Rainbow flags fly at Vallejo Museum for first time during Pride Month

VALLEJO — For the first time in its history, a pair of rainbow flags will flank the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum’s front door during its open hours for the entire month of June.

Museum Director Trevor Allen and Vallejo Gay Network coordinator and Stonewall Democratic Club of Solano County chair Tom Bilbo raised the flags in a ceremony on Thursday.

“It’s the people’s museum, and we are inclusive,” Allen said.

Museum board member and artistic director of On The Fringe Visual and Performing Arts Maria Stats said she thinks it was just an oversight that this hadn’t happened before.

“It's not like there haven't been a ton of LGBTQ+ events here, gay weddings and everything else,” Stats said. Bilbo said the rainbow flag flew there once before during a Pride comedy show in 2016.

Two members of On The Fringe Youth Theatre sang from the museum steps to a small audience that included Vallejo City Councilmember Peter Bregenzer, former Councilmember Pippin Dew, and Solano AIDS Coalition director Mario Saucedo.

Stats’ daughter 10-year-old Coco Stats sang “A Ring of Keys” from the Broadway musical “Fun Home,” that depicts an early realization of being attracted to another woman.

On the Fringe Youth musical director 20-year-old Xathanael Todd gave a spirited and convincing performance of “A Little Bit” from the musical “Crazy, Just Like Me,” in which a young man struggles to tell his mother that he’s gay.

Stats said the young actors came up with the idea of performing at the ceremony. “We strive to support our kids in anything that they want to do,” Stats said. “They reached out with the idea of participating. I forwarded that idea to Trevor and we made it happen.

Stats said her daughter has always been an ally. At age five Coco performed in “Waitress” with Christine Dwyer and other openly out queer women. “She didn't realize that there were bigots in the world,” Stats said. “When you grow up like these kids, surrounded with theater with all the uncles and everything your little brain doesn't understand.”

Stats was aware that the event could draw protests and warned her daughter that some people might not like to her sing that song, and asked her “’Are you okay with that?’”

“She was like, ‘Why wouldn’t someone want to hear me sing? ‘I sing really well,’” Stats said. “So we had to explain that to her.” Coco’s reply was, “Then I should do it and do it louder!” according to her mother.

On the Fringe Youth will perform “Into The Woods Jr.” A “cockeyed fairytale” by Stephen Sondheim, tonight at the museum at 7 p.m., and again on Saturday with performances at 2 and 7 p.m.

The museum is located at 734 Marin St. and is open Tuesday through Friday 12 - 4 p.m. and Saturday 10 - 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students and children under 12 are free. The third Saturday of each month is Free Family Day. More information about the museum's programs is available at vallejomuseum.net.