A year after the Christopher West Street organization told West Hollywood it was taking its L.A. Pride events elsewhere, possibilities for 2022’s celebration are beginning to take shape.
The city’s Pride Subcommittee will review a number of proposals for next year’s festivities at their meeting this evening, some featuring a monthlong series of events celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, others which focus on a single date.
West Hollywood has celebrated Pride each June since the city was founded in 1984. A typical Pride month in the past included a ticketed festival at West Hollywood Park with musical performances and other entertainment, a parade on Sunday morning, and a community festival and market along Santa Monica Boulevard. Many of the events were produced by the Christopher Street West nonprofit, with significant assistance by the city of WeHo, which lent the organization its facilities and provided public safety resources, as well as its sponsorships.
Click here to join the Pride Subcommittee
meeting at 4:30 p.m. today on Zoom
For the first time its history, West Hollywood faces the challenge of producing its own lineup of events.
The city received six responses to its request for proposals. Applicants were given the option to include multiple event formats in their submission packets, including the following event options:
- A large-scale free event(s), open to the public
- A large-scale ticketed event(s)
- Any other combination of creative event options, including smaller format events
Highlights from some of the proposals include:
- A pop-up wedding chapel
- Youth Pride in the Park event
- Pride March
- Pride Ball
- An endurance run
- Finish Line Festival
The request for proposals instructed applicants not to submit ideas for a Pride parade — but it also asked them whether they would intend to organize such a parade in West Hollywood, separate from a contract for production services with the city.
Finalists will be presented by city staff to Council on Oct. 18.
Brunch. Smart brunches in private homes whilst the kids fight it out on who got slighted in the naive attempt to be all things to all people and ended up being no things to no people. Snore. Pride has lost its relevancy.
Corporatazation and political correctness has taken its’ toll but Pride is still important to a lot of the younger generation. Remember your first Pride?
Yes, I remember my first pride when you couldn’t even tell anyone you were gay. It’s the complete opposite today. Being gay is in vogue and pride parades have lost their relevancy.
Yes, absolutely, and I still want to make myself count as part of the huge numbers that help with visibility to these kids. Mine is a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the unfortunate diversions of cause occasioned by politics, turf wars, ego, greed and petty infighting, combined with a good deal of baseless finger-pointing to get where we are. CSW was on a good path to doing it right when a few petulant players got into some hissy fits.
Everyone I know is looking forward to Pride 2022. While there is probably a surplus of good suggestions I think the community will just be glad to have a bit of normality, (whatever that is in West Hollywood).
I second this!
Look around. The weho you remember is over.
Crime is the number one issue. Not a parade.
I’m more concerned about the increase in crime than I am about what we’re gonna do for pride.