Joe Fejeran, a queer advocate, will be honored with the Community Service Award on July 17 at San Diego Pride’s Spirit of Stonewall Rally.
The service award celebrates up-and-coming leaders like Fejeran, who is known for preserving queer history, creating affirming religious spaces, volunteering with Pride, and being vocal about horror as LGBTQ+ expression.
Fejeran’s community efforts started in college, when he worked with a local theater company called Intermission Productions.
During annual showings of “The Vagina Monologues,” the company raised money for local organizations, supporting victims of gender-based violence and sexual assault.
“It wasn’t like ‘let’s go march somewhere and hold a sign,” he said. Fejeran wanted to flex his creative muscle and involve himself in something he believed had a direct impact.
“I got my foot in the door with what activism could look like,” Fejeran said.
He also noted the power of leadership in creating change. Seeing queer people in positions of power, like Josh Tenorio, the first openly gay elected lieutenant governor of Guam, Fejeran’s home territory, has helped inspire LGBTQ+ people in Guam.
“Coming into my adolescence here and going to college out here really opened my eyes to what was possible,” said Fejeran.
After college, Fejeran began to volunteer with San Diego Pride and became a key part of the team putting on the annual Light up the Cathedral. He is now the board president of Lambda Archives, an organization dedicated to preserving LGBTQ history in San Diego.
When asked to name a project of his with the biggest community impact, Fejeran said it had to be the Freaky Kiki Horror Ball. He believes that horror is queer expression. In an effort to blend personal passion and advocacy, he founded a horror movie podcast and from it, the popular ball each November.
The event raises funds for Lambda Archives, but also puts money “back into the hands of Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer and trans people” who perform.
At the event, “houses,” or groups of people, compete with each other, performing in horror costumes. Watching Jason from the “Friday the 13th” film franchise “vogueing,” doing dips and spins, “made my queer little heart sing,” Fejeran said.
KishaLynn Elliott, the executive director of Pride, said she is glad to award Fejeran for his community-wide efforts.
“He absolutely represents the next generation of civic leadership in our community,” Elliott said.
Fejeran is excited to host the third year of the ball in November and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Lambda Archives next year. Exciting things are planned, but for now, Fejeran is keeping them under wraps.
