West Hollywood’s Santa Monica Boulevard, the scene of Pride on the Boulevard, and West Hollywood Park, the location of the annual Pride Festival, was full of celebrants on Saturday who represented a wide variety of gender identities, sexual orientations, races and ages. Photographer Derek Wanker captured that variety in the photos below.
Considering that the police have treated LGBTQ people horribly in the past (and still to this day-especially transgender POC), I think that sign resonates with many people.
The youth (under 30) do not appreciate the people who were here before them I saw two groups of young people treat a couple of older parade watchers like an annoyance. I watched as a gay couple in their mid to late 50’s attempt to break down their chairs and head home as a couple of younger people made themselves comfortable in their seats. When the older couple asked to kids for their chairs I heard one of guys tell his friends, “Let’s go so these old people can have their chairs back.” Another group of 20-somethings wanted the same… Read more »
0MG – I walked out briefly towards the parade ending. It was unlike any crowd I’ve ever seen for Pride. If someone just saw & didn’t know it was pride, they might think it is a community celebration OF Everyone. Families with infants to small children. Every ethnicity you could imagine, and happiness everywhere (of course a lot of alcohol was in a lot of the people. It was such a positive extraordinary change from growth of universal acceptance and support. I even chatted up a female Sheriff’s Deputy (obviously not a police woman, but I don’t know the title).… Read more »
Great improvements this year! Excellent decision making SMB pedestrian traffic only for the entire weekend and not just for the parade. I loved the lights over SMB and think we should do a version of this year round or all summer long. The ferris wheel was also a fun edition. THANKS!