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Golden State Gay Rodeo Association Archives
MSA.72
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Golden State Gay Rodeo Association Archives
Identifier/Call Number: MSA.72
Physical Description:
3 Linear Feet
(5 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1985-2022
Language of Material:
English
.
Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit
https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form. An item-level inventory is available from library staff.
Donated by the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association, 2022. This is an open collection that may periodically be updated with
additional materials.
The records are arranged in four series, two of which have been further arranged in subseries.
Series 1: Golden State Gay Rodeo Association Files, 1985-2017
- Subseries 1: Administrative files, 1991-2009
- Subseries 2: Magazines, 2002-2014
Series 2: Newsletters, 1985-2007
Series 3: Clothing, 1993-2017
Series 4: Programs, pamphlets, and promotional materials of GSGRA Chapters
- Subseries 1: Greater Los Angeles Chapter (GLAC), 1985-2008
- Subseries 2: Greater San Diego Chapter, 1994-2006
- Subseries 3: Desert Empire Chapter, 1993-1994
- Subseries 4: Greater Palm Springs Chapter, 2001, 2008-2022
- Subseries 5, Bay Area Chapter (BAC), 1998-2001
The Golden State Gay Rodeo Association (GSGRA) is a regional member association of the International Gay Rodeo Association
(IGRA) serving the state of California. Dedicated to the promotion of country western lifestyles and fundraising for community
nonprofits and other service organizations (LGBTQ+ and otherwise), GSGRA has supported the production of gay rodeos, country
western dances, and rodeo education workshops throughout the state. GSGRA's board includes three representatives (and up to
two alternates) elected by each chapter, in addition to state-level officials elected by the general membership. State-level
officials included a president, a vice president of administration, a vice president of rodeo operations, a treasurer, and
a secretary; regional chapters had officials in the same roles to facilitate local activities and produce rodeos. The chapters
represented in the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association (GSGRA) Institutional Archives include the Greater Los Angeles Chapter
(GLAC), the Greater San Diego Chapter, the Bay Area Chapter (BAC), the Desert Empire Chapter, and the Greater Palm Springs
Chapter. Three other chapters – the Central Sierra Chapter, the Capital Crossroads Chapter, and the Los Angeles Central Chapter
– are minimally represented in the collection. Only the Bay Area Chapter and the Greater Palm Springs Chapter are still active,
as of January 2024.
Founded in 1984 by Alfred F. Bell, David P. Watkins, Patrick J. McGrath, Eddie L. Cline, and Dennis White, GSGRA became a
founding member association of IGRA in January 1985 alongside the Colorado Gay Rodeo Association (CGRA), Texas Gay Rodeo Association
(TGRA), and Arizona Gay Rodeo Association (AGRA). In March 1985, the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, located in Burbank, CA,
became the site of the first gay rodeo in California, the fourth state to ever host a gay rodeo. For further information about
the history of gay rodeo, see the finding aid for the IGRA Institutional Archives and gayrodeohistory.org, a website maintained
by the Gay & Lesbian Rodeo Heritage Foundation, an offshoot of IGRA.
The Greater Los Angeles Chapter (GLAC) was the founding chapter of GSGRA, producing the Los Angeles Rodeo between 1985 and
2008. Two rodeos – one in 2007 and one in 2014 – were planned but never held. Official meetings were held in both Los Angeles
and Long Beach, and GLAC also produced social gatherings, fundraisers, educational workshops, and dances throughout Los Angeles
County. GLAC hosted the 15th and 17th Annual IGRA Conventions and Dance Championships in 1999 and 2001, respectively. The
chapter dissolved in 2014.
The Greater San Diego Chapter was founded in 1987, producing the San Diego Rodeo between 1989 and 2010. In addition to the
rodeo, the Greater San Diego Chapter produced the annual Twist & Shout Country Western Dance Competition, among other social
gatherings, fundraisers, and educational workshops, and hosted the 27th and 29th Annual IGRA Conventions in 2011 and 2013,
respectively. The chapter dissolved circa 2014.
The Bay Area Chapter (BAC) was founded in 1987, producing the Bay Area Regional Rodeo between 1988 and 2001 and the "Best
Buck in the Bay" Bay Area rodeo from 2002 to the present. BAC's first rodeo was the International Gay Rodeo Association's
First Annual Finals Rodeo, held September 18-20, 1987, at the Rowell Ranch Rodeo Park in Hayward, California. In addition
to the rodeo, BAC also produced the annual Kick Up Your Heels Country Western Dance Competition and Carnival West, among other
social gatherings, fundraisers, and educational workshops.
The Desert Empire Chapter was founded in March 1992 to serve the Inland Empire region of Southern California. It produced
the annual Palm Springs Regional Rodeo between 1993 and 1995, in addition to other social gatherings, fundraisers, and educational
workshops. The chapter dissolved circa November 1997, but an attempt to re-form in January 2000 resulted in the formation
of the Greater Palm Springs Chapter, officially seated in May 2000. The Greater Palm Springs Chapter's first rodeo was the
2001 International Gay Rodeo Association Finals Rodeo, and significant debt accrued from its production led to the cancellation
of the 2002 Hot Rodeo. After several years of fiscal recovery, the chapter held its first Hot Rodeo at the A.C. Dysart Equestrian
Center in Banning, California, in 2008. They continue to produce the Hot Rodeo annually.
The Central Sierra Chapter was founded in February or March of 1993. They held social gatherings and fundraisers to support
the production of the Fresno Rodeo, but no rodeo ever materialized. The chapter dissolved circa November 1997 with the Desert
Empire Chapter. GSGRA attempted to re-form the chapter in January 2000, but no organization resulted from these efforts.
The Los Angeles Central Chapter (LAC) was founded in February 1992 to serve Hollywood, West Hollywood, Burbank, Silverlake,
and Pasadena Valleys. In addition to producing social gatherings, fundraisers, and educational workshops, LAC worked closely
with GLAC to produce the Los Angeles Rodeo. LAC dissolved May 31, 1995, and many of its members ended up re-joining the Greater
Los Angeles Chapter.
The Capital Crossroads Chapter was formed in June 1996 to serve the Sacramento area, producing the Sierra Stampede from 1999
to 2016. In March 2001, the chapter was suspended from GSGRA due to conflicts in the state-level and chapter-level by-laws.
Although unsanctioned by IGRA or GSGRA, members of the former chapter continued to produce the Sierra Stampede between 2001
and 2006 under their new name, the Capital Crossroads Gay Rodeo Association (CCGRA). After years of negotiations between CCGRA,
GSGRA, and IGRA, Sacramento's Capital Crossroads Gay Rodeo Association (SCCGRA) was seated as a member association of IGRA
in 2007. SCCGRA dissolved in 2019.
In addition to producing rodeos, each regional chapter worked closely with other local LGBTQ+ organizations, particularly
the courts of the International Imperial Court System, including International Imperial Court of Long Beach, Imperial Court
of Los Angeles/Hollywood, Imperial Court of Orange County, Imperial Court of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, Royal Court
de Santa Monica, CGNIE (Imperial Court of Sacramento), the Imperial Council of San Francisco, and the Imperial Court de San
Diego; gay and lesbian bars, including Kickers (San Diego, CA), Hamburger Mary's (San Diego and West Hollywood, CA), Oil Can
Harry's (Studio City, CA), Floyds Country Bar (Long Beach, CA), Marlena's (San Francisco, CA), The Hole (Point Loma, CA),
The Bolt (Sacramento, CA), Faces (Sacramento, CA), Eagle (San Francisco, CA), and Tool Shed (Palm Springs, CA); the Levi,
leather, and bear gay subcultural communities; other country western groups, including the New West Institute and Sundance
Association for Country-Western Dancing; Pride event organizers, including Christopher Street West (Los Angeles, CA); lesbian
and queer women's organizations, including Southern California Women for Understanding; and community aid groups and nonprofits,
especially HIV/AIDS service organizations such as Shanti and PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support). Many people associated with
these organizations, as well as other LGBTQ+ activists, were honored as grand marshals during each rodeo's Grand Entry, and
GSGRA rodeos and other events served as fundraisers for community aid groups and nonprofits.
Golden State Gay Rodeo Association Archives, 1985-2022, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MSA.72; [folder number][folder title][date].
Original inventory provided by donor in 2019 and revised by Hunter Isenstein in 2023. Additional inventorying, processing,
and cataloging by Andrea Decker and Ezra Loeb, Metadata Assistants, 2023-2024, made possible by "Preservation and Accessibility
of California's LGBTQ+ History" grant from the California State Library.
International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) Institutional Archives, 1982-2022, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles;
MSA.26.
Gay Rodeo Oral History Project Archive, 2016-2023, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MSA.73.
Blake Little photographs, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; 2021.32.
Jim Wilke donations, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; 93.31 and 94.79.
The collection consists of administrative records and documents related to the operations of GSGRA, including correspondence,
financial records, meeting notes, member lists, by-laws and handbooks. It also includes non-GSGRA publications, select issues
of LGBTQ+ newspapers and magazines collected by GSGRA containing articles about IGRA and GSGRA.
Additional materials are related to rodeos produced by GSGRA and its regional chapters, including programs, pamphlets, promotional
materials, and clothing.
Regional chapters represented in the collection include the Greater Los Angeles Chapter (GLAC), Greater San Diego Chapter,
Bay Area Chapter (BAC), the Desert Empire Chapter, and the Greater Palm Springs Chapter. Rodeos represented in the collection
include the Los Angeles Rodeo, the San Diego Rodeo, the Bay Area Regional Rodeo and "Best Buck in the Bay" rodeos, the Palm
Springs Regional Rodeo, Hot Rodeo, and the 2001 International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) Finals Rodeo. Minimally represented
are the Central Sierra Chapter, the Los Angeles Central Chapter (LAC), and the Capital Crossroads Chapter (and its Sierra
Stampede rodeo), which appear only in the newsletters.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is
given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
By-laws
Clothing and dress
Correspondence
Gay rodeos
Gay rodeos -- California
Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Periodicals
Posters
Programs
Receipts (financial records)
Rodeos
Gay bars
Gay bars -- California
Gay rodeos -- California -- Burbank
Gay rodeos -- California -- Los Angeles
Gay rodeos -- California -- Indio
Gay rodeos -- California -- Palm Springs
Gay rodeos -- California -- Sacramento
Gay rodeos -- California -- Del Mar
Gay rodeos -- California -- San Diego
Gay rodeos -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area
Gay rodeos -- California -- La Honda
LGBTQ+
LGBTQ+ -- History
Rodeo royalty
Drag performance
Country-Western dance
AIDS Activists
International Gay Rodeo Association