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The LA Pride Festival & Parade, commonly known as LA Pride, is an annual LGBTQ Pride celebration in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. It is one of the largest LGBTQ Pride events in the world, traditionally held on the second weekend of June, and produced by the Christopher Street West Association.


Christopher Street West Association Inc.

Christopher Street West Association (CSW) was established in 1970 by co-founders Rev. Troy Perry (founder,
Metropolitan Community Church The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. There are 222 member congregations in 37 ...
)
Rev. Bob Humphries
(founder
United States Mission
, and
Morris Kight Morris Kight (November 19, 1919January 19, 2003) was an American gay rights pioneer and peace activist. He is considered one of the original founders of the gay and lesbian civil rights movement in the United States. Biography Early life Kight ...
(founder,
Gay Liberation Front Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK and Canada. The GLF provided a ...
) to organize a gay parade in Los Angeles to commemorate the
Stonewall Riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of ...
in New York City, the year prior. Its eponymous name is an homage to The Stonewall Inn's address on Christopher Street in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
. CSW remained an ad hoc organization run by an all-volunteer board of directors until 1976, when it incorporated and was granted 501(c)3 nonprofit status by the Internal Revenue Service. CSW is still run by an all-volunteer board of directors. CSW states its mission is to "create safe and inclusive spaces of self-expression, celebration, and diversity/equity/inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community of Greater Los Angeles." While best known for producing the LA Pride Festival & Parade™, CSW also "organizes, sponsors or supports other community events throughout the year, and works with nonprofit, philanthropic, community and corporate partners to further diversity, equity and inclusion."


LA Pride Festival & Parade


The first permitted gay parade in the world

CSW co-founders Rev. Troy Perry, Rev. Bob Humphries, and Morris Kight originally discussed organizing a march or a demonstration, but Troy Perry famously said, "No. We’re going to do a parade. This is ''Hollywood.''" According to Rev. Perry, "The Police Commission voted 4 to 1 to place conditions on the parade permit. And they were, 1) you'd have to put up a bond for a million dollars to pay out the businesses when people throw rocks at ya'll 2) you have to put up a cash bond of $500,000, and 3) you've got to have at least 5000 people marching." The
ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...
joined CSW in their legal challenge of the LAPD's excessive fees, and restrictions that other parade permits were not required to follow . The California Superior Court ruled in favor of CSW and ordered the Police Commission to issue a parade permit to CSW for a $1,500 security payment, and furthermore, that all other requirements be dropped. On June 28, 1970, approximately 2,000 people gathered on McCadden Place in Los Angeles, marched north to Hollywood Blvd, and proceeded east towards Vine Street. CSW's "Gay Pride Parade" became the first permitted gay parade in the world.


LA Pride evolution and relocation

In 1974, CSW board member and pioneering gay filmmaker
Pat Rocco
pitched the idea adding a festival to accompany the parade. The first festival was a carnival with rides, games, food, and vendor booths in a Hollywood parking lot. Continuing hostility and harassment from the Los Angeles Police Department led CSW to relocate the parade and festival in 1979 to a more welcoming unincorporated LA neighborhood around Santa Monica Blvd. In 1984, that area became part of the newly incorporated City of West Hollywood. Thus, LA Pride actually predates West Hollywood by five years. Eventually, CSW trademarked the annual event as the LA Pride Festival & Parade™ and expanded the event to include a three-day celebration with music performances and other Pride events in and around Los Angeles during the entire month of June, Pride month. By the early 2000's, attendance of LA Pride weekend was estimated to be 400,000-500,000, making it one of the largest Pride celebrations in the United States, and the world. Recent LA Prides have included:


LA Pride 2015

In 2015 LA Pride was held on June 12 to June 14, 2015. The headlining artists for the festival were
Wilson Phillips Wilson Phillips is an American pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of ...
,
Tinashe Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe ( ; born February 6, 1993), known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Her notab ...
,
Ty Herndon Boyd Tyrone Herndon (born May 2, 1962), known professionally as Ty Herndon, is an American country music singer and songwriter. His music career began in the 1980s as a member of the Tennessee River Boys, a predecessor to the country band Diamo ...
,
Eden xo Eden may refer to: *Garden of Eden, the "garden of God" described in the Book of Genesis Places and jurisdictions Canada * Eden, Ontario * Eden High School Middle East * Eden, Lebanon, a city and former bishopric * Camp Eden, Iraq ...
, and
Fifth Harmony Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, was an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and previously Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group sig ...
.


LA Pride 2016

In 2016 LA Pride was held on June 10–12, 2016. Among the 35 artists scheduled to perform were Big Freedia,
Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...
,
Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album '' Fun ...
, Daya,
Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al ...
,
Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...
,
Lion Babe Lion Babe is an American R&B duo from New York City, consisting of singer Jillian Hervey and record producer Lucas Goodman. Following their meeting through a mutual friend, the pair released the single "Treat Me Like Fire" in 2012, which raised ...
,
Robin S. Robin Stone (born April 27, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, who scored success in the 1990s with such house music singles as " Show Me Love" (which was her debut single) and " Luv 4 Luv". She has had three number ones on the ''Bil ...
,
Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Peabody Award, and nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award. S ...
, and
Trina Katrina Laverne Taylor (born December 3, 1978), known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in 1998 with her appearance on the Trick Daddy single "Nann Nigga". Trina has been described by '' XXL'' as "the mos ...
. The Saturday night before the parade, Santa Monica police arrested a man who had explosives, assault rifles and ammunition, and was planning to attend the LA Pride festival parade, said Los Angeles Mayor
Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 election, and reelected in 2017. A f ...
during a press conference Sunday morning. The 22-year-old suspect was arrested hours after the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando on June 12, 2016. It was unknown if the incidents were connected, the Los Angeles arrest was a copycat crime, or the two were unrelated.


LA Pride 2017

In 2017 LA Pride replaced its traditional parade festivities with a resistance approach forming a #ResistMarch and incorporating the social media hashtag #OwnYourPride. The march kicked off at the original start of its 1970 parade in Hollywood on Hollywood Blvd. This attracted controversy in parts of the LGBT community as it was stated to be a Trump resistance march. Notable speakers at the #ResistMarch were: Maxine Waters,
Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...
,
Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...
,
America Ferrera America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featu ...
,
Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...
, and
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
. The parade grand marshal wa
Alexei Romanoff
LGBT and AIDS activist, and one of the leaders o
The Black Cat
demonstrations in 1967, two years before the Stonewall Riot.


LA Pride 2018

In 2018, LA Pride was held on June 9–10, 2018. The musical performances included appearance by R&B artist Kehlani and international pop singer
Tove Lo Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been called "Sweden's darkest pop export" by ''Rolling Stone.'' She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take o ...
The first day of LA Pride’s two-day annual Festival sold out for the first time ever in its 48-year history. The festival reached capacity by early evening. Due to the higher than expected turn out, some people who purchased tickets for Saturday were not able to enter the festival grounds.


LA Pride 2019

In 2019, LA Pride expanded its footprint on Santa Monica Boulevard with “Pride on the Boulevard,” a free block party that allowed attendees to gather and watch local performers on both Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9, and included new attractions like a Ferris wheel and a free show starring music and dance icon,
Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...
. Also that year, CSW signed a three-year agreement with ABC7 Los Angeles (KABC) to televise the LA Pride Parade. ''Raven’s Home'' star and out lesbian, Raven-Symone, was tapped to co-host the two-hour live broadcast with KABC anchors Ellen Leyva and Brandi Hitt. Festival headliners included
Meghan Trainor Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached ...
,
Years & Years Years & Years is the solo project of British singer Olly Alexander. Originally formed as a band in 2010, Years & Years' music has been described as electropop, mixing R&B and 1990s house elements. The band's debut studio album, '' Communion'', ...
,
Greyson Chance Greyson Michael Chance (born August 16, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He rose to national attention in 2010 with his performance of Lady Gaga's " Paparazzi" at a grade school music festival which went viral on YouTube, g ...
, Ashanti and The Veronicas, with numerous local artists, up-and-coming performers. CSW commissioned an economic impact study for 2019 and found that LA Pride generated $2.5 million in tax revenue for Los Angeles County, and increased labor income for workers by $14.7 million in West Hollywood, and $7.4 million in Los Angeles. Additional findings showed that LA Pride 2019: * Increased economic output in Los Angeles County by $74.7 million of which $27.7 million was concentrated in West Hollywood and $18.2 million in the City of Los Angeles * Supported the annual equivalent of 830 jobs in LA County, including 397 in West Hollywood and 191 in the City of Los Angeles * Estimated $896,100 in tax revenue generated in West Hollywood, and $332,800 in the City of Los Angeles


LA Pride 2020: Anniversary and cancelation due to COVID-19

CSW was set to celebrate its 50th anniversary with LA Pride 2020. On March 12, 2020, CSW joined a growing number of event organizers and city officials, and announced it was cancelling all in-person events due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. CSW pivoted to a "virtual parade" program and worked with its media partner, KABC, to produce the ''LA Pride 50th Anniversary Celebration'' television show, which aired June 27 at 8:00PM.


LA Pride 2021

Due to the continuation of social distancing guidelines and in-person gathering restrictions, CSW announced in spring 2021 that it would produce another virtual Pride celebration, and reserve the option to add in-person events if pandemic conditions improved. LA Pride 2021 included a free streaming concert presented by
TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version o ...
headlined by LA Pride alumni
Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...
,
''Thrive with Pride Celebration'' one-hour television special on ABC7
and
Pride Makes a Difference
" a new, month-long calendar of events focused on volunteering and community service around Los Angeles. By mid-May, CSW had added two in-person events, LGBTQ+ Night at
Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...
, and a charity partnership with Cinespia, the outdoor film event producers at the
Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angel ...
. The last in-person event to be added was "Pride is Universal," the after-hours theme park party at
Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. About 70% of the studio lies within the unincorporated county island known as Universal City while the rest lies w ...
™ CSW and LA Pride are now integral to LGBTQ+ history in California and the nation. CSW has a permanent collection of documents, photographs and archival Pride posters, images and media a
ONE Archive
the National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries.


LA Pride 2022

The celebrations returned to its origins for the first time in 40 years, the parade returned to
Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...
.


Parade grand marshals


Philanthropy


USC Scholarship

In 1990, Christopher Street West in conjunction with the Gay and Lesbian Assembly for Student Services (GLASS) established an endowment at the
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...
with the purpose of funding scholarships for students pursuing degrees, and research for the improvement of the LGBTQ condition.


Casa del Sol

Casa del Sol is property located in Hollywood that CSW purchased in 1988. CSW entered into a joint project with AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) to provide low-income housing and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS. This arrangement set a precedent for other independent living programs for persons with HIV/AIDS, and has operating continuously for over 30 years.


Supporting the LGBTQ community of Los Angeles and beyond

CSW sponsors or supports other events and community groups throughout the year. Past beneficiaries have include
Long Beach Trans Pride
Jolene's Night, benefitting trans artists financially impacted by COVI

an
Rainbowland Ball


References


External links

*
Image of bikers in Gay Pride Parade in West Hollywood, California, 1986.
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. It initially opened in 1964, and a second phase of construction was completed ...
,
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:LA Pride Annual events in Los Angeles County, California Festivals in Los Angeles LGBT culture in Los Angeles LGBT events in California Pride parades in California West Hollywood, California