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L.A. Leather Pride Kicks Off Today In East Hollywood
Last year's Mr. Leather (Photo by Perhansa Skallerup/LAist)
L.A. Leather Pride, a week-long celebration for L.A.'s leather and LGBTQ community, begins today with a party in the parking lot of an East Hollywood gay bar. L.A. Leather Pride is an annual event put on by the Los Angeles Leather Coalition. It's over a week of parties and events designed to bring together L.A.'s leather community, culminating with the crowning of the new L.A. Mr. Leather.
Today's kick-off party takes place at the Faultline in East Hollywood from 2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The contestants for this year's Mr. Leather pageant will ride in via motorcycles before drawing their contestant numbers. Other events this week include dance parties, film screenings, a meet-up for leather ladies, fetish events, and next Sunday's Off Sunset Festival in Silver Lake.
If you're unfamiliar with the leather community or aren't a regular at The Eagle, L.A. Leather Pride Chairman Marlon Morales told LAist last year that it's about "sexual freedom and expressing yourself," but also education and advocacy. The winner of each year's pageant spends their reign helping out their community, and will then go on to represent L.A. at International Mr. Leather in Chicago in May.
Mr. Los Angeles Leather 2016 takes place on April 2 at the Globe Theatre in downtown L.A. at 6:30 p.m. Last year's winner, Patrick Smith, will endure an all-in-good-fun roast on March 31 before giving up his title to the new winner.
The fourth annual Off Sunset Festival will take over the streets of Silver Lake next Sunday with live music, DJs, food trucks, drinks, vendors and a clothing check, so you can feel free to slip into something a little more fetish-y when you get to the fest.
Related: Photos: Mr. L.A. Leather Is Crowned, And His Mom Couldn't Be Prouder
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