All the Ways to Celebrate Pride Month in LA

LA Pride Kick Off Parade

The 2021 parade will be virtual this year but that doesn't mean it will be any less fabulous. This year's theme, "Thrive with Pride" will "highlight health and wellness as we slowly emerge from the pandemic, but more notably, to underscore the belief that thriving is an act of social justice within the LGBTQ+ community, especially for our underserved or overlooked members."

Charli XCX kicks off the festivities Thurs. night, Jun. 10 with a free concert, live-streamed exclusively on TikTok. 

For more information, visit: lapride.org and @tiktokforgood

City Hall

City Hall is expected to get in the spirit by displaying a rainbow on this iconic building at night.

200 N Spring St.
Los Angeles
Online: lacity.org

SaMo Pride Art Walk

Beginning Jun. 4 and lasting through the end of the month, you can stroll through Santa Monica from the Third Street Promenade through Santa Monica Place to the Santa Monica Pier and experience 13 one-of-a-kind art installations by LGBTIA+ artists including the rainbow-lit pathway, called "Miles of Pride." 

Third Street Promenade
Santa Monica
Online: smpride.com

Pride Zine Workshop

On Jun. 9 at 6 p.m., together, the city of Los Angeles, the LA Public Library, and Maira McDermott of Bay Area Queer Zine Fest will help celebrate Pride Month (online) through a Queer Zines workshop where you make and reproduce your own magazine.

RSVP: Pride Zine Workshop

LGBTQ+ Pride Night at Dodger Stadium

To kickstart LA Pride’s first in-person event since 2019, on Jun. 11, an LGBTQ+ artist will sing the National Anthem, there will be special recognition for First Responders from the LA LGBTQ+ Community, and after the game, vaccinated fans will be welcomed onto the field to watch the first Friday Night Fireworks show of the season. Other surprises to be announced soon.

A special event ticket package is available to fully-vaccinated fans that includes a game ticket for the 7:10 p.m. game against the Texas Rangers and an exclusive Dodger Pride-themed t-shirt. Tickets are on sale now: dodgers.com/LAPride.

1000 Vin Scully Ave.
Los Angeles
Online: mlb.com

The Black Cat

The Black Cat, formally a bar and now a gastropub located in Silver Lake, was the scene of a brutal police raid on New Year's Eve in 1966. Two months later, in 1967, in response to the raid, a peaceful protest was held, noted as "the site of the first documented LGBTQ civil rights demonstration in the nation." In 2008, The Black Cat was recognized by the City of Los Angeles as a Historic Cultural Monument. 

3909 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles
Online: theblackcatla.com

Gay-Friendly LA Beaches

Will Rogers State Beach has a gay-friendly section of the sandy turf, unofficially known as "Ginger Rogers Beach," near lifeguard tower 18. 

14700 Pacific Coast Hwy. (Entrada Dr.)
Santa Monica

Venice Beach is home to the Venice Pride Flag Lifeguard Tower. This tower just got a fresh coat of paint in time for Pride month. Follow venicepride.org to stay up to date about local Pride events beginning Jun. 5. 

998 Ocean Front Walk
Venice

Stay tuned for the reveal of Hermosa Beach's very own rainbow lifeguard tower as well as the restoration of Long Beach's rainbow-painted lifeguard tower expected to be unveiled by Jun. 

Mattachine Steps

This outdoor staircase in Silver Lake, was named after the Mattachine Society—one of the world's first gay rights clubs, founded in 1950. This staircase was how members reached the meetings, hosted by Henry Hay, in his home.

Once you climb to the top, you'll be rewarded with a stunning view of the Silver Lake Reservoir.

2355 Cove Ave.
Los Angeles

LA Public Library

The LA Public Library is an integral resource for LGBQT history where you can access videos, maps, books, films and more that showcase the struggle for equal rights in the gay community. Don't forget to RSVP to Drag Queen Story Hour where Pickle will read children's literature to kids of all ages on Wed. Jun. 2 at 4 p.m. 

If you can't make it to the library, you can still check out resources thanks to hoopla digital–a free resource that allows valid library card holders to access and download ebooks, movies, audiobooks, comics and tv shows to your device. They have an extensive collection of LGBTQ+ media you can access including children's books like, "A Boy Named Queen" and "From Archie to Zak." 

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

630 W. Fifth St
Los Angeles
Online: laps.org

Children's Book World

Stocked with over 80,000 titles, Children's Book World is "committed to celebrate diversity, knowledge, and enrichment. A world where every child sees themselves on our shelves." Recognized year after year for this achievement, they are also know for their "book selection that is open-minded (gay-friendly, multi-cultural) and well-organized, divided into age-appropriate sections." 

Hours: Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Sun. & Mon.

10580 1/2 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles
Online: childrensbookworld.com

ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archive

This is the  world's largest research library dedicated to honor and archive LGBTQ history. Located near the USC campus, exhibitions, art shows and cinematic screenings are hosted here as well as at their gallery space, ONE Gallery, located in West Hollywood. 

ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archive
909 West Adams Blvd.
Los Angeles

ONE Gallery
626 N. Robertson Blvd.
West Hollywood

Online: one.usc.edu

El Pueblo de Los Angeles

Los Angeles was first settled by the Tongva tribe and called the area Yang Na. But what makes this noteworthy is that the Tongva people were LGBTQ friendly. LA’s first tribes believed in "gay marriages, transgender lifestyles and that homosexuality was determined in utero" even going as far as celebrating homosexuals as “two spirited people and thought of them more as gifted than as outcasts." Look for a plaque in the plaza area honoring these ancestors.

125 Paseo De La Plaza
Los Angeles
Online: elpueblo.lacity.org

Latinx: Tia Chucha's

Tia Chucha's independent bookstore specializes in providing great books on "Xicanx and Latinx history and literature, indigenous knowledge, bilingual children’s books, contemporary and social commentary issues, as well as Spanish-language, queer/LGBTQIA, art, poetry, antiracism, social change, and much more."

13197 Gladstone Ave.
Sylmar
Online. tiachucha.org

The Wall Las Memorias AIDS Monument

Located in Lincoln Park, this was the first publicly-funded AIDS monument in the country. In this serene space, you'll see a stainless steel archway as well as eight panels—six of the panels depict life with AIDS in the Latino community, and two granite panels will eventually display the names of 8,000 people lost to AIDS.

3600 N. Mission Rd.
Los Angeles
Online: thewalllasmemorias.org

Los Angeles LGBT Center

"Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center provides services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy."

Maker sure to stop by and catch a show at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, the Center's state-of-the-art educational, cultural, and social center.

The Village at Ed Gould Plaza
1125 N McCadden Pl.
Los Angeles
Online: lalgbtcenter.org

Los Angeles LGBT Center
1625 N. Schrader Blvd.
Los Angeles
Online: lalgbtcenter.org

The Celebration Theatre

The Celebration Theatre was founded in 1982 and is the only professional theater with the "mission of creating an outlet for LGBTQIA+ voices in Los Angeles."

3269 Casitas Ave.
Los Angeles
Online: celebrationtheatre.com