Aaand We’re Back!
2022 Dates Announced: Parade, Music Event Planned
First In-Person LA Pride Since 2019
Board member reelections, LA Pride board most diverse ever
LOS ANGELES, November 4, 2021 – LA Pride 2022 will be June 11-12, and is currently planned to include an in-person parade and a music event. After two years without an in-person festival or parade due to COVID-19, Christopher Street West Association (CSW), the organizers of LA Pride for over 50 years, hopes 2022 will be a welcome return to the traditional celebrations that LA’s LGBTQ+ community knows and loves. Additional LA Pride programming will be announced at later dates.
Greater Los Angeles wasn’t without programming in 2021, though. In lieu of the large in-person events, CSW hosted hybrid and smaller capacity events, including a livestreamed TikTok concert headlined by Charli XCX and hosted by Benito Skinner (aka Benny Drama) that was viewed by 770,000 people nationwide, and an hour-long television special on ABC7, Southern California’s most watched news station.
Additionally, CSW held multiple outdoor experiences such as LGBTQ Night at Dodger Stadium and Cinespia Pride Night, both of which sold out. The 2021 Pride is Universal event at Universal Studios Hollywood™ saw its highest attendance in history, with more than 5,100 tickets sold. Further, CSW, in partnership with Big Sunday, introduced Pride Makes a Difference, a month-long initiative calling on the community to take action with its hundreds of county-wide volunteer and donation opportunities, of which more than 26,000 items were donated to underserved people. Pride Makes a Difference plans to resume in 2022.
“We made sure our 2021 events were inclusive and safe in the hopes we could bring our parade and bigger in-person events back for the following year,” said CSW board president, Sharon-Franklin Brown. “LA Pride is ready to celebrate our community’s resilience and strength together. It’s why we wanted to share the dates now. It’s an incredible honor to resume such an iconic celebration for 2022.”
CSW also announced its latest board election results, including the reelection of Sharon-Franklin Brown as president through 2023. Brown made history in 2020 when she was named the first Black transgender woman to lead the organization.
Treasurer, Gerald Garth, was elected vice president of programs and initiatives, a new position that will focus on CSW’s year-round community outreach. Garth will continue as treasurer until his replacement is named, and serve alongside Noah Gonzalez, the vice president of the board or directors.
Additionally, longtime board member, Mistress Cyan St. James, was reelected secretary. The CSW board of directors now includes 71% people of color, and 24% trans or nonbinary.
About Christopher Street West (CSW)/LA Pride
Christopher Street West (CSW), a 501(c)3 nonprofit, organized the world’s first permitted parade advocating for gay rights on June 28, 1970, to commemorate the Stonewall Rebellion on Christopher Street in New York City the year prior. Over 50 years later, CSW remains an active voice for the LGBTQ+ community of Greater Los Angeles. While best known for producing the LA Pride Parade & Festival (the second largest Pride celebration in the country) they also organize, sponsor or support community events throughout the year, and work with their nonprofit, philanthropic, and community partners to further diversity, equity, and inclusion. Visit lapride.org for more information.
For sponsorship and talent inquiries, contact CSW at [email protected]. For more information, follow @lapride on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or visit www.lapride.org.
For press inquiries: [email protected]
