosexual Awesomeness Month” at his establishment in June 2024, explained, “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.”
“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,” he went on. “We believe the traditional family is vital to society and deserves recognition and protection.”
The bar owner pushed back on those who attempted to shame him, claiming his festival was about “hate and spreading hate speech” by sharing previous posts that read, “Pride month exists so LgBTq can march down the street doing disgusting and criminal activities while demanding to be celebrated.”
In responding to a specific alphabet activist, Fitzpatrick went on, “Your pride community encourages children to cut off their sex organs. You and the community are disgusting.”
“There’s no shame in speaking truth. The LGBTQ agenda is wicked, perverse, and victimizes children.”
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During a 2024 interview with KTVB, Fitzpatrick said during his promotion that offered discounts to heterosexual couples, “I’m always going to side with what God says,” as he referenced Biblical teaching on homosexuality. “That doesn’t mean I don’t love homosexuals, and that doesn’t mean I don’t love people. But just because you love somebody, doesn’t mean you’re going to jump behind them and support them in every single decision they make in life. It’s not a requirement.”
Similarly, Fitzpatrick recently posted, “When you support LGBTQ and PRIDE, you support ALL of it — the pushing of transgenderism/drugs/surgeries on kids, drag shows, indecent exposure, Marxism, Satanism, Socialism, and all other evil that you find at their events.”
“When you support LGBTQ and PRIDE, you support ALL of it – the pushing of transgenderism/drugs/surgeries on kids, drag shows, indecent exposure, Marxism, Satanism, Socialism, and all other evil that you find at their events.” – Mark Fitzpatrick @oldstatemark
Defund PRIDE! – Stop…
— Old State Saloon (@OldStateSaloon) April 30, 2025
While an announcement had yet to be made by President Donald Trump’s administration regarding how June would celebrated at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue this year, actions on Title IX and pronoun-peddlers had already stood in stark contrast to then-President Joe Biden’s administration which had allowed topless displays on the White House lawn and labeled Libs of TikTok and others “extremist hate groups.”
As for those parading their sexuality in perverse and deviant fashion, NBC News noted that organizers had moved their “Pride” events to September in Boise after COVID and that they hadn’t gone back to June because of more favorable weather.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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