Los Angeles Pride


LA Pride, also known as the LA Pride Festival and Parade, is an annual LGBTQ+ pride event that takes place in West Hollywood, California. The event is organized by the Christopher Street West Association, an LGBT non-profit human rights organization in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The first pride parade in Los Angeles was on June 28, 1970.

Parade

The first Los Angeles pride parade

Los Angeles' first pride parade, and the world's first gay pride parade, was on June 28, 1970.
According to Reverend Troy 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 got involved. The same day, the California Superior Court ordered the Police Commission to issue a permit to the organizers with the receipt of the $1,500 security payment, but that all other requirements be dropped.

LA Pride 2017

In 2017 LA Pride replaced its traditional parade festivities with a resistance approach forming a #ResistMarch. The march kicked off at the original start of its 1970 parade in Hollywood on the corner of Cherokee and 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, Chris Rock, America Ferrera, Adam Lambert, and Nancy Pelosi.
The parade grand marshal was Alexei Romanoff, a civil rights activist with the Black Cat demonstrations.

Parade grand marshals

of past parades include:

Festival

The LA Pride Festival started in 1974. The festival at that time was like a street fair. As one attendee put it, "It was a small festival—very small, the parking lot of a mini-mall on Sunset Blvd and Cherokee Ave. Had booths, food, and souvenirs."
In 1979, the festival also moved to West Hollywood.
Today, the LA Pride Festival attracts over 50,000 attendees with three stages, activations and Non-Profit booths.
In 2018 the LA Pride Festival sold out for the first time in its 48-year history.

Stage performers

Among the artists who have performed at the festival are:

2016 festival

In 2016 the festival was on June 10–12. Among the 35 artists scheduled to perform were Big Freedia, Charli XCX, Da Brat, Daya, Faith Evans, Carly Rae Jepsen, Lion Babe, Robin S., Hailee Steinfeld, and Trina.

2015 festival

The 2015 festival took place from June 12 to June 14, 2015. The headlining artists for the festival were Wilson Phillips, Tinashe, Kesha, Tamar Braxton, Ty Herndon, Eden xo, and Fifth Harmony.

Objectives

Los Angeles Pride stresses public awareness of gay people and their contributions to society. Because it is located in the predominantly LGBT+ neighborhood of West Hollywood, LA Pride emphasizes connecting the LGBT community with the larger community. It also aims to support broader community groups connecting with the LGBT community.

Organizers

LA Pride is organized by Christopher Street West, a 5013 non-profit, was established in 1970 by Rev. Troy Perry, Rev. Bob Humphries and Morris Kight.

Philanthropy

USC Scholarship

In 1990, Christopher Street West in conjunction with the Gay and Lesbian Assembly for Student Services established an endowment at the University of Southern California with the purpose of funding scholarships for students pursuing degrees, and research for the improvement of the LGBTQ condition.

Pride festivals in Southern California

Some of the other pride festivals in Southern California are Ventura County Pride in Ventura, OC Pride in Santa Ana, and San Diego LGBT Pride in San Diego. Past pride events include Simi Valley Pride in the Simi Valley, San Gabriel Valley Pride in the San Gabriel Valley, and LA/Valley Pride in the San Fernando Valley.