Venice Pride Commemorates Bill Rosendahl with Beach Dedication

For the two-year anniversary of Venice Beach’s independent celebrations foar pride, Grant Turck, executive director of Venice Pride, had something special up his sleeve. On Thursday, June 1, a day before Venice Pride officially kicked off, Turck held a celebration to dedicate a part of Venice City Beach as the Bill Rosendahl Memorial Beach in honor of the first openly gay person elected to L.A. City Council. Rosendahl passed away in March of last year and was mourned by the queer community all across Los Angeles. The part of Venice City Beach that will bear his name runs from Parks Avenue to Breeze Avenue. “Commemorating Venice’s 100-year history of inclusion and diversity is at the heart of Venice Pride,” said Turck. “As we look towards June’s festivities we are excited to again bring our community together to celebrate their differences and are grateful for all the support we have received from our sponsors, partners, and the public.” The dedication was at 10 a.m., at the Ocean Front Walk near Breeze Avenue. Both L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and L.A. Councilmember Mike Bonin were in attendance. “Venice Pride is more than an annual celebration on the first weekend in June,” said Turck. “We are an organization committed to reinvigorating the LGBTQ community on L.A.’s Westside 365-days a year.  Whether through public art projects like the Venice Pride Flag Lifeguard Tower, pop-up celebrations like Unity Sungays, or advocating for other non-profit organizations dedicated to supporting LGBTQ people like APAIT, Venice Pride will continue to seek out ways to empower our community year-round.”