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LA Pride celebrations prepare for pre-pandemic crowds
WeHo Pride weekend celebrations in and around West Hollywood Park will kick-off June 3.
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - WeHo Pride weekend celebrations in and around West Hollywood Park will kick off June 3.
The festivities include a free WeHo Pride Street Fair representing a diverse array of LGBTQ+ community groups and the 3-day ticketed OUTLOUD Raising Voices Music Festival. The WeHo Pride parade will take place on June 5.
"Pride is a celebration of people, diversity, and love," said WeHo Pride organizer Jeff Consoletti.
For decades, the City of West Hollywood has been home to one of the largest Pride celebrations in the nation.
This year organizers are expecting hundreds of thousands of people from across the region and around the world to attend.
"It’s the first Pride since the pandemic started in 2019. We really feel like it’s the first time we can come and celebrate safely, so we’re kicking things off the first weekend in June right here in the heart of LGBTQ West Hollywood," said Consoletti.
Consoletti said this year’s Pride will integrate the West Hollywood community in more broad ways. "We are working in hand with all the local businesses to provide access and extended programming from bars and restaurants to everything happening on Santa Monica Boulevard," he added.
Nearby businesses like Beaches Bar and Restaurant in West Hollywood are preparing for an economic boost.
"We’ve been struggling the last couple of years just to reinvent ourselves but with partnerships, the last couple of years the city of West Hollywood has been very helpful," said Beaches owner Jacob Shaw.
The following weekend LA Pride 2022 will welcome back patrons after two years without an in-person festival or parade. Organizers hope 2022 will be a welcome return to the traditional celebrations that LA’s LGBTQ+ community knows and loves.
Christina Aguilera will be the headliner of LA Pride in the Park. Other artists including Anitta, Syd, Chika and over a dozen more will perform on two stages on June 11 at Historic Los Angeles Park.
For more information on LA Pride 2022, visit https://lapride.org/ and for more information on WeHo Pride 2022 visit https://www.weho.org/community/weho-prid.