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The Los Angeles Blade celebrates Next Generation Pride

“Diversity is really important to our district… Our district is a leader when it comes to helping and supporting students.”

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August Getty (Photo By Daniel J. Sliwa)

WEST HOLLYWOOD – On June 27, the Los Angeles Blade honored and recognized the achievements of LGBTQ+ students, faculty, staff and the administrators of the Los Angeles Community College District, (LACCD) as about 75 invited guests gathered at West Hollywood’s Le Parc Suite Hotel’s Skydeck rooftop lounge and pool area to celebrate the LGBTQ+ students, and celebrate the creation of a scholarship program between the Los Angeles Blade and LACCD.

“The reason LAACD is able to be progressive, forward looking— the reason we are able to do an LGBTQIA Bill of Rights and ensure that everyone of our students is safe —is because we have a tremendous Board of Trustees who believe in a vision that every student deserves to be educated and safe,” said LACCD’s Chancellor Dr. Francisco C. Rodriguez.

Those are strong words from an LGBTQI Ally who heads one of the world’s largest community college systems spread out over a nine campus system with a 250,000 strong student body.

The late afternoon event was sponsored by the Los Angeles Blade, The Ariadne Getty Foundation, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, GT’s Living Foods, and the Le Parc Suite Hotel.

Also in attendance bestowing proclamations honoring the achievements of the administrators, trustees and the LGBTQ+ student body of the LACCD, was the City of West Hollywood’s Mayor Lindsey Horvath and City Councilmember John Erickson.

Rhea Litré, voted by the readers of the Blade as Best Drag Queen and one of West Hollywood’s brightest stars of drag — most recently famous for her Instagram Live show “Quarantine Queen” — kicked off the night with a warm welcome and introduced the Blade’s publisher Troy Masters.

Rhea Litré (Photo By Daniel J. Sliwa)

In his speech, Masters explained that LACCD’s LGBTQ+ program had touched him deeply; “The cover of the Los Angeles Blade Pride issue is an example of something they are doing really touched me a lot. The school uses a Monarch Butterfly emblem which they wear to denote that a person is a safe person to interact with openly and that an area or room is a safe space for them.

“That really touched me, because it made me aware that their situation is different than what we may be used to. They have a deep need for safe, supportive people and spaces. They have a very deep need to be who they are and be with people and places that are safe, accepting and good for them,” he said.

“We are here tonight just to celebrate that, celebrate the colleges and celebrate the people who are profiled in the current issue of the Los Angeles Blade, he added.”

In addition to politicos in attendance, some of the LACCD’s top leadership were on hand; Dr. Francisco C. Rodriguez, the Chancellor of the LACCD, Deputy Chancellor. ​Dr. Ryan M. Cornner,  Dean for Student Success Deborah Harrington, LACCD Board of Trustees member Mike Fong, David Vela, the only openly LGBTQ+ LACCD Trustee, Felipe Agredano-Lozano,  the LGBTQ+ Faculty Liaison for the LACCD, Dr. Marcel Morales,​ Department Chair and Professor of Sociology at ELAC, James Limbaugh, the President of West LA College and Michael P. Fuller, LACCD’s Director of Institutional Advancement.

The mixer was filled with many familiar faces from greater the Los Angeles community including August Getty who represented the Ariadne Getty Foundation as well as his LA-based fashion house, August Getty Atelier; Marna Deitch, Southern California Motorcycle Contingent for Equality leader and interpreter for the deaf at community colleges; Michael Weinstein, Executive Director of the world’s largest AIDS healthcare organization, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation; lesbian activist and comedian Robin Tyler accompanied by her pug Oscar Wilde; composer and lyricist Todd Pawelek and Stephen Rutgers representing the Washington Blade and Blade Foundation.

Masters thanked all the events sponsors and several individuals who helped make the event possible and expressed gratitude for everyone who attended.

“I want to acknowledge some people who are extremely dear to me,” Masters paused, “Ariadne Getty is our most generous benefactor and her son August is here tonight.” And while the crowd broke out into cheers for August, Masters’ voice broke when he said, “I want to thank them for an immense amount of love and a lot of compassion — thank you for making us part of your family.” Getty stood and was clearly moved.

Masters also thanked Michael Weinstein of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for his role in executing a successful LGBTQ focused Covid-19 vaccination program. “Michael is one of our largest supporters as well. And we appreciate Michael and appreciate the work of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation,” Masters said.

“We can thank Michael in part,” said Masters, “for the working to ensure that West Hollywood and the LGBTQ community are near fully vaccinated.” He added, “As a community we are well on our way.”

AHF says it has fully vaccinated tens of thousands of Angelenos. The agency also famously worked hard during Covid crisis to make sure its patients were able to keep up with HIV medications and healthcare requirements. According to LA County Department of Public Health, in fact, the City of West Hollywood is more than 72 percent fully vaccinated.

Masters said his observation about the community being “nearly 100 percent vaccinated” is anecdotal. “Actual LGBTQ statistics have not been maintained during the Covid-19 crisis, something the Los Angeles Blade has exposed in many articles,” he said.

Michael P Fuller called out the LACCD luminaries and the student honoree Sofia Zaragoza, Chancellor Rodriguez, Trustees Fong and Vela who all gave short speeches.

West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey Horvath took the mic greeted and proclaimed “Happy Pride Month!” The Mayor, joined by City Councilmember Erickson then handed out proclamations to the LACCD leadership from the City of West Hollywood:

The Proclamations read:

The City of West Hollywood honors the Los Angeles Community College District for
EXEMPLARY SERVICE TO LGBTQ YOUTH on the occasion of Los Angeles Blade’s NEXT GENERATION PRIDE EVENT

Whereas, the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) supports the rights, freedoms, and equality of persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and/or asexual (LGBTQIA+) and serves more than 20,000 LGBTQIA+ students through safe and inspiring learning environments;

Whereas, LACCD adopted a groundbreaking LGBTQIA+ Bill of Rights to create welcoming college communities that affirm the lives of LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, and staff;

Whereas, LACCD provides academic opportunities for LGBTQIA+ students to accomplish their educational goals, including courses and programs recognizing the contributions of LGTBQIA+ communities;

Let it be known, the City of West Hollywood commends LACCD’s inclusionary vision and leadership in supporting and advancing the LGBTQIA+ members of our community.

Front Row; Sofia Zaragoza, Troy Masters, West Hollywood Mayor Horvath, Felipe Agredano-Lozano, Second Row; James Limbaugh, Dr. Francisco C. Rodriguez, David Vela, Dr. Ryan M. Cornner, Back Row; Michael P. Fuller, City Councilmember John Erickson, Mike Fong
(Photo By Daniel J. Sliwa)

The Blade interviewed several of the attendees.

Litré said, “We have raised amazing money for kids that want to go to college.” One of the individual’s who received a scholarship, Jamey Sinardi who was also profiled in the three-part series in a special issue of the Blade this past week was also briefly interviewed at the event.

Dropping out of high school due to severe scoliosis and battling cancer twice is an uphill battle, but Sinardi won and was able to achieve her goals in education, in part, due to the LA Promise scholarship program. The LAACD promise program is a program that gives two years of tuition free education to community college students. “If it wasn’t for Promise,” she said, “I don’t know where I’d be honestly.”

Publisher Troy Masters and scholar Jamey Sinardi. (Photo by Daniel Sliwa)

There were many individuals from the LACCD who helped make this moment possible such as Dr. Francisco Rodriguez, Chancellor for the LACCD. When talking about the event he said, “There’s only one reason we’re here – and that’s for students.” 

Sofia Zaragoza, a queer student who was just recently accepted to University of California Berkeley described why she believes she was chosen by the Blade to be in the Next Generation of Pride article. “I think it’s because of my diverse background in the academic sense. I have a real passion for education.” For Zaragoza being an LGBTQ student can be challenging, but it “not only diversifies” but “enriches” her perspective in life.

The President of West LA College, James Limbaugh, told the Blade that he looks at students like Dee and Zaragoza and finds their stories to be inspirational. “I think it’s important that every student has the right and access to college… Every student has potential, so my responsibility is to make sure that all students have an opportunity.” Dr. Morales from the LACCD’s East LA College campus weighed in saying; “Diversity is really important to our district… Our district is a leader when it comes to helping and supporting students.”

Deitch, the Southern California Motorcycle Contingent for Equality leader told the Blade; “I don’t even have words to say how wonderful I think this is. Knowing that the community colleges have been very open to the LGTBQ community is nice, but stepping it up to this level is fantastic.”

August Getty, called as the last speaker by Masters reflected; “At the end of the day, we are one entire family… Thanks to the LA Blade for giving us an outspoken voice for when we don’t have one.”

WATCH: The Los Angeles Blade celebrates the Next Generation of Pride

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Out & About

Will Alaska topple Mariah Carey’s “Christmas Queen” crown?

As she graces America’s stages with her newest contribution to Christmas culture, is Alaska threatening to topple Carey? Unlikely…

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With many million followers across various social media platforms, Alaska is one of the top tier of famous drag queens. (Screenshot/YouTube Producer Entertainment Group/PEG)

HOLLYWOOD – If RuPaul, giving out crowns the way he does across Drag Race franchises, ran Christmas — Mariah Carey would be demanding to be crowned its queen. Carey was rejected in 2022 trying to trademark the title, and other stars like Darlene Love, were all for the defeat.

One queen who did not enter the fray, but now could, is RuPaul’s own classic diva and All Star crown-holder, Alaska. 

Alaska launches her “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like ALASKA” Christmas show today. Opening at the Neptune in Seattle Washington, she hits San Francisco on December 10th at Bimbo’s 365. Other stops on the tour include New York (December 14th), Pittsburgh (December 17th), and delivers her to her family’s doorsteps just before Christmas in Erie, PA on December 23rd.

“My mom said, ‘It’s not going to just be Christmas music, is it??’, No. My best friend Jeremy plays the piano in the show and we have been doing Christmas cabarets for years. Our goal is to do as little Christmas music as possible in them. It’s a chance to sing songs that we love and songs we have always wanted to do. There is a drop of Christmas music, just enough to call it ‘a Christmas show’,” she tells me on a recent episode of Rated LGBT Radio.

With many million followers across various social media platforms, Alaska is one of the top tier of famous drag queens. With the RuPaul All Stars’ crown to her credit, her brand is loved and adored. The public first fell for her on the fifth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” where she finished in the final 3 before returning and taking the aforementioned crown as winner of season two of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.”

She has released four chart-topping studio albums, “Anus,” “Poundcake,” “Vagina” and “Red 4 Filth.” With several acting credits and awards, Alaska has also released a young adult novel titled “Alaska Thunderfun and the Inner Space Odyssey,” plus released her memoir “My Name’s Yours, What’s Alaska?: A Memoir” She has toured the globe spreading her otherworldly message of love, kindness and gender non-conformity. Alaska also co-hosts the wildly popular Race Chaser podcast with Willam and co-created the Drag Queen of the Year Pageant Competition Award Contest Competition. She debuted a new live stage show in the fall of 2022 called DRAG: The Musical. She is the face of one of six featured flavors with SERV Vodka. Her latest foray finds her in the world of smells with her “Red For Filth” fragrance. 

“When I started drag, it was not a viable career choice, like it is now, it was underground—this kind of strange thing that not many people knew existed, and if they did, they did not understand anything about it. There weren’t many eyes on it from the mainstream culture. Now that there is, I guess we get our turn to be a distraction so the government can not do anything about important issues,” she says.

When she first started dabbling in drag, her family was supportive, but not quite sure exactly they were supporting. Alaska describes her mother as being “protective”, and not wanting her to be subject to ridicule.  “It took my family a while to understand. That was pre-Drag Race. There was no information as to what being a drag queen even was. Now my family loves it and comes to every show.”

Alaska is famous for her laissez faire stage presence, but the cover hides some anxiety. “I always get nervous when I go on stage. I am not exuding confidence; I am just doing the thing,” she confesses.

Doing the thing, she is. As she graces America’s stages with her newest contribution to Christmas culture, is Alaska threatening to topple Carey as the top Christmas diva? Unlikely.

But it will be a damned hoot to watch her try.

Complete tour dates:

December:

8th: Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater

10th: San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365

12th: Montreal, QC @ Le National

14th: New York, NY @ Town Hall

15th: Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Hall

16th: Boston, MA @ Big Night Live

17th: Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall

21st: Chicago, IL @ House of Blues

23rd: Erie, PA @ Erie Playhouse – 2 Shows

29th: Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue

30th: Seattle, WA @ Neptune

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Rob Watson is the host of the popular Hollywood-based radio/podcast show RATED LGBT RADIO.

He is an established LGBTQ columnist and blogger having written for many top online publications including The Los Angeles Blade, The Washington Blade, Parents Magazine, the Huffington Post, LGBTQ Nation, Gay Star News, the New Civil Rights Movement, and more.

He served as Executive Editor for The Good Man Project, has appeared on MSNBC and been quoted in Business Week and Forbes Magazine.

He is CEO of Watson Writes, a marketing communications agency, and can be reached at [email protected] 

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Comedian Quincy Bazen wants you to laugh through the darkness

Up-and-coming comedian Quincy Bazen isn’t afraid to dive into the dark and scary topics in his new show, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

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Comedian Quincy Bazen isn’t afraid to dive into the dark & scary topics in his new show, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. (Photo by Dante Velasquez)

By Rob Salerno | LOS ANGELES – Up-and-coming comedian Quincy Bazen isn’t afraid to dive into the dark and scary topics in his new show, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Family breakdowns, mental illness, suicidal thoughts, and the scariest topic of all for young gay men – turning 30 – are all fair game for the hilarious observations that make up the hour-long show that recently made its LA debut at The Virgil.

The newly minted tricenarian grew up in a military family and moved fourteen times before he finished high school, which inspired the title and much of the substance of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.  

“Trying to carve out my own identity throughout all those moves and all those changes was not an easy thing. Especially when you’re in the closet, right? You’re already trying to latch onto anything you can so nobody’s paying attention or asking questions about like what’s really going on behind the curtain,” Bazen says.

Bazen says the show is his way of answering the question, “where are you from?” which has always been a tricky thing to answer. 

“I don’t really feel like I’m from anywhere. So, okay, what is the most authentic piece about me then I can give you? And yeah, I do struggle with mental health, and it’s been a lifelong struggle, but it’s something that I think that we have to find comedy because it’s the human experience,” he says. “I don’t want to make small talk about my life. I want to talk about it for an hour.” 

And Bazen’s comedy is unabashedly gay. From bits about topping and bottoming, being selfish in bed, his monogamous relationship with his British boyfriend, and reacting to his father’s discomfort with his being gay, Bazen always finds a uniquely queer and hilarious take.

“Queer comedy kind of stands in the face of everything that queer people are really brought up to believe,” he says. “I love to get on stage and act as faggy as I absolutely can. I just love to do it and I think it’s because I’m a little rebellious. I just I hated growing up being told I couldn’t, and now I’m just flying in their faces every single day.”

Bazen’s only been doing standup for a little over a year, but he has an obvious comfort and confidence on stage that he says comes from being a theatre kid since he was a child. While he’d previously been putting on musicals and creating web series, when the pandemic hit and everything was shut down, he had to find a new way to express himself. Comedy turned out to be a natural fit.

Quincy Bazen (Photo by Owen Devalk)

“I’ve been type-A since I was 6 years old,” he says. “I think that’s why stand up is so fun, because there’s no rules. You’re changing what you’re saying based on how other people are responding in the room. I think there’s a sense of ease in that.”

And 2024 is already looking like it’s going to be a big year for Bazen. He’s planning a tour of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in February and has a monthly comedy showcase in Los Angeles beginning in January. 

He’s also the co-host of the weekly Dom Pop podcast, where he and cohost Hayden Baker break down their favorite new and classic pop albums. That podcast will soon be holding its third annual Dommie Awards, which Bazen describes as “the unofficial Grammy Awards, they’re where the girls that you always want to win a Grammy get to win.”

All of this activity has proven to be a healthy antidote for the other major change in his life – turning 30. While he had dreaded the big 3-0 as “gay death,” he’s found instead that he’s thriving. “I feel like I was one of those really serious religious people in 2012, ready for the world end, and then I woke up on D-Day and I’m like, ‘Oh? It’s okay? I’m still here I’m still fine?’” Bazen says. “I’d like to think that I’m doing better than I was, but I’d be remiss or lying if I said that I was never anxious about it.”

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Rob Salerno is a writer and journalist based in Los Angeles, California, and Toronto, Canada.

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Queer Here Cinema brings monthly film showcase to WeHo

Queer Here Cinema happens every third Tuesday of the month at 8pm at Stache, 8941 Santa Monica Blvd. The next edition is Tues, Nov 21st

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Queer Here Cinema/Los Angeles Blade graphic

By Rob Salerno | WEST HOLLYWOOD – Over the last year, Queer Here Cinema has become the premiere monthly event for LGBTQ cinephiles and filmmakers to get together, network, and watch the latest queer short films and web series, and now Queer Here Cinema is setting up a new home at Stache in West Hollywood. 

The new venue and regular schedule on the third Tuesday of every month provides an excellent screening environment and brings the event closer to the LGBT community, says Queer Here Cinema programmer Jeremy Rodriguez.

“I like to highlight that, because I’ve seen so many coincidences where people come here and have a great time at the club, but they’re also out there being comedians, being actors, making art. Why not make a home for all that?” Rodriguez says.

Rodriguez says that’s partly what makes Queer Here Cinema different from the bigger film festivals like Outfest and Outfest Fusion. By being right in the heart of West Hollywood and happening on a regular monthly schedule, Queer Here Cinema is building a new community of queer filmmakers and fans.

“We do now have regulars, people asking when the next one is. They’re either working on a project they want to screen, or they’re in writing something and want to get inspired, or they’re people who are coming for date night, just wanting a fun night with queer films,” Rodriguez says.

Queer Here Cinema has already attracted a high caliber of submissions, including films from overseas, and films that feature up-and-coming Hollywood stars. Queer Here Cinema recently screened Requiem, a student film by rising director Em J. Gilbertson starring The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey in a story about lesbian desire during the Salem Witch Trials.

Rodriguez says another recent highlight was a screening of the short Worst Date, Best Date, at which Demi Moore and her daughter Rumor Willis were in attendance.

“As a lifetime fan it was just such a treat to meet her,” he says. “I don’t geek out a lot, but that’s Molly from Ghost!”

Queer Here Cinema got its start at the now-closed 10 DTLA, where Rodriguez was working last year. He had the idea of hosting short film screenings on off nights, having been to several queer film festivals in the past as a producer of short films.

“We did the film festival circuit, the non-queer festivals, and then we did the queer festivals and there was a different sense of camaraderie and that we’re all in this together, and sitting in the audience and everyone gets the joke,” he says. “I wanted to have that experience of those smaller festivals here.”

The next edition of Queer Here Cinema is happening Nov 21, and the diverse lineup of films includes Dutch animated documentary Outside the Lines, bisexual coming out comedy Bi Bi Baby, stop-motion Wizard of Oz adaptation The Tin Woods, and the horror short Kathy.

Queer Here Cinema is open to queer films and films that members of the queer community have been involved in, whether as directors, writers, actors, or crew.

“If you worked on it and you’re in our rainbow, you have a home here,” Rodriguez says.

Queer Here Cinema happens every third Tuesday of the month at 8pm at Stache, 8941 Santa Monica Blvd. The next edition is Tues, Nov 21.

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Rob Salerno is a writer and journalist based in Los Angeles, California, and Toronto, Canada.

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As LA’s iconic ‘Dragstrip’ reunites, its co-creator has eye on history

Dragstrip’s big reunion bash at Los Globos on April 22 – is an event guaranteed to be packed, since all its advance tickets were sold

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Dragstrip 66 (Photo courtesy of Paul Vitagliano)

LOS ANGELES – Picture, if you will, a nightclub full of diverse patrons, gathered for a communal evening of music, dancing, and gloriously free self-expression. Yes, there’s a drag show, but it’s not just on the stage; most of the people in the crowd are bedecked in the edgiest, cheekiest, most deliciously transgressive gender-bending finery they could devise, assembled from the treasures found in their closets or their neighborhood thrift stores.

It’s campy and kitschy, yes, but it’s also edgy and sexy and intoxicating fun. Outside the walls, there might be an aggressively bigoted, homophobic faction of society that would love to shut the whole thing down, but in this place, for this moment, they are powerless to stop this vibrant celebration from happening or put even the slightest damper on the joyful spirit of the mixed queer-and-allied community lucky enough to be there.

The scene above might sound like a typical evening at any number of popular nightlife venues in 2023 – despite the hateful vitriol and clumsy legal overreach of the conservative homophobes currently working overtime to try and legislate all things queer out of existence – but it’s one that could be found in Los Angeles for two decades (from 1993-2013) at a regular monthly happening called “Dragstrip 66’, and for those who were regulars it’s more than just a memory. It’s a cultural touchstone to an experience that helped to shape their lives.

Dragstrip 66 (Photo courtesy of Paul Vitagliano)

Of course, it’s not exactly news that a club event like Dragstrip was spawned 30 years ago, and it certainly wasn’t the only one; legendary drag-themed events like Wigstock and TrannyShack were also happening in other big cities, launching the careers of countless queens and other performance artists who have gone on to leave their indelible mark on the art form. Though drag popularity has undergone a recent surge in the mainstream, anyone old enough to remember a world before RuPaul knows well enough it’s not a new phenomenon – though it can sometimes seem to queer elders that newer generations within the community are largely ignorant of their cultural history.

Now, as he gears up for this weekend’s big Dragstrip 66 Reunion, marking the tenth anniversary of the event’s final manifestation in 2013, that’s exactly what worries Paul Vitagliano.

Better known to queer Angelenos as DJ Paul V., he co-founded Dragstrip in 1993 with his best friend, “Mr. Dan” Derkacz – who quickly became a local drag legend in his own right as the impresario of East LA’s Cavern Club, where he has been holding court since 1994. The two men had collaborated on a few previous club events that never quite took off the way they had hoped, but when they opened the doors of their newest brainchild (at Rudolpho’s in Silver Lake), everything changed. With a crowd encouraged to dress in drag, weekly themes (like “Florence of Arabia,” “Jocks N Frocks”, and “Vegas in Space”), DJ Paul spinning an eclectic blend of music unlike anything typically heard in LGBTQ nightclubs at the time – from rock to disco, funk to hip hop, indie pop to electro, and everything in between – and Mr. Dan presiding over the festivities as “Gina Lotriman”, whose role might be better described as “ringmaster” than as “MC”, Dragstrip 66 became a local underground sensation almost by word-of-mouth alone.

“We didn’t really advertise,” Vitagliano says. “You had to find it. You had to work to find it.”

That’s because, as he puts it, there was “a synergy” around drag in the ‘90s, a radical, even dangerous aura that made it unwelcome in many queer spaces. “I like to joke that if you told any of the Levi and Leather guys back then that someday there would be drag queens hosting brunches and bingos in their bars, their heads would have exploded.”

Wonder Twins (Left), Chanel Twins (Right) (Photo courtesy of Paul Vitagliano)

It was partly this separatist attitude, perhaps, that helped Dragstrip not only to quickly attract an audience, but to keep them coming back for twenty years. 

“We elevated the freaks and the misfits and the artists above the muscle men and the pretty boys,” he explains, simply. “These were people who didn’t have a place to be welcomed in mainstream gay culture, the queer kids who didn’t fit with the “cool” crowd and didn’t want to.”

There were other, even more personal reasons these “freaks and misfits” were so eager to convene each month in Dragstrip’s early years, when AIDS and a volatile political struggle for equality were an inescapable part of the LGBTQ cultural context.

“Our friends were still very sick and dying,” Vitagliano recalls. “Our daytime existence could be a living hell, we might be taking care of sick people, there was grief, and loss, and sadness – and even just once a month, for a few hours, Dragstrip was a respite from all that. It was a way to feel alive, and connected, to not feel like we were sick and dying.”

“And then when the cocktails happened, and we were told we were going to survive, that we were still going to be here, it became a different kind of celebration.”

By the time Dragstrip reached the end of its long run, it certainly felt like there was plenty to celebrate. The tide of public opinion was swinging decisively in favor of LGBTQ rights, marriage equality was within our grasp, and Barack Obama was in the White House. Why not end things on a high note?

All of this is the kind of “unwritten” history Vitagliano fears will be lost if the next generations don’t start learning about it before it’s too late – something that’s been even more deeply on his mind since the death of Helkina, who was a frequent participant in Dragstrip both before and after founding Trannyshack in 1996.

“We’ve lost a giant,” he says, still audibly shaken by his friend’s unexpected passing in London earlier this month.  “These stories need to be told before the people who can tell them aren’t here anymore.”

He believes it’s particularly important now, perhaps more than ever. With conservative backlash against LGBTQ Americans in general at frighteningly regressive levels, and trans people and drag queens in particular bearing the brunt of their bigoted legislative furor, elevating our heroes and their histories is a crucial element of countering that hate in the public arena, but it can only happen if we know about them ourselves.

Fortunately, he’s prepared to do his part – in fact he’s been preparing for it over the past ten years, when as he and his cohorts prepared to stage what they presumed would be Dragstrip’s final installment, they decided to film it and build a documentary – which would eventually gain the title “Dragstrip 66: The Frockumentary” – around the footage with the archive of images, videos, and press clippings they had amassed over their two-decade run. With the help of a Kickstarter campaign that was launched to fund the movie, Vitagliano and co-director Phil Scanlon set to work digitizing all that material and assembling it into a rough cut – but since they both had day jobs, it took them years to do it. It also ate up all the money they had raised for the project.

Dragstrip patrons flank punk icon Nina Hagen, one of many celebrities who could frequently be spotted in the crowd during the event’s twenty-year run (Photo courtesy of Paul Vitagliano)

Now, on the eve of Dragstrip’s big reunion bash at Los Globos on April 22 – an event guaranteed to be packed, since all its advance tickets were sold in quick order once it was announced via newsletter to the hundreds (if not thousands) of former patrons still on the email list – Vitagliano and Scanlon are gearing up to do another round of filming, this time to capture an epilogue for their movie. They hope to capture the strong bond of community that has kept Dragstrip in the hearts and souls of their patrons across the years, as well as to contrast the stark difference between the hopeful political environment that surrounded its last appearance in 2013 with the atmosphere of extremist right-wing opposition we’re experiencing today.

They also hope to provide a crucial jolt of financial life to the documentary, encouraging the party’s enthusiastic attendees to donate on the project’s Film Independent funding page and crossing their fingers over the not-unreasonable possibility that someone among the former patrons of a highly popular Los Angeles LGBTQ club event might have a Hollywood connection or two that might be interested in helping them shepherd the project to completion. After all, Dragstrip attracted a vast array of celebrity guests over the years, and not just on the stage, where now-iconic queens like Jackie Beat, Sherry Vine, and more were regular performers, but among the crowd; the list of stars who attended over the years is far too long to publish here, but it includes more than a few famous names – including Ryan Murphy, who is known to have attended more than once while the event was still being hosted by Rudolpho’s.

Whether any of that will yield the necessary push needed to complete “Dragstrip 66: The Frockumentary” remains to be seen, but given the quick advance sell-out and the almost certain likelihood of epic-length lines for “at the door” admission, the odds might be better than most aspiring indie doc projects typically face.

Paul Vitagliano – aka DJ Paul V – being interviewed for ‘Dragstrip 66 The Frockumentary’
(Photo courtesy of Paul Vitagliano)

Either way, Vitagliano and Scanlon have no plans of giving up on it anytime soon; it’s a passion project for them both, to put it mildly. The latter even sent a statement saying us that he wants it to celebrate “an embattled LGBTQ community that learned to live and thrive again” and “to inspire all others to stand in their strength and never be silent.”

Vitagliano vigorously agrees with that goal. 
“Dragstrip 66 was a lightning-in-a-bottle queer miracle,” he says. “It was just the right idea, at the right time, with all the right people creating their own chosen-family community. It was a lifeboat during a very tough time that Mr. Dan and I needed ourselves, while also providing a very necessary, all-welcoming, and incredibly fun nightclub. We really want this documentary to honor our generation, who experienced it over 20 years, and inspire the next generation to carry our torch.”

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LA Leather Pride 2023 is in full swing through Sunday, March 26

Volunteers are always welcomed and appreciated at LA Leather Pride 2023 events. There are many opportunities to get involved and help out

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WeHo Times/Los Angeles Blade graphic

By Paulo Murillo | LOS ANGELES – LA Leather Pride 2023 kicked off earlier this week on March 19 and will host a series of event through this weekend on Sunday, March 26. So far it’s been a week filled with events, music, and community building.

The kickoff Party event began on March 19 at The Bullet Bar. On March 20, LA Leather Pride 2023 hosted La La Leather IV, a concert of classic and original music performed in gear by members of the Los Angeles Leather Community, at MCC in the Valley. There was also a Contestant Meet & Greet on March 23rd at 910WeHo, where contestants competing for the title of Mr. Los Angeles Leather 2023 met their supporters.

On Friday, March 24, The Assembly will be a formal leather/uniform dress code event starting at 7:30pm at Rough Trade Gear.

Also on Friday, DenLA Presents: Release!, a dance & play party for men at an all new, larger DTLA venue. Ticket includes: Open Bar! Free clothes check! Play spaces throughout.

On Saturday March 25, the Mr Los Angeles Leather Contest will be held at The Catwalk Club, starting at 5pm.

Off Sunset Festival is taking place on Sunday, March 26. This will be a day of fun, food, and entertainment for the entire community. More info OffSunsetFestival.com.

This year’s theme is “Release!”

“We live in a post pandemic world that is fraught with anxiety, worries and fears,” said Gabriel Green, Chairman of LA Leather Pride 2023. “While we are now free to move about the world, there is a cloud of uncertainty that looms over wondering what will tomorrow bring. For these reasons we chose the theme of ‘Release!’ for this year’s Los Angeles Leather Pride. Release has two meanings: to enable to escape confinement and to allow something to move, act or flow freely.”

Volunteers are always welcomed and appreciated at LA Leather Pride 2023 events. There are many opportunities to get involved and help out, including assisting with event setup, serving drinks, and greeting attendees. If you’re interested in volunteering, visit LALeatherPride.com and fill out the volunteer application form.

Get your tickets now for leather pride week at LALeatherPride.com

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Paulo Murillo is Editor in Chief and Publisher of WEHO TIMES. He brings over 20 years of experience as a columnist, reporter, and photo journalist.

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The preceding article was previously published by WeHo Times and is republished with permission.

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Mark your calendar for these LA events

Art exhibits, AGT returns, and more

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The City of West Hollywood’s Artists and Icons series will host a conversation with actress, director, and concerned citizen Barbara Bain.

It’s a busy season in LA — here are our staff picks for some of the events not to miss this spring.

‘America’s Got Talent’ season 18 begins taping in Pasadena. Join Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Terry Crews as part of the live studio audience for “America’s Got Talent.” Fans ages 8 and older can be a part of the star-studded audience and watch the world’s best performers in-person. It all begins on March 23 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and continues through mid-April.

 Odyssey’s ‘Threshholds of Invention’ performance series presents Sandra Tsing Loh, Michael Kearns in April. Threshholds of Invention is Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s new series, curated by actor, director, musician and performance artist Tony Abatemarco, of first looks at pieces-in-progress by prominent LA visionaries working in pop-up form. Next up in April: new work by Sandra Tsing Loh and Michael Kearns. Saturday, April 1 at 8 p.m.

“A Madwoman of the Theatre: 25 F*king Years of Sandra Tsing Loh,” a hilarious, quasi-TED-style rant revealing Loh’s past artistic ms/adventures, and an introduction to Loh’s new comedy Madwoman of the West that will star Caroline Aaron, Marilu Henner, Melanie Mayron and JoBeth Williams at the Odyssey beginning May 26.

“It Must Be Him,” a musical memoir exploring the splendor of gender written and performed by Michael Kearns, recently named the “Godfather of LGBTQ+ authenticity” by the Los Angeles Blade. Sunday, April 2 at 2 p.m., Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles

Coming up at the Zephyr Theatre on March 17 and 18 at 7 p.m.: “Steady Bad Luckers,” an evening of stories about lovable (and sometimes not-so-lovable) losers from history, brought to you by comic, stripper, queer porn archivist and historian Woody Shticks and writer, producer and podcast host Alex Steed (co-host of the podcast “feelings podcast about movies” You Are Good with Sarah Marshall).  In a world full of redemption arcs and revised narratives, we remain heartened by all of the resonant losers and bad-luckers that history has forgotten. With some slides and a lot of good humor, we are eager to share some of our favorites with a live audience. Alex will tell Woody about a bad-lucker from his profession, Woody will tell Alex about a bad-lucker from his. Think live podcast, minus the podcast, plus the PowerPoint. There will be plenty of slides and a whole lot of jokes! Admission is a $15 suggested donation. Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles.

Loft Ensemble in North Hollywood has announced its next production, “Gifted” by Bob DeRosa. Directed by Jennier DeRosa & Sarah Nilsen, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Biniyam Abreha, Antwan Alexander II, Lemon Baardsen, Isaac Deakyne, John Goodwin, Jay Hoshina, April Littlejohn, Ignacio Navarro, Jazmine Nichelle, Danielle Ozymandias, Bree Pavey, Benjamin Rawls, Madylin Sweeten, and Nate Thurman. There will be 12 performances only, beginning Friday, March 10, and running Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. through April 2. General admission is DONATE WHAT YOU WANT. Seats may be reserved online at www.loftensemble.org or by phone at 818-452-3153. Loft Ensemble is located at 11031 Camarillo Street in North Hollywood, 91602

The City of West Hollywood’s Artists and Icons series will host a conversation with actress, director, and concerned citizen Barbara Bain, highlighting her decades-long career. Conversation will Highlight the Work of Ms. Bain, Best Known for Her Work in the Television Series ‘Mission: Impossible.’ Event will Take Place on Thursday, March 16 at 7 p.m. at the City’s Council Chambers/Public Meeting Room. RSVP is Requested.

Big Little Theater Company in association with the Los Angeles LGBT Center has announced its world premiere production of “Menstruation: A Period Piece by Miranda Rose Hall.” Produced by Camille Jenkins and under the direction of Katie Lindsay with music by Tova Katz, previews begin on March 16 with opening set for Friday, March 24, at 8 p.m. The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Kaci Hamilton, Audra Isadora, Kate Lý Johnston, Jane Hae Kim, Jo Lampert, Bibi Mama, and Marnina Schon. Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $25 for previews and $35 for regular performances, and may be purchased online at www.lalgbtcenter.org/tickets. Previews are Thursday 3/16, Friday 3/17, Saturday 3/18, Sunday 3/19, Wednesday 3/22, and Thursday 3/23, at 8pm. Opening is on Friday 3/24 at 8pm, and the engagement runs through April 16 only. The regular playing schedule is Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

The LGBT Center’s Davidson/Valentini Theatre is located at 1125 N. McCadden Place (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood, 90038.  

Collections this spring at the The Museum of Contemporary Art:

Henry Taylor: B Side: Surveying thirty years of Henry Taylor’s work in painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation, this retrospective celebrates a Los Angeles artist widely appreciated for his unique aesthetic, social vision, and freewheeling experimentation. Populated by friends and relatives, strangers on the street, athletic stars, politicians and entertainers, Taylor’s canvases describe an imagination encompassing multiple worlds. Informed by experience, his work conveys its fundamental empathy in close looking and sharpened social criticism alike. Henry Taylor: B Side is the largest exhibition of Taylor’s work to date.

“Long Story Short” presents artworks dating from the 1970s to the present day, drawn from MOCA’s world-renowned, ever-growing collection of more than 7,500 objects. It demonstrates the myriad ways contemporary artists have addressed aesthetic, political, and philosophical concerns in the last fifty years, whether by reclaiming public space in guerilla-style street performances, innovating new forms, commemorating loves and losses, challenging the hierarchy of art and craft, or rethinking the conventions of portraiture. By exhibiting artworks that are widely regarded as hallmarks of the museum’s collection alongside lesser-known pieces, recent acquisitions, and artworks that have never previously been on view at MOCA, Long Story Short reminds us that art history, and history more broadly, is made in the present.

“Our Voices, Our Getty Reflecting on Drawings,” Feb. 7–April 30, GETTY CENTER. Explore a selection of rarely seen drawings from the Museum’s collection, accompanied by personal interpretations written by the 2022 cohort of interns from the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program. Contemplative, creative, and sometimes questioning, the students’ reflections cast these drawings in a new light. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles.

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Behold! Queer film & performance series continues

Event is pay what you can w/RSVP in person at HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE SPACE, 1651 18th St, Santa Monica, CA 90404 RSVP & info at Highways.org

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HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE SPACE (Photo Credit: 18th Street Arts Center)
Ecstasy and Reminiscence: Nights Out in Los Angeles
Curated by Dino Dinco & Juan Fernández



Saturday, February 11th, 8:30 PM
Ecstasy and Reminiscence: Nights Out in Los Angeles (curated by Dino Dinco & Juan Fernández)


Emerging with fits and starts from a prolonged, challenging quarantine and its social isolation, we celebrate the return to sharing physical space and intimacy by reflecting on Los Angeles nightlife and live performance, particularly the richness and vibrancy that live in the margins and fringe after dark.

Tonight’s works draw poignant threads that link Los Angeles dance floors, art galleries and artists, backyards, and dark rooms from the 1980s through present day, where ecstatic moments collide with mortality and for so many of us, “going out” was going home.

Pacoima Techno & Soltera 818 kick off the night with collaborative video work and live performance.

Pacoima Techno use their experience growing up in the San Fernando Valley, specifically Pacoima, as the basis for their music, live performance, and community organizing. https://www.instagram.com/pacoimatechno/ In addition to creating sultry, hard-edged dance music,

Soltera 818 is the host of the online radio program Todo O Nada centralizing the roots and influences of electronic music across genres while featuring underrepresented artists globally and locally. https://www.instagram.com/soltera818/

A screening of Artbound: Mustache Mondays (directed by Marianne Amelinckx, 2021, PBS), 55 min.
“See how a roving LGBTQ night club event in Los Angeles called Mustache Mondays became a creative incubator for today’s leading edge contemporary artists. This film examines the history of these spaces and how they shaped the Queer cultural fabric unique to Southern California.” – PBS

A new performance work by Creepypasta Puttanesca (aka Alice Cunt):
“Creepypasta Puttanesca is a dish best paid for in advance as she is a hearty serving of a hauntingly delectable specter of the digital realm, a finger-licking ghost in the machine that comes with a complimentary order of all you can eat breadsticks and side salad. Beverage sold separately.” – Creepypasta

An installation by the anonymously run social media account Noche de Jotiar, highlighting “joteadas y pendejadas estílo Los Ángeles.”
The installation features a collection of candid photos and video (many of them previously unshared) along with flyers and music from inside and around queer Latinx/e nightlife in Los Angeles dating from the late 1980s to 2000s. The collection includes photos taken at Hollywood’s Circus Disco, Arena Cafe, and backyard T-parties around the greater Los Angeles area.

Curators:
Dino Dinco is a film and theater director, performance art curator and maker, writer, and lecturer in the Department of Visual Arts at UC San Diego. Based in Tijuana, México, his work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions in Paris, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, in group shows internationally, and is included in the collection of Le Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain de Haute-Normandie, France, as well as private collections in Paris, Antwerp, Brussels, Los Angeles, Barcelona, New York and London. Dinco’s first feature length documentary film, Homeboy, explores gay Latino men who were in gangs. His award-winning short film, El Abuelo, with San Antonio poet Joe Jiménez, premiered at the Tate Modern, has screened internationally, and is included in the online LGBTQ film platform, Frameline Voices.

Dinco co-founded You Wear it Well (2006-2008), the first traveling international film festival dedicated to short films on fashion. He was a Consulting Producer on the Fall 2021 installment of KCET’s Artbound documentary film series which profiled the itinerant Downtown Los Angeles queer dance party, Mustache Mondays (2007 – 2018), of which Dinco was a co-founder. www.dinodinco.com

Juan Antonio Fernández (He/Him) is a media scholar, cultural producer, and educator. Juan has recently relocated to Los Angeles and has produced theater, art installations and performance in New York, Oakland, and San Francisco.

LISTING INFO:

IN PERSON AT HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE SPACE, 
1651 18th St, Santa Monica, CA 90404Info at Highways.org

All events are Pay what you can with an RSVP 
https://www.highwaysperformance.org/shows

BEHOLD! Queer Film and Performance Series, curated by Gina Young, Celeste Kamppila, Dino Dinco, and Juan Fernandez, featuring performance and multiple feature and shorts programs that showcase works from and about the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities spread over three curated categories.

Saturday, February 11th 8:30 pm
https://www.highwaysperformance.org/events/ecstasy-and-reminiscence-nights-out-in-los-angeles
Ecstasy and Reminiscence: Nights Out in Los Angeles (curated by Dino Dinco & Juan Fernández)
Los Angeles dance floors, art galleries and artists, backyards, and dark rooms from the 1980s through present day, where ecstatic moments collide with mortality and for so many of us, “going out” was going home.

Full Festival Schedule and descriptions available at 
https://filmmaudit.eventive.org/schedule
Festival website: www.filmmaudit.org

INSTAGRAM: @filmmaudit2.0 https://www.instagram.com/filmmaudit2.0/?hl=en

FACEBOOK: @filmmaudit2.0 https://www.facebook.com/filmmaudit2.0/

TWITTER @filmmaudit2  https://twitter.com/filmmaudit2
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“Fully Lit” plays LA’s The Wiltern Thursday

“This is my first time, touring, in a major way since the pandemic,” she noted. “Now, honey, it’s ready to set the nation on fire”

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Photo by Davide Laffe

NEW YORK – Who needs to “Hark” when you can “Halleloo”? Heralding its impending arrival in the City of Angels with the righteous reassurance of a “fierce, fabulous, and fiery” experience that flat screens and social distancing simply cannot supply, the Fully Lit Tour is a live stage show starring actor, performer, drag entertainer (and, yes, dancer) D.J. “Shangela” Pierce.

“It’s gonna be high-energy. It’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be on-stage performances and never-before-heard, behind-the-scenes stories, many of them about celebrities, as well as custom mixes, death drops, and more, baby,” said Shangela, of what to expect when the tour plays LA’s the Wiltern on Thursday, January 26.

The three-season “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant—still basking in the dewy glow of cinematic cred earned from her screen time with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in 2018’s “A Star is Born”—saw that upward trajectory continue, as one of three peripatetic drag ambassadors in the three-season HBO series “We’re Here.” Alongside Bob the Drag Queen and Eureka O’Hara, the trio travels from town to town, coaching and coaxing budding drag kids out of their shells, while angling to win heartland hearts and pry open closed minds (more on that later).

For the longest time up until now, having the “We’re Here” crew arrive unannounced at your humdrum day job was the only way to score same-room time with Shangla. This tour, she assures, changes all of that. 

But why “Fully Lit”? It’s so named, said Shangela, “because I’ve always had a spark for entertaining. But when I first started drag, that spark was lit even more in me. And now, through all of these fun, amazing milestones I’ve experienced in drag, I like to consider myself Fully Lit. So I’m gonna be sharing a lot of what’s led me to this moment,” she says, of a show that was conceived, written, and executed as a statement “about connecting people. Since the pandemic, we had to be so distant from each other—and now I’m really excited to come with a show that’s going to bring us all back together.”

But beyond the longtime fans for which Fully Lit functions as a mother and child reunion, Shangela says newbie fans will not emerge disappointed if they came to see the first drag entertainer to compete on “Dancing with the Stars” (and come in fourth, no less). Mentions of that recent gig, which launched her into the household name stratosphere, are liberally peppered throughout our interview.  

Savvy Shangela, always able to cut a rug but never known as a top-tier hoofer, won’t be passing on the opportunity to parlay her DWTS notoriety into live performance gold. “My four dancers and I have been working nonstop,” she told the Blade, while steeped in rehearsal two days before the tour opened in Boston on January 19. “This is my first time, touring, in a major way since the pandemic,” she noted. “Now, honey, it’s ready to set the nation on fire… In this 90-minute show, I wanna give fans everything they have come to expect from Shangela. And I’m going to be bringing a lot of my learning and excitement and energy from “Dancing with the Stars” into this project.”

That’s all well and good, we noted, but what will she be wearing? “Well, I mean, it’s Shangla,” she shot back. “I’m not coming on stage with a pair of socks, honey.”  

On the topic of naked displays and raw emotions, talk turned back to her work on “We’re Here”—which co-producer Shangela notes is not an elimination series where manufactured conflict often guides the narrative. “It’s a real-life docu-series,” she says, of the show. “I stress the words ‘real life’ because that’s exactly what we’re experiencing and that’s what I believe comes through when people watch the show.” But don’t confuse “real” with “professionally qualified.” Shangela credits the “We’re Here” track record of successfully nurturing aspiring drag performers to the fact that she’s “gone through a lot of the experiences” happening to “the daughters and drag kids I mentor. I’m not a trained therapist or licensed mentor or a coach in any way. I’m just a real person. So I try to put myself in their shoes and listen to them, but also listen to people who are not familiar with who we are and have opposition to us—and hopefully, bring them to a space where they are more open.”

Asked what she’s open to, we pointed out a rare case of box-not-checked from the pre-tour press material, which notes that as a drag performer, Shangela’s dug her heels into the good earth on six of our planet’s continents—which begged the question: Why hasn’t she parlayed this year’s career-high notoriety into a docu-series shadowing Shangela and other queens as they take up residency in the best (only?) club in Antarctica?

Oh baby, I don’t need to take anyone with me,” she insisted. “I’m Shangela. I’m ready to do a show right on the continent. It will happen. It will happen. Hopefully by the next time we talk, I’ll be able to say, “And now I’ve done all seven, thank you, Baby. Thank you so much!”

The Blade will continue to follow this important story as it presumably develops. In the meantime, Shangela’s Fully Lit Tour comes to LA at the Wiltern (3790 Wilshire Blvd.) on Thursday, January 26, For tickets: https://shangela.com/pages/tour.

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Google’s Frightgeist released: What’s trending this Halloween?

In SoCal trending choices were Spider-Man, 1980s-theme getups, and… clowns. Google’s Frightgeist tool includes a “Costume Wizard” feature 

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Los Angeles Blade graphic/Google search

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. – The seventh annual Google’s Frightgeist, was released earlier this week. The company utilizes search data from Google Trends to determine America’s top-searched costume ideas in the months leading up to Halloween.

This year the results were pretty clear: The most-searched costume idea was a classic “Witch,” followed by “Spider-Man” and “Dinosaur.”

Here are the top 10:

  1. Witch
  2. Spider-Man
  3. Dinosaur
  4. “Stranger Things”
  5. Fairy
  6. Pirate
  7. Rabbit
  8. Cheerleader
  9. Cowboy
  10. Harley Quinn

In SoCal the trending popular choices were Spider-Man, 1980s-theme getups, and… clowns.

KTLA notes that in addition to the most-searched costumes, Google’s Frightgeist tool includes a “Costume Wizard” feature that offers suggestions to those seeking the perfect costume. Users can tweak the results by both “spookiness” and “uniqueness, too.

More information on Google’s Frightgeist, along with an interactive map of popular searches across the country, can be found online.

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DTLA Proud 2022 kicks off, healthcare orgs will vax for monkeypox

This year the festival will be held at Grand Park also for the first time, the DTLA PROUD Festival will be free for all ages to attend

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Graphic via DTLA Proud

LOS ANGELES – DTLA Proud returns this year with the festival celebrating the culture, history, and diversity of the growing LGBTQ+ community in Downtown Los Angeles.

In addition to DTLA Proud activities, this Saturday August 27, and Sunday August 28, St. John’s Community Health, John Wesley Health Centers, Kedran Health Center, and Mens Health Foundation will be on hand with thousands of MPX vaccines to offer eligible Los Angeles community members.

This year the festival will be held at Grand Park after five years at neighboring park, Pershing Square and also for the first time, the DTLA PROUD Festival will be free for all ages to attend.

Three blocks of Grand Park will feature curated programming; with special intention and effort on segments of the community that often go underrepresented. DTLA organizers are introducing a new shared space for parents and queer families and will also feature programming for people of color, trans, non-binary and femme communities.

The theme this year is “We are here, we are queer, and we aren’t going anywhere!” and organizers want to emphasize that their fight is not over emphasizing that their mission is to create safe spaces and experiences to celebrate queer love and representation.

On Saturday August 27, St. John’s Community Health, John Wesley Health Centers, Kedran Health Center, and Mens Health Foundation will host a press conference highlighting their joint effort to vaccinate and educate Los Angeles residents about the monkeypox virus (MPX) with speakers will including Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. John’s Community Health, Dr. Jerry Abraham, Vaccine Director for Kedran Health and Dr. Tony Mills, CEO of The Men’s Health Foundation.

MPX vaccinations will take place at Grant Park on Saturday and Sunday, from 12 to 6:30 pm, Grant Park, 230-240 N. Hill Street.

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