Long Beach Pride Hosts 39th Annual Pride Festival And Parade This Weekend

Long Beach will throw its 39th annual Pride Parade this Sunday, July 10, but not before the start of the city’s Pride Festival which begins Friday, July 8, featuring music artists, family fun zones, a roller rink, and more. 

Long Beach Pride, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, will once again be putting on the city’s annual three-day Pride Festival beginning this weekend on Friday. 

“The third-largest Pride festival and parade in California, we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community with a focus on inclusion, and work to educate the wider community that diversity builds a stronger and healthier society,” Long Beach Pride said on the organization’s website. 

The headlining music artists for this year’s festival include pop artists Iggy Azalea, Natalia Jiménez, and Paulina Rubio. The festival will also host featured performers YoYo, Gia Banks, Sonora Tropicana, and Amor Prohibido Band. 

The festival will have several activities for guests to engage in, such as a “rainbow-powered roller rink,” which will be the family-friendly centerpiece of Pride activities. There will also be a Transcendence Dome, a historical pop-up that will honor the trans community and trans women of color who fought for Pride with their own lives. 

The Werkshop Ballroom will feature dance battles on the main stage between music performances, where the crowd is invited to watch dancers “battle it out on center stage.” On-lookers are welcome to add their own dance moves from the audience and be a part of the movement. 

For those who love to dance it out, they will have the opportunity to show off their moves at Pride Festival’s Silent Disco, where attendees can put on a headset and jam out to the music in the “disco DJ dome.” 

Also on Friday, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m Long Beach Pride will host a separate Teen Pride festival. For all LGBTQ+ teens with a school I.D., this festival will feature its own DJ, performances, and dancing. 

On Sunday, the third and final day of the Pride Festival, the Pride Parade will take place at 10:30 a.m. The parade route will be located near the festival, in a simple straight path down Ocean Boulevard. 

Although applications to be a part of the parade are now closed, LGBTQ+ community members and allies alike are invited to show their support and celebrate from the sidelines. 
Further Pride festival information and ticket purchases are available through Long Beach Pride’s website, with ticket prices starting at $40.

By Hannah Shields

Photo from Long Beach Pride