“This is the whole basis of what our fraternity is supposed to be about,” begins Ruben Soto, growing more and more animated as he describes the unique Masonic culture that’s developed in his hometown of Bakersfield. “It’s about brotherly love. Having each other’s back. Pushing each other forward.”

Those are heady words, considering that what Soto is describing is the “Burn-n-Brew”—a casual annual backyard barbecue to which local Masons and their families are invited. And yet to the Masons of Green Dragon Fellowship Lodge № 857 and the Prince Hall–affiliated San Joaquin Lodge № 11, the event is more than an excuse to overindulge in burnt ends and bourbon. It is, he explains, emblematic of a partnership that transcends jurisdictions and exemplifies what’s best about the fraternity.

For two organizations that have not always enjoyed a perfectly simpatico relationship, the Grand Lodge of California and the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of California have in recent years grown closer, blurring what for generations had been a bright line between the groups by working together on a slew of philanthropic endeavors, scholarships, and social gatherings. Much of that movement has happened at the state level, but increasingly—and perhaps most profoundly—it’s between local lodges that such partnerships have emerged. And nowhere is that more evident than in Bakersfield, where the Prince Hall and Grand Lodge of California Masons have become each other’s greatest supporters. “We’re more than close—we’re beyond family,” Soto says. “They have shown me the essence of what it is we’re all about. That may be a cliche, but it’s the truth.”

Stephen Hubble, the master of Green Dragon Fellowship № 857, agrees wholeheartedly. “We’re like-minded,” he says. “The one thing we all share is brotherly love.”

While the annual cookout, held each year at the home of Gary Jackson, a founding member of Green Dragons, may be one of the highlights of the lodges’ crosstown partnership, their fraternization runs much deeper than just that. In fact, the Dragons’ relationship with the local Prince Hall group predates their own chartering. In 2015, as Green Dragon was being formed from members of several Kern County lodges, it was San Joaquin № 11 that opened its hall doors to the nascent group, who were charged a paltry $50 a month in rent. That helped the group get off the ground. “Our lodge got started out of a lot of adversity, so I guess you’d say we were drawn together,” Jackson explains.

Over time, that bond grew stronger: The groups have since joined up on efforts to feed the homeless, commandeered a section of the Bakersfield VillageFest to table together and raise money for local charities, and joined one another to assist elderly members of both lodges. A monthly roundtable meeting, dubbed the Smoke-n-Joke, provides a venue for members of both lodges to propose new charitable projects, raise funds, and simply stay up to date on each other’s activities. They’ve come together to restore a Masonic memorial at the local cemetery, partnered on children’s toy drives, and assisted with Children’s Advocates Resource Endowment programs. And of course there’s the Burn-n-Brew, which the grand masters of both orders have attended, and where funds are raised for the local bethel of Job’s Daughters.