Location:
Santa Monica Blvd. from Crescent Heights Blvd. to Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood
Time of Year:
Mid-June (Note: President Obama proclaimed June 2009 LGBT Pride Month in the U.S.)
Duration:
Three days (over a weekend)
Cost:
Approximately $20 per day (advance purchase: $15 per day)
Activities and Features
:
- A parade with colorful floats including LGBT activists and their friends in the community
- A Carnivale atmosphere complete with vibrant costumes and a giant street party
- Around 200 community and gay-friendly vendor booths -DJs and dancing
- Food
- World-class entertainment on a variety of stages
- The 'Dyke March Rally and After Party' featuring honorary speakers; led by women on motorcycles down Santa Monica Blvd.
- Music video premieres
- 'Silent Celebration' (one minute of silence to honor the deceased and the cause)
- Pride is broadcast live on Time Warner Cable Channel 10
- 'Erotic City,' a dress-up event in the evening (leather and fetish attire suggested)
- Local club and bar related parties
General History of Gay Pride
Gay Pride, a celebration of LGBT culture around the world, stemmed from the Stonewall Riots in the bar of the same name, in New York City’s Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969. This is why Gay Pride events often take place in the month of June (though not exclusively and varying from country to country, of course).
The original incarnation of Gay Pride took place one year after Stonewall in the form of Gay Pride marches in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. These commemorated and brought attention to the riots and the cause in general. June 28th was originally known as 'Gay Liberation Day,' and in Los Angeles, 'Gay Freedom Day.'
These were the early seedlings of Gay Pride--a celebration, festival and parade that focuses attention on vital LGBT issues like same sex marriage and A.I.D.S. and H.I.V. It is also intended to bring the LGBT community and their friends together for an unabashed celebration of identity and culture as well.
There are Gay Pride (also simply known as “Pride”) festivals and parades all over the world, from Israel to Amsterdam.
History of Los Angeles Gay Pride
As mentioned above, the first LA Gay Pride (or 'Gay Freedom Day') took place in June of 1970. To this day, it is classified under the umbrella and moniker of Christopher Street West (CSW). Christopher Street was the location (in New York City) of the Stonewall riots.
LA’s original Gay Pride parade took place on Hollywood Blvd. Although no parade was held in 1973, the celebration returned in 1974 with a festival attached. Ultimately, in 1979, the LA Pride Parade and Festival were moved to their current location in West Hollywood’s Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood is one of Southern California’s most gay identified neighborhoods.
Past Celebrity Performers and Participants
- Gloria Allred
- Fantasia Barrino
- Bebe Buell
- Charo
- Leeza Gibbons
- Chelsea Handler
Kathy and Rick Hilton - Paris Hilton
- Olivia Newton John
- Terri Nunn (of Berlin)
- Shannon
- Joss Stone
- Anna Nicole Smith
- Tiffany
- Martha Wash
LA Pride Presented by Christopher Street West
