BY TROY MASTERS | Overlooked in the contentious debates about the inclusion of legacy and history in 2016’s LA Pride festivities is the extensive slate of offerings that are being featured by the City of West Hollywood and throughout Los Angeles.
The City of West Hollywood celebrates Pride month through the artistic contributions of the local community during the One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival.
From May 22 to June 30 a variety of mostly FREE arts events and exhibits will be featured as One City One Pride explores the festival theme “Into The Streets.” The slogan is a rallying cry of the early gay rights movement: protestors would go from bar to bar, street to street throughout gay neighborhoods and elsewhere shouting “Out of the Closet and Into the Streets” or “Out of the Bars and into the Streets,” imploring friends and allies to activate against intolerance, oppression and violence.
May 22, 3pm:
Harvey Milk Day Screening – Film
Harvey Milk was the first openly-gay person to be elected to U.S. public office. Join the City’s Community Events Division for a free screening of “Milk,” followed by a panel discussion and small reception. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission. RSVP at: http://conta.cc/1T0aAln
May 24, 7pm:
Lambda Literary Finalists reading – Literary
Join us for readings by the Los Angeles area finalists for the annual Lambda Literary Awards. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission. www.lambdaliterary.org
May 25, 7:30pm:
Queer California – On Music and Mapping – Music/Lecture
How does sprawl sound? Karen Tongson and Raquel Gutierrez explore the ways identities impact psychogeographies. This conversation will musically map some of Southern California’s “peripheral” spaces of queer sociability. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission.www.calgbtartsalliance.com/events/upcoming-alliance-events
May 31, 7:30pm:
Lambda Literary Book Club – Literary discussion
City Poet Steven Reigns leads a book discussion around Felice Picano’s Nights at Rizzoli. West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free.www.lambdaliterary.org/book-clubs/lambda-lit-book-club
June 1, 7:30pm:
Outfest WeHo Screening: Wedding Wars – Film
With same-sex marriage now the law of the land, it’s worth looking back a decade to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this hilarious comedy from director Jim Fall (“Trick”). Free admission. RSVP required. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. www.outfest.org/weho-series
June 4, 11am-2pm:
Stuart Timmons LGBTQ History Tour – History/Performance Art *
Stuart Timmons, co-author of “Gay LA” suffered a stroke before his West Hollywood LGBTQ History Tour was completed. Thanks to a team of helpers and a grant from the City of West Hollywood through One City One Pride, the tour will be restaged with a cast of colorful characters from different eras stationed along the route on June 4 from 11am-2pm. Tour starts from West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free to participate. http://bit.ly/LGBTQ2016Tour orwww.stuarttimmons.com/weho-history-tour
June 4, 12pm-3pm:
Army of Lovers – Art Intervention *
Join us for an afternoon of interactive creative queer activism. Participants will be lead through a series of hands-on activities including: personal manifesto making, glitter adornment, costume fun, a mini liberation march and more, all ending in a glamorous outdoor modeling session / photo shoot for all your queer social media needs organized by artist Ian MacKinnon. Come show us what Pride means to you! West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free to participate. No RSVP is necessary. http://bit.ly/ArmyofLovers2016
June 4, 1pm-4pm:
Apt 3F’s Art Out! – Art Intervention *
APT 3F takes over West Hollywood Park for an afternoon arts laboratory – Art Out! Discover live musicians (Mariachi Arconis, Adrian Banuelos, ETM, Coral Lobera, Rebecca Norris), readings (City Poet Steven Reigns, homo-centric), kids craft tables (JP of Craft Night at Akbar), chalk art (David Rasmussen), dance (1122 Dance Company) drag appearances (Rubella Sparks) and drag art ( Martin Matamoras) all celebrating pride and art. http://bit.ly/ArtOut2016
June 4 and 5, 6pm-7pm:
“Working OUT” presented by New Stages – Theatre *
LGBTQ seniors share their experiences of the journey toward equality in an evening of songs and stories based loosely on the 1970s musical “Working” byStephen Schwartz and Nina Faso. New Stages produces dynamic arts experiences for senior citizens. Renberg Theatre, The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, LA LGBT Center, 1125 N. McCadden Pl., Los Angeles, CA 90021. Free admission. No RSVP is necessary. www.facebook.com/artandaging.
June 5, 3pm:
Vox Femina Rocks! – Music **
Rock out with Vox Femina! Featuring music from rock legends to indie rock to top of pop, Vox will sing and jam to the music of David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Adele, Lady Gaga, Indigo Girls and many other artists, including many gay icons. Come see Vox as you’ve never seen them before! Congregation Kol Ami, 1200 N. La Brea Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90038. Free admission.www.voxfemina.org/concerts-events
June 7, 7pm:
Human Rights Speakers Series – LGBT Rights Abroad: An International Look at Equality – Lecture
The panel will examine international LGBT rights with Jessica Stern, Executive Director, OutRight Action International; Stephan; Roth, Director, Alturi; Czeslaw Walek, Chairman, Prague Pride and Boardmember for Alturi; Wesley Reisser, Ph.D., Senior Foreign Affairs Officer, IO/HRH – U.S. Department of State. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission. RSVP required at wehohrspeakerseries@gmail.com or call (323) 848-6823.
June 8, 7:30pm:
What Did Robert Mapplethorpe Teach Us? (A Zócalo/Getty “Open Art” event hosted by WeHo Arts) – Visual Art/Lecture
How did Mapplethorpe change photography—and the perception of photography as an art? Coinciding with a major retrospective of his work, join J. Paul Getty Museum curator Paul Martineau, fine arts photographer Catherine Opie, LACMA curator Britt Salvesen, and painter and Yale art historian Jonathan Weinberg in a discussion on how Mapplethorpe continues to teach us, even now, a quarter century after his untimely death at age 42. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission. Click here to RSVP (required).
June 9 – 26:
Hollywood Fringe / One City One Pride – Theatre **
The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an open and uncensored community-derived event. The Fringe’s western border is usually Gardner Street, but through a special collaboration with the City, LGBTQ shows can take place throughout West Hollywood as part of One City One Pride. Shows sponsored through this partnership are below: Times, dates, and ticket prices vary. Visitwww.hollywoodfringe.org/weho for more info.
- GOD’S WAITING ROOM
- “LIFE’S A BITCH AND SO AM I”
- THE GAY GUIDE TO TINSELTOWN
- SARAH G’S SPOT: THE #1 BALLSY WOMAN
- SNATCHED…STORIES FROM DOWN THERE
- RECLAIMED FREEDOM: FACT OR FICTION
- SKIN OF HONEY/PIEL DE MIEL
- THE COLLECTION BY HAROLD PINTER/ANNIVERSARY BY RACHEL BONDS
June 10, 6pm-9pm (opening reception):
LA Art Association “Out There” exhibit which runs through June 17 – Visual Art **
The 9th annual LAAA Out There group exhibition asks artists to examine West Hollywood’s commitment to the LGBT community. Reception June 10 from 6-9pm. Gallery hours 10am-5pm every day except Monday through June 17. Gallery 825, 825 N. La Cienaga Blvd. Free Admission. For more info: www.gallery825.com
June 10, 6pm:
Dyke March – Community Event
The Dyke March kicks off from the West Hollywood Park with a program featuring Jewel Thais‐Williams (Grand Marshal of LA Pride 2016),Funny Women presented by UnCabaret (featuring Julie Goldman, Selen Luna, and Marsha Warfield) and the presentation of the Etheridge Award to the June Mazer Lesbian Archives, followed by a march at 7pm down Santa Monica Blvd. More info here.
June 10 – 12:
LA Pride Festival – Multidisciplinary/Community Event
The LA Pride Festival is produced by Christopher Street West (CSW) and features performances by Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli XCX, DJs Krewella, Faith Evans, Big Freedia and more. Visit www.lapride.org for a full line-up of entertainment and to purchase tickets. West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San Vicente Blvd.
Festival Hours:
Friday, June 10: 6 p.m. – 1 a.m.
Saturday, June 11: 2 p.m. – 1 a.m.
Sunday, June 12: 12 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Parade: The parade will begin at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, June 12, along Santa Monica Blvd. (Free to attend).
For LA Pride parade street closure info, click here.
June 11 -12:
“Got Framed” art installation at LA Pride – Art Installation
“Got Framed” is a playful, interactive art piece that encourages people to step up, take a picture, and ‘be the art’. Even the City background becomes a character in the picture. This large-scale artwork debuted at Burning Man 2015, and through a grant from One City One Pride will be on display at the LA Pride festival in West Hollywood. Ticket purchase is required to enter the LA Pride festival grounds. Tickets at www.lapride.org.
June 12, 11am:
LA Pride Parade and FATA (From the Archives to the Archives — Queer Signs of the Times 1965-2016) Artist Ruben Esparza for One City One Pride – Art Intervention *
The LA Pride parade comes back to West Hollywood and runs from Crescent Heights Blvd. to Robertson Blvd. along Santa Monica Blvd. Queer Signs of the Times 1965-2016 will include 75 re-created protest signs that will be taken to the streets in a mock protest rally, depicting historical signs dating as far back as 1965 as part of the City of West Hollywood’s parade contingent and the Queer Biennial II (created and organized by artist Ruben Esparza.) Parade is free to attend and kicks off from Crescent Heights at 10:45am, www.lapride.org for details.
For LA Pride parade street closure info, click here.
June 14, 7pm:
Human Rights Speakers Series: Exploring LGBT Rights in China and Abroad – Lecture
This panel features Mulan Wu, Director, Shenyang Lesbian Fraternity; Rain Gao, Director, Anhui Hefei Youth Health Service Center (HYHSC); Guo Ziyang (Joe), Gay Activist; Damien Lu, Ph.D., Interpreter; and J. Bob Alotta, Executive Director, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission. RSVP required atwehohrspeakerseries@gmail.com or (323) 848-6823.
June 15, 2pm-3:30pm:
“Stonewall Uprising” film screening – Film/History
Join the West Hollywood Library for a free screening of the PBS film, “American Experience: Stonewall Uprising” which explores the events of June 28, 1969 which are commemorated annually with June Pride month. West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission. (310) 652-5340
June 15, 7pm:
Felice Picano Talk: Gay Hollywood in the 1930’s – Literary/Lecture *
Join author Felice Picano for a talk on how extremely gay the Hollywood film industry was during this era, despite the strictures of the Hays Commission. Followed by a short reading from the novella “Wonder City of the West.” West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission.http://bit.ly/GayHollywood30s
June 16, 7:30pm:
The Lavender Effect presents “Stand By Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation” reading – Literary/History
Join historian Jim Downs for a book reading and Q & A around his new book “Stand By Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation” co-sponsored by the LA County Public Library. West Hollywood Library Community Room, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission. Space is limited, please reserve seats atwww.thelavendereffect.org/events.
June 17-18:
Trans Pride – Multidisciplinary/Community Event
Trans Pride kicks off on June 17 at 7pm, with a Big Queer Convo with trans activist CeCe McDonald followed by the reception for the art exhibit ‘We Can Be Heroes’ from 9-10pm (exhibit remains on view until July 23). Come back for a day of performances, workshops, and music on June 18 from 12pm-9:30pm. The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, LA LGBT Center, 1125 N. McCadden Pl. Free.www.facebook.com/TransPrideLA
June 18, 10am-6pm:
6th Annual “Celebrating All Life and Creation” Pow Wow Multidisciplinary/Community Event
Join Red Circle Project of AIDS Project LA for a full day of traditional Native American music, dance, crafts and food, along with HIV testing and prevention resources. Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd. Free to attend.http://bit.ly/APLAPowWow
June 21,
7pm-8pm: QueerWise “Selfies: Exploring Our Multitudinous Selves”- Literary
LGBTQ writers aged 50+ reveal their funny, thoughtful, brave, sexy, proud and unique selves in a spoken word performance. The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, Los Angeles LGBT Center, 1125 N. McCadden Pl. Free admission. No RSVP is necessary. www.queerwise.net
June 21, 7:30pm:
Celebration Theatre – Chuck Rowland Award – Theatre
Celebration Theatre will present their annual Chuck Rowland Award to Tom Jacobson for contributions to LGBTQ theatre along with readings of his work.Attention: “Pathetic Fallacy,” which was previously scheduled, is going to be postponed to another date TBD. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission, with donations accepted. No RSVP is necessary.
June 22, 6:30pm:
Rainbow Key Awards – Community Event
This year the Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board honors Jay M. Kohorn, Mark Lehman, Carol Taylor-DiPietro, the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, and Ruth Williams with awards for their dedication to the Lesbian and Gay community. 6:30pm reception, 7pm program. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission. www.weho.org
June 23, 7:30pm:
Charles Pierce Biography – Literary
Professor and author Chris Freeman interviews the author of the new book on drag artist Charles Pierce along with a book signing, video clips, and a Q&A. West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission.
June 25 & 26, 1pm:
ALAP Pride Play Reading Festival – Theatre *
Two programs of rehearsed readings of LGBTQ-themed plays written by members of The Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights (ALAP). Saturday’s program will feature 6 short plays, while Sunday will feature a single full-length play. Plummer Park Community Center, Rooms 5/6, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd. Free admission.
June 25, 4pm-7pm:
REACH LA ‘Dancing in the Streets’ – Art Intervention *
REACH LA is a service organization that outreaches to disadvantaged youth of color through the ball community, and have performed at MOCA and for various One City One Pride events over the years. Tapping into their talented pool of performers, West Hollywood will come alive with unexpected dance performances and interventions. For instance, two men at a picnic table playing chess, will suddenly break into a choreographed vogue dance-off. Other performances will take place in various parts of the park and sidewalk. West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission.
June 26, 2pm:
“I Stand Corrected” film screening and Summer Sounds concert with Jennifer Leitham – Film/Music
In 2001 Leitham transitioned from being known as John Leitham to Jennifer Leitham while on tour with Doc Severinson, a story that was the subject of an award winning documentary, “I Stand Corrected.” Join us for a free screening at 2pm, followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Andrea Meyerson. At 4pm, Jennifer will perform as part of the City’s free Summer Sounds concerts series in the City Hall Community Plaza, 8300 Santa Monica Blvd. Free to attend. No RSVP is necessary. http://bit.ly/SSJL2016
June 28,
7:30pm: Lambda Literary Book Club – Literary
City Poet Steven Reigns leads a book discussion on What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell. West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission. http://www.lambdaliterary.org/book-clubs/lambda-lit-book-club
June 29, 7:30pm:
OutSet Fifth Anniversary screening – Film
OutSet is a filmmaking workshop for LGBTQ young people between the ages of 16-24 through a collaboration of the LA LGBT Center and Outfest. Join Outfest for a screening. $10 general/$6 Outfest members. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. www.outfest.org
June 30, 7pm:
Lesbian Speakers Series/WeHo Reads/One City One Pride present Natalie Goldberg in conversation with West Hollywood City Poet Steven Reigns – Literary
Join us for this special conversation on the 30th anniversary of Natalie Goldberg’s classic Writing Down the Bones – Freeing the Writer Within. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission.www.weho.org/wehoreads
WeHo Arts Exhibits A Brief History of Drag exhibit – History/Visual Art
On view through June 27, this exhibit at the WeHo Arts library exhibition spaces is an overview of the history of drag in Los Angeles County, and describes the importance of ‘drag queens’ and others in the early LGBTQ rights movement. The exhibit consists of photographs drawn from both the ONE Archives and taken by photographer Austin Young. Curated by Katie Poltz and Jessica Fowler of the LA LGBT Center and David Attyah of Glendale Community College as a result of a collaboration between the City of West Hollywood, LA LGBT Center, and Center for Performing Arts at UCLA. West Hollywood Library, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. Free admission during library hours. No RSVP is necessary. http://weho.org/residents/drag-angeles-one-city-one-pride.
A Brief History of Drag exhibit ‘Portrait of Anyone Who Shows Up In Drag, Los Angeles Edition, 2016’ and artwork by Austin Young.
More photos from opening night here.
