Wave Staff and Wire Reports
LOS ANGELES — LA Pride will have a new look this year after being canceled the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The LA Pride Parade is returning and taking a new route in the community where the movement started.
And the city of West Hollywood has announced a separate three-day festival June 3-5 a week before the annual Pride Parade, which will be held this year in Hollywood.
The LA Pride Parade will be held June 12 produced by Christopher Street West. It will be broadcast live on KABC Channel 7.
“LA Pride is thrilled to come together this year to commemorate the historic anniversary at the parade’s first and original location,” Gerald Garth, vice president of programs and initiatives for Christopher Street West, said in a statement. “As a mission-driven and community-centered nonprofit organization, CSW recognizes that LGBTQ+ experiences of Los Angeles are broader than just one neighborhood. Considering feedback gathered since the pandemic began, we are committed to creating experiences and access to our entire community, including many of those who have been most underserved and underrepresented.”
Christopher Street West said it will release parade route, time and location details soon.
“We considered many options for the parade, both traditional and progressive,” Garth said. “Hollywood as the original historical location for the first Los Angeles protest 50 years ago was a natural choice to honor what Pride really means and where Pride will go in the future. We are continuing to work closely with the city and community stakeholders to confirm additional details that we look forward to sharing very soon.”
Health and safety guidance as outlined by L.A. County health officials and the CDC will be followed during the parade.
Christopher Street West has distanced itself from the West Hollywood Pride Festival, which will be held in and around West Hollywood Park.
The WeHo Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival (formerly known as the One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival) will take place during 40 days from Harvey Milk Day May 22 to June 30 at various locations throughout the city with some online programs.
The city celebrates the artistic contributions of the LGBT community each year with the arts festival. The theme for this year’s celebration is “With Liberty, Diversity, Inclusion, and Progress For All.”
The festival is organized by the city’s Arts Division with input from the Lesbian & Gay Advisory Board, Transgender Advisory Board, Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission, and community partners.
It is funded by the city’s arts grant program.
The art festival and WeHo Pride Weekend will include a diverse array of LGBT community groups. The city has prepared a form for applications from community groups that wish to participate in this year’s events that is available at www.weho.city/applywehopride]w.eho.city/applywehopride.
The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. March 31.
Additional details about WeHo Pride Weekend will be made available in the coming weeks at www.weho.org/pride.
For more than 30 years, the city of West Hollywood and Christopher Street West were partners in LA Pride events, but that partnership ended in 2020.
Critics of previous events have said they were too white, too corporate, tone-deaf to racial inequality and dismissive of transgender people.
