Venice will host its second annual Pride celebration on Thursday, kicking it off with the unveiling of the “Pride Lifeguard Tower.”
The tower is a public art installation on Venice beach at Brooks Avenue. The event also will include the dedication of the “Bill Rosendahl Memorial Beach,” named in honor of the first openly gay man to be elected to the Los Angeles City Council.
In attendance will be L.A. City Councilmember Mike Bonin, L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and Grant Turck, president of the Venice Pride board of directors.
The event will take place at 10 a.m.
Venice Pride, which continues until Saturday, will feature other events, including a sign lighting and block party on Friday evening, the “Queer As Funk” live music performance at Del Monte Speakeasy, a dance party at the Birdcage, and the “Status is Sexy Extravaganza,” which will feature a variety of speakers, local artists and celebrities on Saturday at Muscle Beach. There will be a beach cleanup on Saturday morning. Details of the events can be found online at www.venicepride.org.
Venice Pride launched after the closing in May 2016 of Roosterfish on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. The 37-year-old establishment was L.A.’s only remaining gay bar west of the 405 Freeway. In response Grant Turck enlisted the help of other Venice locals including Daniel Samakow and George Francisco to organize the first ever Venice Pride last June to remind members of the LGBTQ community that they have a place to feel welcome on the Westside.
The inaugural one-day event was attended by a crowd estimated at more than 2,000 people and included a surprise appearance by YouTube star Gigi Gorgeous.
Amazing. I have a feeling it will be a huge one in few years, the location is perfect on the beach. I wish them the best of luck. Next year I will be there.