DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas — Dripping Springs is preparing for the city's Pride Festival, but organizers say their efforts to promote it are being smeared.
Signs were hung on poles along U.S. 290 advertising the event, but they're no longer there because someone took them down, according to Pride of Dripping Springs President Juana Searcy.
"Someone came and vandalized the sign," Searcy said. "So we came up today and put the sign back up, put up another sign and it came out another day and and took it down again."
It's the city's fourth year hosting the event, and Searcy said that although this is not the first time they've received pushback for it, it's the first time an incident like this has occurred.
However, according to Searcy, incidents like vandalism are all the more reason to put on the festival.
"When people do things like this and make them feel like they're excluded or they're not valued, it's a pretty oppressive thing to live with," Searcy said. "We just want to get along with our neighbors and our friends and not have stuff like this happen."
Searcy said sign or no sign, the festival will go on as planned, with safety measures in place.
According to Searcy, off-duty officers from the Dripping Springs Police Department will be on standby, along with security personnel hired through an outside company.
Despite the road bump, Searcy has a message for the vandals.
"I'd love for them to get a better idea of what it is we're trying to do in this community," Searcy said. "You know, we're just trying to provide a safe, inclusive environment in our town resources for people. So we can all fit in as the neighbors that we are."
The festival will be hosted on June 22 at Dripping Springs Ranch Park.