WEST HOLLYWOOD (CNS) – WeHo Pride weekend wraps up Sunday with a noontime parade through the streets of West Hollywood.
The event will include a presentation of honors for Pride icons and allies.
Those honorees are model/activist Laith Ashley, who will receive the Breakthrough Icon Award; actress Niecy Nash-Betts and wife Jessica Betts, who will receive the Trailblazer Icon honor; and actress Melissa McCarthy, who was named WeHo Pride’s 2023 Ally Icon. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will be celebrated as this year’s Drag Icon, with show host/judge Michelle Visage expected to accept the honor on behalf of the program.
“Our WeHo Pride Parade Icons embody queer joy and fierce allyship by creating spaces where our community can be celebrated, whether that’s on the red carpet or directly through their art and advocacy,” West Hollywood Mayor Sepi Shyne said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to celebrate the impact our Icons have in creating a more evolved and accepting world.”
Tens of thousands of people showed up Saturday for the annual WeHo Pride festival, billed as one of the largest celebrations of LGBTQ+ pride in the world, but two attendees wound up behind bars.
Hunter Lee Darling was identified as the suspect in a cell phone robbery April 19 at the West Hollywood library. An arrest warrant was issued for Darling on May 31, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Deputies spotted Darling at a Saturday Pride event, arrested him and booked him for suspicion of robbery, vandalism and battery, sheriff’s officials said. A friend of Darling, Abby Nicole Thomas, was arrested for allegedly interfering and obstructing an arrest after attempting to keep deputies from taking Darling into custody.
Video circulating on social media from the Saturday’s Pride events showed Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies wrestling two people to the ground while placing them under arrest, but it was unclear whether the footage came from the arrests of Darling and Thomas or two other people.
The WeHo Pride Street Fair runs from noon to 10 p.m. through Sunday at Santa Monica and San Vicente boulevards, featuring an array of LGBTQ+ community groups and allied organizations.
WeHo Pride weekend officially began Friday with a “Friday Night @OUTLOUD” concert at West Hollywood Park featuring Idina Menzel, Jessie Ware, Shangela and Tinashe.
OUTLOUD concerts will continue through the weekend. Grace Jones headlined Saturday night’s concert and Carly Rae Jepsen will headline Sunday night.
Saturday’s event included the Women’s Freedom Festival, with performances from “emerging LGBTQ and BIPOC women and non-binary musicians, comedians, poets and activists.” The festival was followed at 6 p.m. by the annual Dyke March.
Sunday’s parade along Santa Monica Boulevard will begin at Crescent Heights Boulevard and move west to Robertson Boulevard.
Streets throughout the festival area will be closed, and attendees were urged to review parking and access information online at www.wehopride.com. The city will provide free shuttle service during the weekend to transport people to WeHo Pride events. Information is available at https://go.wehopride.com/3qfnasc.
San Vicente Boulevard will be closed until 10 a.m. Monday from Melrose Avenue to Santa Monica Boulevard.
Parking facilities in the area of West Hollywood Park — the five- story parking structure, the Library Garage, Aquatic and Recreation Center Garage and the Plummer Park South and Robertson lots — will remain closed until Monday.
Other streets that are closed for the event are:
— Eastbound Santa Monica Boulevard from North La Cienega Boulevard to North Doheny Drive through 7 a.m. Monday;
— Robertson Boulevard from Santa Monica Boulevard to Melrose Avenue through 7 a.m. Monday;
— Westbound Santa Monica Boulevard from North La Cienega Boulevard to North Doheny Drive through 7 a.m. Monday; and
— San Vicente Boulevard from Santa Monica Boulevard to Cynthia Street through 10 a.m. Monday.
Santa Monica Boulevard will be closed from Fairfax Avenue to Doheny Drive — including side streets one block north and one block south of Santa Monica — from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday to accommodate the WeHo Pride Parade.
The parade will air on KTLA 5, KTLA+ and KTLA.com. It will also be livestreamed at https://youtu.be/9jXtdMYqiUo.
From what I saw and experienced, it was a well run event with plenty of security, and people appeared to be courteous , well behaved and having lots of fun. No garbage outside my house, no disturbances and Grace was outstanding!
Yep. Mega unusual to be so clean, well behaved, free of sidewalk vendors everywhere blocking people and belching smoke in the air. And a beautiful WEHO PRIDE color sparkling sign! We were sooo suprized.
Could have sooo done without the earth shaking loud sound from the OUTLOUD venue. It could be heard clear to La Cienega and set off car alarms in my building a couple blocks away. Deaf sound engineers?
Happy Pride everyone!
Thank god it’s almost over. It was a rough weekend for sure.
Happy Pride!!!!
There’s nothing happy about it. It’s pretty sad actually.
Drink less and take less drugs and it won’t be so rough next time.