Thousands of people packed the streets of West Hollywood on Sunday for the annual WeHo Pride Parade on the last day of Pride weekend, with an ongoing street festival and a nightly concert by Carly Rae Jepsen also on hand.
An honors presentation for Pride icons and allies was also scheduled. The honorees are model/activist Laith Ashley, who will receive the Breakthrough Icon Award; actress Niecy Nash-Betts and his wife Jessica Betts, who will receive the Trailblazer Icon Award; and actress Melissa McCarthy, who was named WeHo Pride’s 2023 Ally Icon. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will be celebrated as this year’s Drag Icon with host and judge Michelle Visage expected to accept the honor on behalf of the show.
“Our WeHo Pride Parade icons embody queer joy and fierce alliance by creating spaces where our community can be celebrated, whether on the red carpet or directly through their art and advocacy,” said the West Hollywood Mayor Sepi Shyne in a statement. We are thrilled to celebrate the impact our icons have in creating a more evolved and tolerant world.”
The WeHo Pride Street Fair takes place from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday at Santa Monica and San Vicente boulevards, featuring a variety of LGBTQ+ community groups and allied organizations.
WeHo Pride weekend officially kicked off Friday with a “Friday Night @OUTLOUD” concert at West Hollywood Park featuring Idina Menzel, Jessie Ware, Shangela and Tinashe. Grace Jones headlined the concert on Saturday night and Carly Rae Jepsen headlined on Sunday night.
Saturday’s event included the Women’s Freedom Festival, with performances by “emerging LGBTQ and BIPOC women and non-binary musicians, comedians, poets and activists.” The festival was followed at 6pm by the annual Dyke March.
Sunday’s parade along Santa Monica Boulevard began at Crescent Heights Boulevard and was scheduled to move west to Robertson Boulevard.
Streets throughout the festival area were closed and attendees were urged to check parking and access information online at www.wehopride.com. The city will provide a free shuttle service over the weekend to transport people to WeHo Pride events. Information is available at https://go.wehopride.com/3qfnasc.
San Vicente Boulevard will be closed until 10 a.m. Monday from Melrose Avenue to Santa Monica Boulevard.
Parking lots in the West Hollywood Park area (the five-story parking structure, library garage, recreation and aquatics center garage, and the Plummer Park South and Robertson lots) will remain closed through Monday.
Other streets closed for the event are:
— Eastbound Santa Monica Boulevard from North La Cienega Boulevard to North Doheny Drive through 7 am Monday;
— Robertson Boulevard from Santa Monica Boulevard to Melrose Avenue through 7 am Monday;
— Westbound Santa Monica Boulevard from North La Cienega Boulevard to North Doheny Drive through 7 am Monday; and
— San Vicente Boulevard from Santa Monica Boulevard to Cynthia Street until 10 am Monday. Santa Monica Boulevard was closed from Fairfax Avenue to Doheny Drive
— including side streets one block north and one block south of Santa Monica — from 5 am to 5 pm on Sunday to accommodate the parade.
Tens of thousands of people attended the annual WeHo Pride festival on Saturday, billed as one of the largest LGBTQ+ pride celebrations in the world, but two attendees ended up behind bars.
Hunter Lee Darling was identified as the suspect in the April 19 theft of a cell phone from the West Hollywood library. A warrant for Darling’s arrest was issued on May 31, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Information Bureau.
Deputies saw Darling at a Pride event on Saturday, arrested him and booked him on suspicion of theft, vandalism and assault, sheriff’s officials said. A friend of Darling’s, Abby Nicole Thomas, was arrested for allegedly interfering with and obstructing an arrest after trying to stop officers from
taking Darling into custody, authorities said.
