WeHo Pride 2023 in the City of West Hollywood Update

WEST HOLLYWOOD – The City of West Hollywood is proud to announce WeHo Pride Presents Friday Night at OUTLOUD with free tickets for Friday, June 2 entry featuring Idina Menzel, Shangela, Jessie Ware, Tinashe with additional performances by JORDY, Tolliver, and DJ Venessa Michaels.

Friday Night at OUTLOUD will kick-off WeHo Pride Weekend on Friday, June 2, 2023 starting at 6 p.m. and is free to the public. Attendance requires an RSVP to secure complimentary tickets, as event capacity is limited. OUTLOUD Weekend and WeHo Pride Pass holders will be guaranteed access on Friday Night. To RSVP for Friday Night entry or to purchase festival access, visit www.weareoutloud.com.

OUTLOUD @ WeHo Pride continues Saturday, June 3 and Sunday, June 4 requiring ticket purchase featuring top talent with headliners Grace Jones on Saturday and Carly Rae Jepsen on Sunday. The full weekend lineup also includes performances by Passion Pit, Orville Peck, Santigold, Princess Nokia, Yung Bae, La Roux, Meet Me @ The Altar, Jodie Harsh, Rubio, Cub Sport and Black Belt Eagle Scout, with more to be announced.

The WeHo Pride 2023 celebration in May and June includes:

• WeHo Pride Weekend will take place on Friday, June 2, 2023; Saturday, June 3, 2023; and Sunday, June 4, 2023 in and around West Hollywood Park, located at 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard. The weekend will include a free Street Fair, the Women’s Freedom Festival, the Dyke March, the WeHo Pride Parade, WeHo Pride Presents Friday Night at OUTLOUD, and OUTLOUD @ WeHo Pride Saturday/Sunday.
• The WeHo Pride Street Fair will take place on Saturday, June 3, 2023 and Sunday, June 4, 2023 and will celebrate Pride with diverse participation of LGBTQ+ community groups and allied organizations as part of visibility and expression. The Street Fair is free and will feature a vibrant variety of exhibitors along Santa Monica Boulevard. There will be live entertainment and performances on a community stage, highlighting the LGBTQ+ community. The Street Fair is a family-friendly event and is open to everyone. It is a great occasion to take part in WeHo Pride’s LGBTQ+ community experience.
• The Women’s Freedom Festival presented by the L-Project Los Angeles is planned to take place on Saturday, June 3, 2023. The 2023 event will feature emerging LGBTQ and BIPOC women and non-binary musicians, comedians, poets, and activists. More information will be available in the coming weeks at www.wehopride.com. 
• The Dyke March is planned to take place on Saturday, June 3, 2023. For people who are interested in marching, stay informed at www.wehopride.com for route and timing information!
• Get festive as we roll down Santa Monica Boulevard for the WeHo Pride Parade on Sunday, June 4, 2023! The WeHo Pride Parade is an imaginative and colorful annual tradition along Santa Monica Boulevard that embraces LGBTQ+ representation, inclusion, and progress. Full of music, dancing, colorful floats, festive marching contingents, and creative flair, the Parade celebrates LGBTQ+ people and our contributions to community and culture. The Parade is a lively, energetic experience with good cheer and great vibes, and a whole lot of rainbows! Whether you participate in the Parade or join in the fun as a spectator, there’s something for everyone at the WeHo Pride Parade! Organizations and individuals interested in submitting an application to participate as an entrant in the annual WeHo Pride Parade must apply by 5 p.m. on April 15, 2023 by using the form posted at https://www.wehopride.com/news/weho-pride-parade-applications-now-available-2023. Get creative and think outside of the box! The WeHo Pride Parade welcomes floats, bands, drill teams, dance teams, entertainment entries, marchers, and more. 
• OUTLOUD @ WeHo Pride produced by JJLA is the flagship music festival and concert experience of WeHo Pride on Friday, June 2, 2023; Saturday, June 3, 2023; and Sunday, June 4, 2023 at West Hollywood Park, located at 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard with a star-studded, high-energy line-up celebrating and advocating for queer voices in music. For more information and tickets, visit www.weareoutloud.com.
• WeHo Pride Arts Festival will take place during 40 days from Harvey Milk Day on Monday, May 22, 2023 to Friday, June 30, 2023 at various locations throughout the City of West Hollywood. First launched in 2008, and formerly known as the One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival, this year’s Arts Festival will feature a stellar range of LGBTQ+ dance, visual art, performance, literary arts, craft, and more. Learn more about Arts Festival events by visiting www.wehopride.com/artsfestival (programming details will be posted as they become available). This year’s Arts Festival launches with a celebration of Harvey Milk Day taking place on Monday, May 22, 2023 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., which features the 1^st Annual José Sarria Amateur Drag Pageant, a voter registration table, and an interactive photo opportunity.  

WeHo Pride celebrations during WeHo Pride Weekend and during May and June 2023 will include a diverse array of LGBTQ+ community groups as part of visibility, expression, and celebration. 

WeHo Pride Street Fair applications are also currently open for vendors, artists, performers, and more. The Street Fair promises to be bigger and better than ever before. With a wide range of activities and options, there is sure to be something for everyone. LGBTQ+ affiliated community groups who would like to apply for a free booth space in the WeHo Pride Street Fair can apply here. All other organizations interested in exhibiting at the WeHo Pride Street Fair can apply here. The deadline to submit an application is April 15, 2023.

Additional details about WeHo Pride 2023 will be posted as they become available at www.wehopride.com. Follow @wehopride on Instagram and Facebook and follow @officiallyoutloud on Instagram and Facebook.

About WeHo Pride and the City of West Hollywood – Since its incorporation in 1984, the City of West Hollywood has become one of the most influential cities in the nation for its outspoken advocacy on LGBTQ issues. Home to the “Rainbow District” along Santa Monica Boulevard, which features a concentration of historic LGBTQ clubs, restaurants, and retail shops, West Hollywood consistently tops lists of “most LGBTQ friendly cities” in the nation. More than 40 percent of residents in West Hollywood identify as LGBTQ and three of the five members of the West Hollywood City Council are openly gay or lesbian.

Pride is deeply rooted part of West Hollywood’s history and culture. In fact, Pride events have taken place in West Hollywood since 1979, five years before the City of West Hollywood was incorporated as a municipality. The City’s embrace of Pride is part of its advocacy for nearly four decades for measures that support LGBTQ individuals, and the City is in the vanguard on efforts to gain and protect equality for all people on a state, national, and international level. The City of West Hollywood is one of the first municipalities to form a Lesbian & Gay Advisory Board (now LGBTQ+ Commission) and a Transgender Advisory Board, which each address matters of advocacy. As part of its support of the transgender community, the City has a Transgender Resource Guide available on the City’s website.

In 2022, the City of West Hollywood inaugurated WeHo Pride with programming that represents a diverse array of LGBTQ community groups as part of visibility, expression, and celebration. West Hollywood is a community of choice for LGBTQ people from throughout the world and WeHo Pride embraces a source of deep connection for its LGBTQ history and culture.For more information about WeHo Pride and the WeHo Pride Arts Festival, please visit www.wehopride.com/contact.

For more information about Outloud @ WeHo Pride, please visit www.weareoutloud.com/get-involved. For inquires to the City of West Hollywood’s Event Services Division, please email [email protected].

A Free Afternoon of Outdoor Games and Music at ‘Spring Fest’ at West Hollywood Park

The City of West Hollywood’s Recreation Services Division invites the community to splash into Spring Fest in the Park & Pool taking place on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at West Hollywood Park, located at 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard. Limited parking is available in the adjacent five-story West Hollywood Park structure. 

Bring your family and friends for a fun day of  outdoor activities. Activities will begin at the West Hollywood Park Aquatic and Recreation Center and Great Lawn. There will be games, music, performances, free giveaways and much more! You won’t want to miss this! Two of the featured activities for the event are the Cardboard Boat Races and Themed Rec Swims. In order to participate in the Cardboard Boat Races and Themed Rec Swims, registration is required via the WeHo Rec Reader. All activities for Spring Fest are free.

For more information about Spring Fest, please call (323) 848-6534 or [email protected].

Autism Acceptance Month with Free Film Screening of ‘Boys Don’t Wear Dresses’ on April 15 at 7 p.m.

Join the City of West Hollywood’s Disabilities, Transgender, and Women’s Advisory Boards for a free special community screening of Spectrum Laboratory’s award-winning film Boys Don’t Wear Dresses to celebrate the work of LGBTQ and neurodiverse filmmakers as part of the City’s recognition of Autism Acceptance Month.

The screening of Boys Don’t Wear Dresses will take place on Saturday, April 15, 2023 at 7 p.m. at Plummer Park’s Fiesta Hall, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard. Doors open at 6 p.m. for red carpet arrivals. RSVP by emailing: [email protected].

Boys Don’t Wear Dresses is a coming-of-age fairytale about the struggles of an autistic transgender artist exploring new experiences, independence, and love. It is a family friendly fairytale based on “Cinderella” that incorporates live action and animation. Directed and co-written by Jason Weissbrod. Boys Don’t Wear Dresses is a truly inclusive film experience created by and starring autistic, neuro-divergent, LGBTQ, and multi-ethnic artists collaborating with entertainment professionals. The story is inspired by the true-life experiences of an autistic transgender individual Aloni Schorin, who co-wrote, co-produced and appears in the film. The winner of 10 awards, the film stars Brandon Rodriguez, Spencer Harte, Liv Brazill, Tom Kenny, and features Alexandra Billings (The Connors and Wicked), and Carol Kane (Annie Hall and The Princess Bride) as the narrator. There will also be a Q&A with the filmmakers and cast after the screening.

Founded in 2016, Spectrum Laboratory is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower young people with autism and special needs to create original works of film and music, illuminating the diversity of experience and sharing their unique perspectives. For more information go to www.speclabs.org  

In 1972, the Autism Society launched the first annual National Autistic Children’s week, which evolved into Autism Acceptance Month (AAM). Each April advocates spread awareness, promote acceptance, and ignite change. This year marks the 5^th year of the #CelebrateDifferences campaign. AAM is a celebration that shows support and acceptance to those living with autism as well as celebrates differences. To learn more, go to www.autismsociety.org

Autism is a complex, lifelong developmental condition that typically appears during early childhood and can impact a person’s social skills, communication, relationships, and self-regulation. The Autism experience is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is often referred to as a “spectrum condition” that affects people differently and to varying degrees. The Autism Society works to create connections, empowering everyone in the Autism community with the resources needed to live fully. Their National Helpline provides information about local resources and services by calling 800-3-AUTISM (800-328-8476). The National Helpline is not a crisis line. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, connect to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or connect to emergency community services by calling 211.

For more information about Autism Acceptance Month, please contact Larissa Fooks, the City of West Hollywood’s Community Programs Coordinator, at (323) 848-6413 or at [email protected].

West Hollywood Recognizes April as National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month

The City of West Hollywood joins communities around the world to recognize National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month in April. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 1 in 5 women in America experiences a rape or attempted rape, and nearly 44% of women and about 25% of all men experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. Within the LGBTQ community, approximately 1 in 8 lesbian women (13%) and nearly half of bisexual women (46%), have been raped in their lifetime; four in 10 gay men (40%), and nearly half of bisexual men (47%) have experienced sexual violence other than rape in their lifetime. In addition, having multiple disabilities can increase a person’s risk of rape and sexual assault. Women with disabilities are twice as likely to suffer assault and rape, and children with mental health or intellectual disabilities are almost five times more likely to experience sexual abuse. According to a 2015 U.S. Trans Survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality, approximately 47% of transgender people are sexually assaulted in their lifetime.

The City will host an outreach event to encourage people to be more aware of sexual assault, to promote a message of consent with its “Only Yes Means Yes” public awareness campaign and to distribute drink-spiking test strips that are designed to detect the possible presence of “date rape” drugs, such as GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) or ketamine. The test-strip user drops a small amount of drink liquid on the testing patch, which turns dark blue if drugs are present. The outreach event will be held on Friday, April 28, 2023 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at various nightlife establishments in the City’s Rainbow District and along the Sunset Strip.  Participants will include members of the West Hollywood City Council; the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s West Hollywood Station; Block by Block Security Ambassadors; LA LGBT Center’s WeHo Life program; members of the City of West Hollywood’s Women’s Advisory Board, Public Safety, other public officials as well as City staff members. Participants will pass out awareness and prevention materials at various nightlife locations in the city. More information will be available on the City’s calendar.

The City encourages community members to wear jeans on Denim Day, Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Denim Day is an internationally recognized day to raise awareness about rape and sexual assault. It was founded by the nonprofit organization Peace Over Violence following a 1999 court ruling in Italy in which a rape conviction case was overturned with the argument that, because the victim had been wearing tight jeans at the time of the assault, she must have been expressing consent. Each year, City staff members and public safety partners recognize Denim Day by wearing denim, including the participation of Deputies and personnel from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s West Hollywood Station. Denim Day recognition is organized each year by the City’s Community Safety Department in the spirit of uniting against sexual assault, to break the silence about sexual violence, and to stand up in support of survivors.  

The City of West Hollywood is continuing its work to raise awareness about sexual assault and consent with its “Only Yes Means Yes” campaign. First launched in 2016, the #OnlyYes campaign was expanded in 2021 with additional focused outreach, graphics, and messaging in and around nightlife establishments. Community members can amplify the Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month message by using the hashtags #DenimDay, #OnlyYes and #Consent.

The City of West Hollywood has a range of ongoing efforts in place to assist in creating and maintaining a safe environment in nightlife business establishments that serve alcohol. The City of West Hollywood became the first city in California to pass an Ordinance, in late 2021, to require Bystander Intervention training for personnel in business establishments that serve alcohol for onsite consumption. The training program began in March 2022; training is provided by the Rape Treatment Center (RTC) at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center and provides an educational course that addresses the issue of drug-facilitated sexual assaults and date rape drugs. The training also promotes the proactive role that onsite alcoholic beverage sales establishments can take in the prevention of sexual assaults. To date, more than 2,200 employees have taken part in this training. It is anticipated that more than 2,300 individuals will be trained through the program by summer 2023. For additional information about the City of West Hollywood’s Bystander Intervention training program for establishments that serve alcohol for onsite consumption, please contact Danny Rivas, the City of West Hollywood’s Director of Community Safety at (323) 848-6424 or at [email protected]. 

The City in partnership with the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s WeHo Life program, distributes drink-spiking test strips to West Hollywood nightlife establishments. Outreach staff from the WeHo Life program began test-strip distribution efforts in October 2022 to inform and educate community members and businesses that drink-spiking test strips are a tool for personal safety that can be used anywhere at any time. To date, nearly 13,000 test strips have been distributed.

The City and the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station urge anyone who believes they are a victim of any crime – or anyone in the community with any public safety concerns – to reach out to the Sheriff’s Station 24/7 at (310) 855-8850. In an emergency, always call 911.

The City of West Hollywood’s Public Safety website area provides personal safety tips for nightlife safety and sexual assault prevention and resources; please visit: https://www.weho.org/city-government/city-departments/community-safety/public-safety/crime-prevention-and-personal-safety-tips/sexual-assault-prevention-night-club-safety.

 If you or someone you care about has been a victim of sexual assault, domestic violence or intimate partner stalking, there are resources to help. 

The Los Angeles County Rape and Battering Hotline, Peace Over Violence, a confidential non-judgmental resource where emotional support, advocacy, information, and referrals are available, can be reached 24-hours-a-day by contacting (213) 626-3393 or (310) 392-8381 or at www.peaceoverviolence.org. 

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s STOP Violence Program works to increase access to mental health and supportive services for LGBTQ survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and intimate partner abuse. Call (323) 860-5806 or email [email protected]. 

The Jewish Family Service’s Family Violence Program provides confidential 24-hour crisis lines for victims of abuse by contacting (310) 858-9344 (English/Spanish); (818) 464-2864 (Farsi) and (310) 858-9344 (Jewish Orthodox). 

The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN), organizes the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline, a referral service that can put you in contact with your local rape crisis center. The hotline can be reached 24 hours a day at (800) 656-4673, or access RAINN’s chat feature for help at www.rainn.org.  The City of West Hollywood provides a variety of helpful tips on its website regarding safety and prevention. To find out more, please visit www.weho.org/publicsafety.

For more information about Denim Day, please call the City’s Public Safety Department at (323) 848-6414.

To find out more information about the City’s Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month Outreach Event, please contact the City of West Hollywood’s Community Programs Coordinator Larissa Fooks at (323) 848-6413 or [email protected].

West Hollywood Celebrates ‘West Hollywood Green Week 2023’ in April to Focus Attention on Environmental Efforts and Initiatives

The City of West Hollywood will celebrate “West Hollywood Green Week 2023” to focus attention during the month of April on the City’s environmental efforts and initiatives with information-sharing and educational opportunities, which aim to elevate community awareness about City programs and policies related to West Hollywood’s natural and built environments, ecology, and sustainability.

West Hollywood Green Week is aligned with the date of April 22, which is annually internationally recognized as Earth Day. This year’s Earth Day theme is “Invest in Our Planet,” which highlights the importance of dedicating our time, resources, and energy to solving climate change and other environmental issues. Investing in our planet is necessary to protect it and the best way to pave a path towards a thriving future. In recognition of Earth Day, West Hollywood City Hall will be illuminated in the color green from April 15 through April 22.

Locally, as part of West Hollywood Green Week, the City will host a free in-person symposium called POPS + PARTS: Reconsidering Public and Private Space Relationships, which will explore the changing nature of public and private space. It will focus on topics including socio-economics, health and wellness, and environmental and climate benefits related to such reconsideration, as well as strategies that foster high-performing open space and green space in new development in the City of West Hollywood. The POPS + PARTS symposium will take place on Saturday, April 22, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the City’s Council Chambers/Public Meeting Room, located at 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard. It is free and open to the public; limited validated parking will be available in the adjacent West Hollywood Park five-story structure.

The City of West Hollywood is dedicated to sustainability and preserving the environment. During West Hollywood Green Week, the City will showcase many of its programs and achievements in order to deepen the community’s awareness of environmental stewardship, including its:

• Participation in the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge to mark the City’s commitment to saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators through public awareness and expansion of pollinator gardens throughout West Hollywood. This year, the City has partnered with The Center for Early Education to organize two outdoor classroom educational events that will feature monarch butterfly conservation education and activities, including planting nectar plants at Kings Road Park; 
• Designation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a Green Power Community by meeting 65% of its 100% renewable energy use through voluntary green power that goes above-and-beyond the State of California’s standards. The EPA’s Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that helps increase Green Power use among U.S. organizations to advance the American market for renewable energy and development of those sources as a way to reduce air pollution and other environmental impacts associated with electricity use. Learn more about how the West Hollywood community gets its Green Power;
• Green Building Program, the first-in-the-state green building code, that builds upon state requirements and integrates locally specific requirements for new buildings and remodels to strive towards energy efficiency, improve the health of the environment and community, and help the City shape a sustainable future. The Green Building Program was recently updated effective January 1, 2023 to include more aggressive standards for electric vehicle charging stations; and
• Implementation of a new organics collection program in compliance with SB 1383, a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants by reducing organic waste disposal. To assist community members in collection of food scraps, the City of West Hollywood and Athens Services hosted two events to provide free kitchen compost pails for food scrap collection to community members.

To raise community awareness about the vital role that trees play in the urban environment, the City will host its 2023 Annual Tree Planting event on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 9 a.m., at the Babi Yar Memorial at Plummer Park, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard. West Hollywood community members are invited and encouraged to participate. Supervision, instruction, and tools and gloves will be provided. The event will start with a short “how-to” planting session, followed by a discussion on the benefits trees provide to our urban environment. The tree selected for this year’s celebration is the purple orchid (Bauhinia variegata). Widely planted throughout Southern California, this tree species is native to India and China. The purple orchid is a partly deciduous, small tree with a maximum height of 35 feet. It has a medium water use rating and features two-lobed leaves with seasonal displays of fall color and showy, fragrant flowers that will attract birds. Sun exposure ranges from partial shade to full sun. 

The City’s Heritage Tree program focuses on the identification of specimen trees, promotes tree awareness, advocates for the protection of mature tree benefits, and educates community members about the City’s heritage trees and proper maintenance practices. The City has created an educational webpage about young tree care best practices and community members are encouraged to check out the resource videos and take the tree steward pledge.

The City’s Urban Forest Management Plan presents a 20-year guide to help shape the present and future state of the city’s trees. The plan identifies 68 actions and eight overarching goals that strive to sustain, protect, and enhance West Hollywood’s urban forest, which is comprised of public trees and private property trees.

The City will also highlight the environmental benefits of: the Melrose & Norwich “Weaver’s Walk” gathering place; Canopy Tree Ordinance for New Developments; and Hart Park site design improvements.

Finally, the City will continue to implement its people-centered Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP), which outlines the City’s intended path to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate while centering equity and quality-of-life outcomes for the West Hollywood community. The City is excited to relaunch its sustainability web pages and a public dashboard that will monitor progress under the CAAP toward achieving carbon neutrality. To learn more about the City’s ongoing sustainability programs and initiatives as well as information and resources, visit WeHo Climate Action & Sustainability.

For more information about West Hollywood Green Week 2023, please contact Emily Rotman, Assistant Planner at the City of West Hollywood, at (323) 848-6802 or at [email protected].

Applications for Inaugural Drag Laureate Program

Application Deadline is Wednesday, April 26 by 5 p.m.

The City of West Hollywood requests applications from professional drag persona/performers to serve as the City of West Hollywood’s first Drag Laureate. The Drag Laureate will serve as an ambassador of West Hollywood’s vibrant drag culture and arts and promote West Hollywood through the artform of drag performance. Application requirements and submission information is available on the City of West Hollywood’s website: www.weho.org/community/arts-and-culture/drag-laureate. 

The West Hollywood Drag Laureate will be expected to serve as an ambassador for the City of West Hollywood, enhance the presence and appreciation of drag culture and arts in West Hollywood, promote partnerships with businesses and community organizations in the City, inspire an emerging generation of drag artists, and participate in the selection of the next West Hollywood Drag Laureate. 

The inaugural West Hollywood Drag Laureate will serve for a term of two (2) years, beginning July 2023 and ending June 2025 and will receive an annual honorarium of $15,000 for appearances and an annual event. 

Professional drag persona/performers living in the Los Angeles County region are eligible to apply. A successful applicant will be able to demonstrate a fundamental knowledge of drag history, show enthusiasm and love for the City, exhibit excellent public-speaking skills, have experience in performing at a wide variety of venues and in front of a variety of audiences, and have experience in organizing, producing, and managing events/projects from start to finish. 

Only drag artists with a significant connection to the City of West Hollywood will be considered. Such connections may be that the artist lives in the City, works in the City, has volunteered on a regular basis for community programs that deliver services in the City, and/or has organized or participated in events that were co-sponsored by and/or took place in the City of West Hollywood. Refer to the www.weho.org/streets to confirm that the residence, work address, and/or the activities being presented for qualification are in the City of West Hollywood. 

At its meeting on October 19, 2020 the City Council of the City of West Hollywood directed City staff to develop a Drag Laureate Program. In September 2022, the application process for the Drag Laureate program was released and with feedback from the community, the City embarked on program updates. On March 6, 2023, City Council approved the revised program and application for the West Hollywood Drag Laureate.

For more information about Drag Laureate program, contact Rebecca Ehemann, Arts Manager, at (323) 848-6846 or at [email protected].

First Ever West Hollywood Poetry Spa Day

On Wednesday, April 26, 2023 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., as part of the City of West Hollywood’s WeHo Reads series and annual celebration of National Poetry Month, there will be Lounging With Poets, the first West Hollywood poetry ‘spa day’ and reading. Members of the public are invited to ‘lounge with a poet’ at the Respite Deck of the new West Hollywood Aquatic and Recreation Center, located at 8750 El Tovar Place, West Hollywood, CA. From 6 p.m. to 7:25 p.m., guests will receive a menu of ‘poetry spa services’ to have individual and small group experiences with poets, ranging from fengshui balancing, to cucumber poetry facials, to chakra alignment. At 7:30 p.m., join the City for a sunset reading where we will hear poetry spa poets share their words in a ritual closing and celebration of National Poetry Month. The event is free to attend and light refreshments will be served. RSVPs are requested at www.weho.org/wehoreads. 

After the event, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., there will be an informal happy-hour meet-up at Beaches WeHo, located at 8928 Santa Monica Boulevard, where community members can reflect on their poetry spa day experiences and converse with the poets involved.

Poets participating at the WeHo Reads: Lounging With Poets event and their poetry spa day activity include:

Brian Sonia-Wallace presents Poetry Facials – Sonia-Wallace is the current West Hollywood City Poet Laureate and event emcee and organizer. He is the author of the memoir The Poetry of Strangers (Harper Collins, 2020). His other publications include the chapbook, I sold these poems, now I want them back (Yak Press, 2016), a chapter on poetry-as-placemaking for Art & The City (Routledge, 2018), and writing in The Guardian, LitHub, and Rolling Stone. In 2019, he received a City of West Hollywood “One City One Pride” Arts Grant to create Pride Poets, a project that brought poets on typewriters to the streets of West Hollywood to create more than 700 original works based on one-on-one interactions. In 2021, in his role as West Hollywood City Poet Laureate, he was selected as one of the Poets Laureate Fellowship recipients by the Academy of American Poets which provided $50,000 to support literary work and a civic project, for which Brian partnered with APLA Health, the HIV service organization.

Steven Reigns presents Feel Yourself – Reigns was the first West Hollywood City Poet Laureate; he is a poet and educator whose newest book A Quilt for David (City Lights, 2021) is the product of ten years of research regarding dentist David Acer’s life. When he was West Hollywood City Poet Laureate he inaugurated the annual Poetry Month Street Pole Banner program.

Kim Dower presents Comfort & Terrify – Dower was the second West Hollywood City Poet Laureate, and has published four acclaimed collections of poetry, including the Gold Ippy Award winning collection Sunbathing on Tyrone Power’s Grave. She has been nominated for four Pushcarts, is widely anthologized, and teaches writing workshops for Antioch University, the West Hollywood Library, and UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. When she was West Hollywood City Poet Laureate she created the collaborative Citywide Poem I Sing the Body West Hollywood. 

Charles Flowers presents Full Body Surrender – Flowers was the third West Hollywood City Poet Laureate; he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University and received his MFA in Poetry from the University of Oregon. His poems have appeared in Puerto Del Sol, Barrow Street, Gulf Coast, Indiana Review, and Assaracus. 

Jen Cheng presents Fengshui Balance – Cheng is a founding member of the Pride Poets team which was created as a City of West Hollywood “One City One Pride” Arts Grant funded project. Since falling in love with the art of typewriter poetry, Jen has a collection of dog humor poems and enjoys writing for birthday parties, corporate events, and other LGBTQ events. 

Linda Ravenswood presents Relax, Man – Ravenswood is the 2022 Edwin Markham Prize in Poetry recipient and the founding Editor in Chief of The Los Angeles Press. A 2022 Oxford Poetry Prize winner, Linda is published by Eyewear London / The Black Spring Press Group (January 2023) and FlowerSong Press (forthcoming 2023).

One week after the poetry spa day, there will be another WeHo Reads event on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at 7 p.m. which takes place online, titled WeHo Reads: Shaping Motherhood. In this event, we’ll consider motherhood – its joys, hardships, challenges, graces – and the role they play in shaping ourselves and future generations. Amber Flame is an interdisciplinary creative, activist and educator whose work has garnered residencies with Hedgebrook, Vermont Studio Center, and more. Gerda Govine Ituarte, Ed.D., poet, art curator, columnist, and CEO of G. Govine Consulting, was born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and emigrated to New York City in the mid 50s and California in the early 80s. Luivette Resto is a mother, teacher, poet, and Wonder Woman fan who was born in Puerto Rico but proudly raised in the Bronx. Carla Sameth, 2022-2024 Altadena co-poet laureate, is the author of the memoir One Day on the Gold Line and the poetry chapbook, What Is Left, and teaches creative writing to a variety of ages. Colette Sartor’s linked short story collection, Once Removed, won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the NYC Big Book Award for Short Story Collections, and the Juror’s Choice Award, and the Short Stories Award from the National Indie Excellence Awards. This online event will take place on the City of West Hollywood’s WeHo Arts YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/wehoarts. Members of the public can RSVP and be sent a direct link to view the event by visiting the WeHo Reads webpage on the City’s website at www.weho.org/wehoreads.

WeHo Reads is the City of West Hollywood’s literary series presenting authors of interest to the West Hollywood community since 2013. For additional information about these and past events and to RSVP, visit www.weho.org/wehoreads. WeHo Reads is presented by the City of West Hollywood’s Arts Division and produced by BookSwell, LLC, a literary events and media company dedicated to lifting up writers from historically excluded communities. Additional support for WeHo Reads is provided by UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and Poets & Writers as well as media partnerships with Bookshop.org, Book Soup, and Los Angeles Review of Books.For more information about WeHo Reads, please contact Mike Che, City of West Hollywood Arts Coordinator, at (323) 848-6377 or at [email protected].

Honeycomb Harmonies by Keenan Hartsten on Saturday, April 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Plummer Park

The City of West Hollywood invites the community to join artist and musician Keenan Hartsten for the opening day of Honeycomb Harmonies, a temporary art installation featuring hands-on painting and music-making activities, beginning at Plummer Park, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The opening event will be followed by three additional events taking place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, 2023 at West Hollywood Park located at 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard, Saturday, May 6, 2023 at Plummer Park, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard, and Saturday, May 20, 2023 at West Hollywood Park, located at 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard. Painting activities will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. during all scheduled event dates. 

The West Hollywood iteration of Honeycomb Harmonies is a continuation of a project that was previously presented in San Diego. Keenan Hartsten collected tires and wood from around San Diego County and transformed these materials into a stage for a musical playground. The reclaimed tires are assembled into vertical stacks measuring six-feet tall, bolted together internally, and weighted at the bottom to create columns. Pipe structures for making outdoor tents are used with angled connector pieces bolted together to form a large hexagonal overhead framework measuring 20-feet across, with shade sails to cast a hexagonal imprint of shade to shield visitors to the installation from the sun.

The art installation will include various hand-built musical structures for open participation, including a six-foot hexagonal prism xylophone that serves as the centerpiece, a six-foot baritone xylophone, five-foot alto xylophone, four-foot metallophone, a series of wooden structures that support glazed ceramic pots at various heights to produce bell tones, pan drums, and various handheld percussive elements. The wooden notes on the xylophones are all made of reclaimed wood taken from torn down homes, beachside hotels, green waste bins, and trash piles. All these instruments are tuned together to the scale of B-flat Major, a scale known for its joyful, quaint, and cheerful sound, evoking a sense of aspiration and optimism for a better world.

Keenan Hartsten is an artist, musician, and designer living and working in San Diego, California. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of California San Diego. Utilizing concepts, forms, and techniques across a spectrum of disciplines, Hartsten creates playful installations, objects, gardens, and collaborative community-based projects. A proponent of the re-useable, his work often focuses on the materiality of discarded objects and re-imagines worlds of texture, color, and sound that offer new temporal perspectives. Hartsten has exhibited at institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Helmuth Projects, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Berkeley Art

Museum, and Quint Gallery and most recently was commissioned by the City of San Diego’s Commission for Arts and Culture for a temporary public artwork. 

The Art on the Outside Program is the City’s temporary art program that installs rotating artworks throughout the city. The artworks can include sculpture, murals, digital art, and other outdoor works. Most exhibitions remain on display between six months and three years. All projects are subject to the Art on the Outside Program Review and Approval Process. The program is funded through the Public Beautification & Art Fund. 

The City of West Hollywood’s Arts Division delivers a broad array of arts programs including Art on the Outside (temporary public art), Arts Grants, City Poet Laureate, Free Theatre in the Parks, Human Rights Speaker Series, Library Exhibits, Summer Sounds + Winter Sounds, Urban Art (permanent public art), WeHo Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival, and WeHo Reads. For more information about City of West Hollywood arts programming, please visit www.weho.org/arts.  

For more information about Honeycomb Harmonies please contact Marcus Mitchell, the City of West Hollywood’s Public Art Administrator, at [email protected] or at (323) 848-3122.

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For more information, please call the City of West Hollywood’s City Council Offices at (323) 848-6460. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.

For up-to-date information about City of West Hollywood news and events, follow @wehocity on social media, sign-up for news updates at www.weho.org/email, and visit the City’s calendar of meetings and events at www.weho.org/calendar.