The City of West Hollywood will kick off its 2026 Pride season with a Harvey Milk Day celebration this Friday, May 22, featuring the fourth annual José Sarria Drag Pageant at West Hollywood Park’s South Lawn, 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard.
The free event runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the base of the Aquatic and Recreation Center’s Grand Staircase, adjacent to the West Hollywood Library. RSVPs are not required, but attendees can register at 2026HarveyMilkDay.eventbrite.com.
This year’s event will carry a nautical theme.
The theme responds to the Trump administration’s homophobic decision that, in June 2025, ordered the renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk to the USNS Oscar V. Peterson. The Navy named the ship after Milk in recognition of his service — the same service that ended when he was forced to accept an “other than honorable” discharge rather than face court-martial for being gay. He had served (with honor) from 1951 to 1955, resigning at the rank of Lieutenant junior grade.
About Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk was born May 22, 1930. He made history in 1977 as the first openly gay elected official in California, winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was assassinated in November 1978 after 11 months in office.
President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Milk the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. The California state legislature designated May 22 as Harvey Milk Day that same year, signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The City of West Hollywood passed a resolution adding Harvey Milk Day to its official holiday calendar on April 20, 2015. West Hollywood is the first city in the nation to observe Harvey Milk Day as a holiday.
The Drag Pageant
The José Sarria Drag Pageant honors José Sarria, the first openly gay person to run for public office in the United States. Sarria performed drag under the name the Widow Norton and founded the Imperial Court System, one of the oldest and largest LGBTQ+ organizations in the world.
West Hollywood’s Drag Laureate, Pickle, will host the pageant. Judges include Queen Mother Karina Samala and Emperor Eugene Maysky of the Imperial Court, and previous pageant winners Samara Sin and Queen Angelina.
Attendees can also participate in voter registration, receive complimentary milk and cookies, and use a Harvey Milk and José Sarria photo opportunity on site.
The event is co-sponsored by the Imperial Court, One Institute, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath, Third District.
WeHo Pride Arts Festival
The Harvey Milk Day celebration leads directly into the City’s WeHo Pride Arts Festival on May 23 and May 24 at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place in Los Angeles.
The two-day festival is free to attend and will include theater, poetry, literary readings, film screenings, and participatory workshops. It will also feature an LGBTQ+ artists and artisan mini craft fair, custom typewriter poetry, and drop-in drawing workshops with live models.
Participating groups and artists include 8TPS, Brown and Out, Celebration Theatre, Chase Lounge, HIV Writers Workshop, West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Jen Cheng, Jon Gentry, June Mazer Lesbian Archives, Literary Death Match, Mariachi Arco•Iris, Miguel Angel Reyes, Planet Queer, Pride Poets, and Outfest.
The City’s free WeHo PickUp shuttle will stop at the festival on N. McCadden Place approximately every 30 minutes from noon to 10 p.m. each day. The shuttle will continue running to all regular stops along Santa Monica Boulevard between N. La Brea Avenue and N. Robertson Boulevard. Route information is at wehopickup.com. Tickets for individual festival events are available at wehopride.com/artsfestival.
WeHo Pride Weekend
WeHo Pride Weekend runs Friday, June 5 through Sunday, June 7, 2026. Events include the WeHo Pride Street Fair, the OUTLOUD Music Festival, the Women’s Freedom Festival, the Dyke March, and the WeHo Pride Parade.
For information about Harvey Milk Day or the WeHo Pride Arts Festival, contact City Arts Coordinator Mike Che at mche@weho.org.
I really love the thoughtfulness – they way the city decided to draw attention to the administration’s actions with a playful Naval theme. Exactly what a gay city would and should do.
I love that they are centering LGBTQ artists!!! Thank you Weho.