Resident establishes LGBTQ heritage and culture group in Laguna

Laguna Beach earned a reputation through the years as a city that welcomes gays seeking refuge from intolerant forces.

Now, one resident wants the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning residents and business leaders showcased through cultural celebrations and public art, among other avenues.

In March, Chris Tebbutt, a Realtor who moved to Laguna Beach two years ago from New York, established the Laguna Beach LGBT Heritage & Culture Committee.

The group, which met for a fifth time Wednesday, has 12 members. Tebbutt hopes the City Council will eventually recognize the group as an official city committee with decision-making authority.

On Tuesday, the City Council will proclaim June as LGBT Heritage & Culture Month in Laguna.

The group, consisting of representatives of the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visit Laguna Beach, wasted no time getting to business.

In the past two months, committee members worked with nonprofit OC Pride to plan to conclude countywide Pride Week activities in Laguna Beach on June 25.

The day will include time at West Street Beach followed by afternoon tea in the former Boom Boom Room space, and an evening at Main Street Bar & Cabaret, Tebbutt said.

Audrey Prosser and other committee members want to preserve stories of Laguna’s gay history and have begun interviewing former city officials and longtime residents who were on the front lines during tumultuous times, such as the AIDS crisis in the 1980s that ravaged Laguna’s gay community.

Prosser, a Realtor who lived in Laguna for 25 years, said the group will compile the oral histories, photos and other materials and submit them to UC Irvine’s Special Collections and Archives.

“It’s hard to find documentation,” Prosser said. “We had some in our possession. This is a new push to provide more of Laguna’s history.

“If the stories are not told and written down, you will lose them.”

They will video-record interviews with people such as Bob Gentry, who served 12 years on the council from 1982 to 1994 and was the first openly gay mayor in Orange County.

Tebbutt said organizations throughout Laguna already are doing a good job of creating environments for people to be open where they might have not felt as comfortable in the past for fear of being ostracized from family or losing a job.

He wants to build on that environment and recognize the contributions of Laguna’s LGBTQ community.

Tebbutt commended the Laguna Beach Unified School District and Laguna Beach Seniors in this regard.

“Kids are coming out sooner,” Tebbutt said. “There are more same-sex families in the school system.

“There are more resources to train staff and and opportunities for families to learn.”

Club Q, a social group for the LGBTQ community, meets twice a month at the Laguna Beach Community & Susi Q Center.

Tebbutt, 46, grew up in Mission Viejo, earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and moved to New York City after college.

Two years ago, he moved to Laguna with his husband and two sons.

“I’ve always wanted to live in Laguna,” said Tebbutt, a chamber board member. “It’s closer to my family and I wanted a lifestyle change.

“When I was younger it was not as easy to come out in middle school or high school. We’ve made a lot of progress.”

In order for the group to become an official city committee, the council would have to adopt a resolution that describes its purposes and responsibilities of board members, among other information, City Atty. Phil Kohn said.

“If they are interested, they should approach the council with suggestions on why such a body should be formed and the purpose it’s intended to fulfill,” Kohn said.

Prosser said she is excited about the new artist-designed bench that will eventually be installed near the Garden of Peace and Love, an area that sits atop a bluff overlooking the ocean at Mountain Road.

The garden pays tribute to people felled by AIDS. The city is replacing the steps leading to the beach and will add ground cover and irrigation as part of the project, expected to be finished by the end of June, Public Works Director Shohreh Dupuis said.

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Twitter: @AldertonBryce