West Hollywood’s 32nd annual Halloween Carnaval attracted an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people last night, packing Santa Monica Boulevard from La Cienega to Doheny.
The event attracted a diverse crowd with crazy costumes, some of which, given the upcoming election, featured a political theme. There were numerous DJs and, at the stage on San Vicente Boulevard at Santa Monica, Mayor John Duran crowned drag performer Alyssa Edwards, aka Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, as the queen of Carnaval
Alyssa Edwards was crowned Miss Gay America 2010 and was a participant on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Edwards is the focus of “Dancing Queen,” a documentary series produced by RuPaul and World of Wonder on Netflix.
No arrests were reported in connection with Carnaval, according to the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station.
“Our jail is empty,” said Lt. William Nash.
Crews worked throughout the early morning hours to clean the streets and reopen them to traffic, accomplishing that goal about 5 a.m.
If somehow you missed it, photos from Carnaval by Matthew Alexander are posted on the pages below.
Glad everything went off without a hitch. The City used to say 500,000 attended this event.
Solid police presence. City was clean this morning. Nice work Weho.
Fantastic clean up job- City was spotless this morning. The police were out early walking the streets lookig. For anything unusual. Great job.
Unbelievable buzzkills in the comments… already! It was such a wonderful night, a great event for our city (and city’s businesses), and it looks like the immense public safety effort paid off with NO ARRESTS! Fantastic work, Weho!
I saw a LOT of the backpacks and other bags that did not meet the criteria that they be see-thru. It’s as if that rule never existed. And of course there were all the dogs and little kids, even many in strollers, that is both dangerous and very, very annoying. Most the people who attend this event don’t live in W. Hollywood, so they don’t know what the “rules” and suggestions are. Heck, a lot of the people who DO live here don’t read the material provided to know what is expected. City Hall has to make a greater effort… Read more »
I drove past the parking structure at city hall at 9:00 pm during the Halloween Festival. It was blocked off with 126 available spaces. I thought the structure was built to serve the neighborhood. What happened? What is the city’s policy regarding their operations during these type of events?