Southlake, a wealthy suburb in Texas, has denied a permit for Pride Kel-So, an LGBTQ+ celebration event scheduled for October, after approving it last year. The Southlake City Council voted unanimously to deny the permit without any questions or comments from councilors, despite one supporter speaking at the meeting and another opposing it. Festival organizers, who reported 2,500 attendees last year, are seeking clarification and suspect discrimination as the reason for denial.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In Southlake, Texas, city officials denied Pride Kel-So organizers a permit for an October event despite approving it last year. At Tuesday's council meeting, only two people spoke about the event; one supported it while another opposed it. The city councilors did not comment or question the organizers and voted unanimously to deny the permit. One of the festival co-founders, April Dreyson, expressed shock at the decision, noting that no explanation has been provided by the city council despite their previous approval in 2025. Reverend Alan Bentrup, who led St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church where the inaugural Pride Kel-So was held last year, supports the festival and wants to host it again this year.
Written for “Pride Event Permit Denied” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.50, but all 3 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 17306: attributed speech only · logged 2026-09-18
City officials in Southlake, Texas, have denied a Pride festival a permit to hold an event scheduled for this October despite granting the same permit last year, according to local reports.
uncertain
officials → deny → reports
On Tuesday, the Southlake City Council voted to deny Pride Kel-So festival organizers a permit they are seeking for an October event, according to Fox 4.
uncertain
they → vote → Fox
Only two people spoke about the event during the city council meeting, with one person speaking in favor of the event and another speaking in opposition to the festival.
asserted
another → speak → festival
None of the city councilors offered comment or asked the organizers any questions.
asserted
None → offer → questions
The council issued a unanimous vote against the permit.
asserted
council → issue → permit
Now, the organizers are seeking an explanation.
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organizers → seek → explanation
"I am just in shock still," April Dreyson, one of the festival's co-founders, told the outlet.
asserted
Dreyson → tell → outlet
She said that the city council has not explained its vote despite approving the festival a year prior.
asserted
council → say → festival
According to the festival's organizers, the inaugural Pride Kel-So festival was approved in 2025.
uncertain
festival → accord → 2025
It was held at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Southlake.
asserted
It → hold → Southlake
The name "Kel-So" is a combination of the words Keller and Southlake, referencing the fact that the church that hosted the festival sits on the border of the two cities.
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that → reference → cities
They told Fox 4 that 2,500 people attended the event, which they described as family-friendly.
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they → tell → which
The festival, which celebrates the LGBT community, featured live music and vendors.
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which → celebrate → music
"We followed all the recommendations and did not expect, especially with no comments, no questions.
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We → follow → questions
If they had concerns, they didn’t bring them up," Dreyson said.
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Dreyson → have → them
In a Facebook post after the vote, Dreyson said the only explanation for the denial she could think of is discrimination.
uncertain
she → say → denial
Zero excuse," she wrote.
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she → write → ?
The individual who spoke in support of the event was the church's associate pastor, Reverend Ellen Singer.
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who → speak → event
"It’s clear there is conflict.
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It → ’ → ?
It’s clear there is some sort of rupture in the community and actually the goal of something like this is to bring people together, to celebrate being a community with one another," she told Fox 4.
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she → ’ → Fox
The church's leader, Reverend Alan Bentrup, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he was out of town at the time of the council meeting, but that he supports the festival and wants to host it again this year.
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he → tell → it
“We’ve been clear from the beginning that we want to [host the Pride Kel-So event].
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we → want → event
We are willing and eager to host whatever might be possible,” Bentrup said.
uncertain
Bentrup → host → ?
The opposing voice at the city council meeting said that the festival was "abhorrent" and drew protesters to the event.
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festival → oppose → event
Bentrup said he had been to numerous "contentious" city council meetings and noted that it was unusual that one dissenting voice would sway the council's vote.
“One person speaking against doesn’t usually fit that,” he said.
If the council does not reconsider, the festival organizers said it could downsize the festival and limit the number of guests to 1,000 people.
uncertain
it → say → people
Any gathering of 1,000 people or more requires a permit per the city's laws.
asserted
gathering → require → laws
Dreyson told Fox 4 that she and the other festival organizers would "figure it out," and has been adamant on social media that the festival will happen in one form or another.
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festival → tell → form
Pilar Schank, a spokesperson for the city, declined to comment on the matter and directed The Independent to a video of the September 15 city council meeting.
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Schank → decline → meeting
The Aporia
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