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Event
Information:
Los
Angeles celebrates Gay Pride in
mid-June (June 10 to 12 in 2011), to
honor what many consider to be one
of the foremost events in the
history of lesbian and gay rights,
the Stonewall Riots. One of the
largest and most inclusive parades
in Los Angeles, the LA PRIDE Parade
steps off at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday,
June 12 and travels westbound along
Santa Monica Blvd., from Crescent
Heights Blvd., to the main entrance
of the LA PRIDE Festival at San
Vicente Blvd. Over 400,000 will
participate in this emotionally
charged gathering showcasing the
colorful diversity and creative
community participation of the LGBT
community.
Christopher Street West (CSW) is the
non-profit organization that
produces the Los Angeles LGBT
(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender) Pride Celebration
(Parade and Festival) held every
June in its host city of West
Hollywood, California, USA.
Named
after New York City's famed
Christopher Street, the June 1969
site of the Stonewall Rebellion. The
CSW parade was started in June 1970
the year following the Stonewall
Riot, by a number of Los Angeles'
gay activists, prominent among them
Morris Kight, Reverend Troy Perry,
and Bob Humphries. The first parade
traveled east on Hollywood Boulevard
starting from McCadden Place in the
Hollywood section of Los Angeles,
California. Although one of several
gay pride parades that took place
that day around the United States,
this was the only "street closing"
gay pride parade held in 1970 ---
something emulated by the other
parades the following year. After
several troubled years (no parade
was held in 1973), the CSW parade
returned in 1974, and originated yet
another feature of the modern gay
pride movement by adding a festival
to its annual event.
There
was always a tense relationship
between CSW, the businesses on
Hollywood Boulevard and the Los
Angeles Police Department (LAPD), so
in 1979 the parade and festival were
moved to the more friendly environs
of Santa Monica Boulevard, in the
soon-to-be-incorporated (1984) City
of West Hollywood, California. The
parade now moves west on Santa
Monica Boulevard from the corner of
Crescent Heights Boulevard, and the
festival is held in West Hollywood
Park and the adjacent section of San
Vicente Boulevard. Present day
attendance is typically 250,000 for
the parade, and 40,000 at the
two-day festival.
Local
Weather:
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