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LA PRIDE 2015 Guide: The Festival, Parade And Street Closures
It's LA PRIDE 2015 this weekend! There will be lots of parties, shows and of course, the 45th Annual PRIDE Parade. Here's a quick guide to the main festival and parade in WeHo, and the best ways to navigate the crowded, rainbow-filled streets.The Parade
Grand Marshal Reverend Troy Perry will be leading the parade this year with Zoey, a 13-year old transgender youth advocate. Perry helped found the world's first pride parade, plus founded the predominantly gay Metropolitan Community Church. Zoey, with the support of her mother, began working with the ACLU at age 11 to be able to self-identify at her school. Additionally, the Community Grand Marshal will be the cast and crew of Amazon's Transparent.
Spectators are strongly encouraged to show up early to get a spot. 400,000 people show up to this annual celebration, so the best way to enjoy the festivities is to walk or use the shuttle to get there, stake out a vantage point and marvel at the floats. Frontiers LA is hosting a free viewing party at Beach Nation at Santa Monica and Sweetzer.
The parade begins Sunday at 11 a.m. The route runs down Santa Monica Blvd. from Crescent Heights Blvd. to Robertson Blvd.
Street Closures
San Vicente Blvd. will be closed between Melrose Ave and Santa Monica Blvd. from 7 p.m. on Thursday through 10 a.m. on Monday.
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Santa Monica Blvd. will be closed between Fairfax Ave. and Doheny Dr. from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Crescent Heights Blvd. will be closed between Romaine St. and Fountain Ave. from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Norton Avenue will be closed between Havenhurst Dr. and Laurel Dr. from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Streets one block north and one block south of Santa Monica Blvd. between Fairfax and La Peer Dr. will be closed from 5 a.m. to 5 a.m. on Sunday.
You should be aware that traffic is going to be pretty intense in WeHo this weekend, so you might want to consider not driving all the way to WeHo, but using the free PRIDE Ride shuttle instead (see below). If you do drive…
Free PRIDE Ride Shuttle
The Pride Ride shuttle will be cruising back and forth along Santa Monica Blvd. between La Brea and the festival grounds at Robertson. It runs Friday from 1 p.m. to 3 a.m.; Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.; and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. It will come every 15 minutes, and it's totally free. You can see a map of the route and stops here.
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Metro Detours
You can get to the festival and parade using the bus. Lines 4, 10, 30/330, 105, 217, 218, 704 or 705 will take you there. There will also be detours due to street closures, and information on those can be found on Metro's service advisory page here. You can find more PRIDE-centric Metro info, plus additional maps, here.
Annual WeHo Dyke March
This event for the lesbian community includes a march down Santa Monica Blvd. before a free concert, Lavendar Menance. Performers include Angel Haze, Ivy Levan, Honey Dijon, Nvida, Tosh and Lex.
You can also check out Dyke Day on Saturday in Elysian Park. Details are here.
Trans*Party LA
This party for the trans community is also free and takes place on the FOX Pride Latino Carnival area of the Festival grounds. It goes from 7 p.m. to midnight and will feature comedians, DJs, dancers and the cast of Transparent. Performers include Jakob G, Aubrey Girls, Lunden Reign, Reki, Sissy Début, Angel Bonilla, Jason Taylorson, Alexandra Grey, LZ LOVE and Cassandra Cass.
The Festival
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The festival runs noon to midnight on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday. It's located between Santa Monica Blvd. and Melrose Ave. bounded by San Vicente and Robertson boulevards. You can expect food, drink, vendors, performances, a roller disco, art and Erotic City—that's the "kinky" area of the fest where you can learn about "puppy play" and play strip pong. General admission tickets start at $20. (Full details and ticket pricing here.)
Performances
Friday (free), 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.: Angel Haze, Ivy Levan, Honey Dijon, Nvida, Tosh and Lex
Saturday, noon to midnight: Kesha, Wrabel, Tinashe, Wilson Phillips, Michael Mercury, Beauty in the Breakdown
Latino Carnivale Stage: Crystal Waters, Thea Austin, Sonora Tropicana Carmen Rio
Sunday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.: Fifth Harmony, Eden XO, Who is Fancy, Ty Herndon, Peter Paige, Becky G*, Dina Nina Martinez, Luciana, Sean Van Der Wilt, Maceo Paisley
Latino Carnivale Stage: DJ Kidd Madonny, Flava, Ana Barbara, Becky G, Wild Style, Sonora Tropicana, 5 Senti 2
We're still awaiting information about parking. We'll update this post when we get that info.
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