May 29, 2023 The Newspaper Serving LGBT Los Angeles

LA Pride Postponed due to Coronavirus

Organizers assessing situation

By James Mills

Amid coronavirus concerns, LA Pride officials announced Thursday, March 12 that it was postponing the annual LGBT pride festival to a date still to be determined. The three-day event, traditionally held the second weekend in June, was scheduled for June 12-14 this year.

Officials with Christopher Street West (CSW), the nonprofit organization which puts on LA Pride, announced the postponement via Twitter on March 12. That announcement read, “Due to the concerns of COVID-19, CSW will postpone all events related to the 50th Anniversary of LA Pride that were scheduled for June 2020. Organizers are assessing the situation. More information to be provided around the postponement as details become available.”

CSW board chair Estevan Montemayor told The Pride LA that CSW must confer with West Hollywood city officials before determining new dates. The LA Pride festival happens each year in West Hollywood Park, while the pride parade travels down a 1.5 mile stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard, so the cooperation of West Hollywood is required before LA Pride can continue.

While many other groups are cancelling or rescheduling events scheduled for March or April due to the coronavirus, this is the first event scheduled for June, three months away, to be postponed.

The postponement announcement came within an hour of the City of West Hollywood officially announcing it was suspending all non-essential city meetings and city-sponsored events through June 30 “in an effort to safeguard public health and slow the rate of transmission of novel coronavirus,” according to a press release.

That suspension includes any event which receives city funding. In addition to providing the space in West Hollywood Park for the pride festival, the City of West Hollywood is also covering $3 million in security costs for this year’s LA Pride festivities.

2020 marks the 50th anniversary of LA Pride and CSW officials plan an elaborate festival which extends beyond the usual festival grounds of West Hollywood Park and the adjoining San Vicente Boulevard. Several beer gardens and a family area are planned in parking lots in the vicinity of the festival grounds. Additionally, a special “Pride on the Boulevard” section covering several blocks of Santa Monica Boulevard will feature food trucks, vendor booths and nonprofit agency booths.

The Pride on the Boulevard section, first tried in 2019 to great success, is free and open to all; no ticket needed. However, a ticket will still be needed to enter the festival grounds where the music stages will be located.

No word yet on how rescheduling LA Pride may affect plans for the expanded festival.

Approximately 250,000 people attended the 2019 LA Pride festivities according to a study commissioned by CSW. That study showed those attendees spent approximately $18.8 million in West Hollywood and another $10.5 million in the city of Los Angeles.

While LA Pride may have been postponed to a future date, Long Beach Pride is currently still scheduled to take place on the third weekend in May, as always. This year’s Long Beach Pride dates are May 15-17.

Related Posts

LA Pride Announces Three Grand Marshals For The 2023 LA Pride Parade

May 25, 2023

May 25, 2023

Comedian Margaret Cho, Actor Leslie JordanThe ACLU Named As Grand Marshalls Christopher Street West Association (CSW), the esteemed 501(c)3 nonprofit...

The Dodgers Reinstate LGBTQ+ Group’s Invitation and Honor At Dodger Pride Night

May 25, 2023

May 25, 2023

The Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence Accepted The Baseball Team’s Apology By Dolores Quintana This morning, The Los Angeles Dodgers issued...

Disneyland Welcomes Official ‘Pride Nite’

April 28, 2023

April 28, 2023

Part Of The Park’s Disneyland After Dark Series Of Events By Susan Payne Disneyland is holding its first official LGBTQ...

Latino Equality Alliances Awards $20,000 To College-Bound Students

April 28, 2023

April 28, 2023

Eight Scholarships Went To Low-Income LGBTQ+ Scholars By Susan Payne Throughout the nation, LGBTQ+ and trans rights are being challenged...

Drag March Rally in Weho Amasses Thousands

April 28, 2023

April 28, 2023

Inclusivity and Diversity Take Center Stage at Weho’s Drag March, Drawing Thousands to the Streets By Susan Payne Santa Monica...

Coalition of Faith Communities Stand Against Anti-Transgender Agenda

April 14, 2023

April 14, 2023

By Susan Payne At an All Saints Church in Pasadena lrecently, a coalition of faith communities discussed concerns about a...

Ricky Martin presents 2023 GLAAD Vanguard Award to Bad Bunny

April 14, 2023

April 14, 2023

By Susan Payne During the GLAAD Media Awards this spring, Bad Bunny was honored with the Vanguard Award presented by...

Timothy Dean Family Seeks Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Ed Buck

April 14, 2023

April 14, 2023

By Susan Payne Judgment before trail is at request of the three sisters of Timothy Dean, who died in the...

Food, Music, and Philanthropy: Taste of Home Festival Hits Los Angeles on April 29th

April 13, 2023

April 13, 2023

Food festival planned for April 29 in Hollywood The Taste of Home Festival offers a unique experience that goes beyond...

Los Angeles LGBT Center Hosts Drag March in Protest of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation

April 6, 2023

April 6, 2023

Over 1,000 Angelenos to rally for rights on Easter Sunday Los Angeles, April 04 – The Los Angeles LGBT Center...

WeHo ‘Rainbow Mile’ Runners Amass 20K in Marathon

April 2, 2023

April 2, 2023

By Susan Payne Nearly 20,000 runners gathered in West Hollywood for the 28th Annual Los Angeles Marathon, referred to as...

Outed MMA Fighter Jeff Molina Comes out as Bisexual

April 2, 2023

April 2, 2023

By Susan Payne UFC bantamweight Jeff Molina, known as “El Jefe,” in the octagon, was outed on social media and...

House Digest Reports Best LGBTQ+ Friendly Cities in California

April 2, 2023

April 2, 2023

By Susan Payne California, with its exceptionally high LGBTQ+ populations and progressive economic, educational and social policies, was rated by...

High-Profile Prosecutor Jonathan Hatami Enters Race for Los Angeles District Attorney

March 31, 2023

March 31, 2023

Hatami, a prosecutor in the Complex Child Abuse Unit at the Hall of Justice in downtown LA, has been vocal...

Long Beach Businesses with LGBTQ Flags Vandalized

March 24, 2023

March 24, 2023

By Susan Payne Three businesses in Long Beach have reported windows smashed in with one common denominator: visible LGBTQ symbols. ...