The last Pride parade hosted in West Hollywood was in 2019 in conjunction with Christopher Street West. (photo by Jon Viscott, courtesy of the city of West Hollywood)

It has been more than two years since Christopher Street West announced that it would be moving its annual Pride parade out of West Hollywood. During the April 18 West Hollywood City Council meeting, the city inched closer to hosting its own OUTLOUD Pride celebration, in partnership with the event company JJLA, but some questions remain on the exact details.

The council unanimously approved measures regarding its Pride celebration, set for Friday, June 3, through Sunday, June 5, including waiving permit parking citywide for that weekend, allocating funds for site plan reviews and authorizing the closure of Robertson Boulevard between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue.

The city’s event services supervisor, Megan Reath, said that the closure of Robertson Boulevard was a necessary expansion for Pride’s footprint, providing space for community groups that have applied.

Councilwoman Lindsey Horvath said that in addition to approving the inclusion of Robertson Boulevard as a staging area for Pride, the council and city staff should look to standardize what they are calling the “footprint,” or the perimeter staging area for the festival.

“If this footprint works, [let’s make] sure that we don’t have the same conversations every year,” Horvath said. “[We should try] to focus on something that gets standardized both for predictability for staff [and] also for the community.”

Plans for the event’s footprint include both free areas and ticketed areas, where concerts and other activities will be held.

West Hollywood city staff has accepted applications from community groups for participation in the festival. Of 65 applicants, the city has approved 44 groups and will also allocate funding for most participants. Participants will be required to enter into a co-sponsorship with the city.

Reath said city staff was working to include as many diverse groups in the celebration as possible.

“Our aim is to be able to award some funding to as many of the groups as possible,” Reath said.

Inclusion was on the mind of council members as well. Mayor Pro Tempore Sepi Shyne noted that the City Council had expressed priority for “affinity” groups, defined by the city as people representing women’s groups, BIPOC groups, Black pride, transgender pride, bisexual pride, the sober community and the senior community.

“Let’s make sure we are providing access to the groups that we called out as a priority to bring equity,” Shyne said.

Shyne also expressed concern over conflicting information that was circulating regarding Pride weekend’s details.

“[We need to] work with communities expediently to get as much info out so people are really aware when Dyke March is happening, where Dyke March is happening, [when the] Women’s Freedom Festival [is happening and], all these other components,” Shyne said.

She also noted that it has not been finalized when the street festival elements of the event will occur, adding that this information is “crucial [for] when people plan to show up and leave.”

Shyne also urged city staff to finalize accessibility options for disabled and senior community members.

Councilman John Erikson mentioned the need to provide outlets for inclusion for West Hollywood businesses that are not located along or near Santa Monica Boulevard, particularly those on the Sunset Strip.

“Many of the bars and nightclubs on the Sunset Strip have LGBTQ events during Pride, and we want to make sure that our participants are aware of that,” Erickson said.

The West Hollywood-sponsored Pride parade is set to kick off at noon on June 5 at the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Crescent Heights Boulevard and continue west, ending at Robertson Boulevard.

In addition to its own parade, the city of West Hollywood will participate as an entry in the Christopher Street West LAPride parade, which will occur the following weekend on June 12.

The two different Pride weekends have been a source of confusion within the community, which Shyne said is one reason the details for the West Hollywood event needed to be finalized by the City Council’s first meeting in May.

“I still have people confused about LA Pride versus West Hollywood Pride,” Shyne said. “A lot of people know [the difference], but we need to really move as quickly as we can on this. And I thank you for all the work that you’ve done.”

In approving the measure, the council uniformly expressed excitement about a return to Pride festivities in West Hollywood.

“I’m glad to see our forward progress,” Horvath said. “[I’m] grateful to staff and our contractor [JJLA] for moving this event forward. I know people are getting excited to have something that feels somewhat normal like Pride in our community that can bring us all together.”