The annual L.A. Pride parade in West Hollywood will be replaced this year with a political rally and LGBT Resist march through the streets, held in conjunction with other LGBT rights marches around the country. Organizers are expecting 250,000 to 500,000 marchers to participate, according to Advocate.
Switching to this more overtly activist Pride demonstration is likely to appease some in what has in recent years become a growing push back against West Hollywood’s signature celebration. Critics accuse the event of being overblown, mainstream and removed from the original spirit of Pride.
The march is scheduled for June 11 along a three-mile route that starts at the Hollywood and Highland complex and moves along La Brea to Santa Monica Boulevard, culminating at the L.A. Pride festival entrance on San Vicente Boulevard in West Hollywood.
Almost 70 percent of the outdoor space used for last year’s main Pride celebration will be unavailable this year due to a multi-year construction project underway in West Hollywood Park, meaning the festival aspect of the event—last year there were three stages of entertainment and performances—had to be scaled back and the formal parade canceled, decisions already in play prior to the decision to hold the protest march. Now, having all the marchers arrive at a reduced-capacity festival is causing some concern among organizers.
“We may have half a million people who come on the march. If I only have room for 5,000 people on San Vicente, where do they go?” Chris Classen, board president of Christopher Street West, the organization that stages L.A. Pride, asked in a conversation with WeHoVille.
The answer to that question remains to be made public. One thing we do know is that no announcements of performers have been made so far and it’s unlikely that this year’s L.A. Pride will be stocked with the kind of star power seen on previous years’ stages.
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