It’s all about ascension, literal and metaphorical, for the Enchanted Collective: a small coalition of queer, femme, and nonbinary artists who are curating expansive party experiences that hold space for all. On April 26, the group will host “Femme Frequency”, a ten-hour event that will transform the Kama, a multi-level community space, into a portal for sober queer expression, dance, joy, and restoration. 

Like other events hosted by the collective, “Femme Frequency” prioritizes harm reduction, consent and sober fun without dulling out the sensuality and dynamism that flows freely from queer nightlife. 

Dance and performance remain centerpieces at this event, which runs from 12 to 10 pm on Sunday, but there will also be activations like a sauna and cold plunge space, a “squish burrow” for cuddles and tea, an open mic, panel, and the debut of a “Pussy Resource Center” for femmes and gender expansive people to engage in conversations about their health and identity.  

It’s a container that fosters empowerment and personal ecstasy, Enchanted Collective co-founder Sam Sharman told the Blade. “Be there for what feels good for your body,” Sharman continued. “The invitation is to stop worrying about what you look like, [to] dance your ass off and celebrate feminine energy and leadership, regardless of what gender or body you’re in.” 

Sharman, who performs R&B and burlesque under the project FEmpress, created the collective with melodic bass DJ Tori “The Friz” Brunet in December 2022, as a way to alchemize new and inclusive avenues for queer expression and creativity. The two saw a tangible lack in femme-led partyscapes that reflected and poured into their communities. With Enchanted Collective, they are offering people — particularly queer, femme, and nonbinary folks — a light-filled threshold and an exploratory gateway to step into the fantastical and make it a reality. 

“We really want people to come into their realization of themselves as the creator, whether that’s as an artist, a musician, or a creative director. Maybe you’re not doing something creative professionally, but you’re still a creator of your life,” Sharman said. “We want people to step into their purpose, their power, and their creative service.” 

The Blade sat with Sharman to talk more about the Enchanted Collective’s journey, her own personal evolution as a femme leader, and the possibility that events like “Femme Frequency” offer for queer people. 

What led to the formation of the Enchanted Collective, and what’s at the core of its mission?

It originated from me and my best friend Tori. We’re both musicians and performers. We wanted to come together to create a really diverse space — not just in terms of sound, but in terms of representation, accessibility [and] giving people an experience to drop in a little bit deeper than they typically do when they go to a “party.” 

Initially, we were actually called Enchanted Loft, because all of our events were at a loft downtown. And we quickly grew out of the space. We had an integrity misalignment with the person who was operating [it], and then we shifted and took it as a really positive sign from the universe that we weren’t going to be anchored down into one spot — that we were going to explore all over LA. 

We started as a monthly event, and then we were like, ‘Oh, we’re two people, and we’re gonna die if we keep doing this.’ So, we expanded the team, and we’re doing less events, but with more potency and power behind them. It’s definitely evolved, but the core reasons and even the core format have stayed the same since the very beginning. 

Our events are pretty long. We do alcohol-free spaces. We have some element of ritual or ceremony, but not to the extent where it feels overwhelming if you’re not from that kind of world or don’t have a spiritual framework. We like to joke that we’re conscious baddies.

Safety is one of our core values. [Our team is] run by femmes and thems. Our entire team is either women, nonbinary, or trans, and people who have direct experience with what it feels like to not feel safe in your body on a dance floor or in an environment while experimenting. Our events are about transformation, and people can’t transform if they can’t drop in and feel safe.

On a personal level, how has the Enchanted Collective allowed you to step deeper into your femininity, your own personal artistry, and your role as a leader?

As an artist and musician, I love that it’s the decade of the producer and the DJ. I can get behind it, don’t get me wrong. But I feel like live music has just been really stripped away from these spaces. And live music is really important because it’s so co-creative, and we’re using our instruments as our bodies and our bodies as our instruments. We’re creating this really special container together. 

I am in charge of our live music experience, and my business partner and co-owner, Tori, is in charge of all of our DJ bookings. We always make sure we’re really creating diverse sounds, because we really want people to get outside of their boxes and get exposed to something new and realize that these things can live together. They don’t have to be separate. 

As a leader, inclusivity is incredibly important to me. I remember, for so long as an artist, going into spaces and being like, ‘Wow, everyone is so talented. But, I’m talented too, and I want to be seen. How do I get myself seen?’ There were no resources out there for me, so I’m passionate about creating the open mic and creating our softer third spaces where people can share about themselves, get to know each other, and network in a genuine way. 

Can you tell me more about how queer and femme leadership alters how the collective operates? 

I think three of the four people on our core team are queer, and two of the four people on our team have varying gender identities outside of what they were assigned at birth. And all of us resonate with some spectrum of being a woman [and have felt] what it’s like to be repressed, oppressed, to be not safe — all of these different violences that take place on our bodies in a micro and macro way. We are just so attuned to this new world where we get to flip the script and make these people our leaders, because we know what it’s like to be in those experiences and navigate life from that very challenging perspective. 

We want to highlight that from the get go, from our first event: that our space is here for people to reclaim that identity as something that is special and powerful and should be in this next phase of the world. 

Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

Today, the Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced that its annual Celebration of LBGTQ+ Cinema and Television will take place on Friday, May 29. The long-running organization has been honoring filmmaking accomplishments since 1995, and presented its first queer entertainment-centered ceremony in 2024. 

Previous honorees include esteemed queer and trans performing legends like George Takei, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Nathan Lane, Wanda Sykes as well as rising stars like Bowen Yang, Tramell Tillman and Benito Skinner. 

This year’s ceremony marks CCA’s 3rd presentation of Hollywood’s most notable and defining queer voices and storytellers. Emmy-award winning actor and comedian Jane Lynch will receive the ‘Groundbreaker Award,’ honoring her prolific career: one defined by her unconventional humor, scene-stealing presence and bold visibility as an out queer woman. 

Writer, actor and director Dan Levy, known for effortlessly slipping into charming, wry and quirky roles in ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ ‘Happiest Season’ and his upcoming crime-comedy show ‘Big Mistakes,’ will receive the Vanguard Award for continually normalizing nuanced, layered queer representation in TV and film. 

Breakout star Hannah Einbinder has been pushing boundaries since her arrival on the scene, and is known for her outspoken activism, her daring and chaotic performance on ‘Hacks,’ and her highly anticipated role in Jane Schoenbrun’s upcoming queer horror-comedy flick ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.’ Einbinder will receive the Performance Award at CCA’s ceremony. 

Director, screenwriter and producer Jacob Tierney will receive the Showrunner Award for ‘Heated Rivalry,’ a piece of queer art that swept up the internet when it arrived late last November — and hasn’t let go since. Tierney has long centered queer whimsy and joy in his works, and his adaptation of the sexy, tense and whirlwind romance between two queer hockey players transformed the trajectory of the show’s starlets, and left a permanent imprint on the rise of boys love (BL) media and gay storytelling. 

Each of the honorees joins a rapidly expanding universe of boundary-pushing queer art that defies growing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. This ceremony celebrates the sharpening of their stories, and the preservation of queer stories on screen.

“Being part of this community means celebrating who we are, how far we’ve come, and acknowledging our collective resilience,” said the ceremony’s co-programmer and co-host Andrew Freund, in a press release. “This year’s honorees are extraordinary—bold, brilliant, and wonderfully unapologetic. They do more than inspire, they light the path forward.”

Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

Prominent local trans advocate and actor Jazzmun Crayton’s poetry, presence, and performances have shifted the county’s queer landscape, joyously reanimating spaces with the magic of her liberating words. “Love is a religion, so let your performances be your ministry, your lip synching be the anointing / and stay baptized and fully immersed in all the glitter, rhinestones and feathers you can glue / onto your costumes,” reads the verses of her poem, “Drag Queen.” 

Crayton’s voice and vision, which center the lived experiences and stories of transgender, gender-expansive, and intersex (TGI) people, have drawn the attention of several community members and collaborators, including director David Hays Gaddas. Together, they created “Lovely Bouquet of Flowers: An Exploration of Non-Traditional Gender Voices”: a full-length play packed with musical numbers, monologues, and scenes drawn from real-life interviews with trans community members. 

First performed in 2013 at the LA LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre, the play returns for a special, curated edition on Tuesday, Mar. 31, at West Hollywood’s City Council Chambers for International Transgender Day of Visibility. Tomorrow’s performance focuses on pieces and scenes from the original play that are most resonant with today’s social climate, but retains its nearly 15-year-long message: the trans community is a varied and resilient bouquet that continues to blossom even under the wilting conditions of its environment. It will always renew. 

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This affirmation remains timely and urgent, as anti-trans rhetoric makes its way into legislation and pours from the platforms of vocal, powerful figures both socially and politically. “There is a rise in misinformation and targeted rhetoric at the federal level toward the trans community,” Crayton and Gaddas wrote to the Blade. “And our response is to meet that injustice with truth, visibility, and love.”

Tomorrow’s show will open with a reading of a poem titled “Baby’s breath,” performed by TGI activist and host, ChiChi Navarro, who told the Blade that they had no prior acting experience before being invited to be a cast member. This is another aspect that holds strong from Lovely’ Bouquet’s earliest days: many of the original cast members were not established actors. Some were not yet out as trans either.

The play became more than a ground to experiment with performance: it was a portal to step into courage, to draw from their own lives, and to experience collective and individual empowerment by gathering in community. 

“At its core, this is about more than a performance,” Crayton and Gaddas wrote to the Blade. “It is about creating a space where we can show up for one another, where we can celebrate not only TGI2+ lives but humanity as a whole, and where we can strive to be our best selves. It is an invitation to stand up for what is right, to lead with love, and to be part of something that is rooted in truth and justice.” 

The play calls on its cast, creators and audience members to share in the joy and strength of their unity and resistance against attempts to shut TGI people out — attempts to render them invisible and pliable. Navarro has felt the impact of this in their personal life, of the transformative power of being heard and seen, and of witnessing your community flourishing against adversity. “I find myself getting lost in the stories that they’re telling, and it’s beautiful,” Navarro told the Blade. “I hope that people who attend and watch these performances are able to feel that feeling.” 

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The Lovely Bouquet Foundation is also raising funds for their latest Anthesis Tour, of which tomorrow’s performance is part of. To support and find more information, learn more here.

Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows

Sapphic exaltation can be found poolside at The Dinah, where for the last three decades, sapphic people have gathered to dance, find long-lasting community, and celebrate their own sacred queer joy. Affectionately dubbed “lesbian Coachella,” The Dinah is one of the largest music festivals held for queer women and sapphic people, including trans and nonbinary community members. 

The Dinah has always been loud and proud, and was brought to fruition by renowned party thrower Mariah Hanson. In 1991, she organized the festival’s first iteration, molding the Palm Springs Modern Art Museum into a lively, safe bubble for sapphic people to experience high-voltage, unfettered togetherness and belonging — without shame, harm, or discrimination. 

Over 30 years later, The Dinah has become a sapphic “utopia”: a multi-day gathering where people can find community, revel in sapphic excellence, and see some of the biggest superstars in their space thrive on stage. Previous performers include Doechii, Margaret Cho, the Indigo Girls, Tegan and Sara, Princess Nokia, and Lauren Jauregui. 

In 2026, the festival sees another evolution: new leadership. Bella Barkow and Rose Garcia have acquired the festival from Hanson and are aiming to make the event more inclusive, accessible, and joyful than ever. They want to preserve the alchemy of queer parties — these are the very spaces that they, as queer youth, discovered liberation and love. 

Barkow grew up in Toronto’s rave scene and would spend time hanging out in Church and Wellesley, the city’s queer-friendly nucleus. 2,000 miles away, Garcia was stirring up L.A.’s club scene, her infectious wiles becoming the real-life inspiration for a character in the lesbian TV bible, The L Word.

They both also have history with The Dinah: Barkow, a queer event producer, managed the festival’s operations before their recent acquisition. Garcia was hand-plucked by Hanson to host and emcee the festival for over a decade. 

Wild, rebellious, and uplifted by community, Barkow and Garcia are now dedicated to preserving and multiplying this space for other sapphic people across generations. As co-owners of the festival, they speak with great care about carrying this torch forward: of preserving this ecosystem that Hanson constructed and maintained, alone. Their challenge is two-fold: how do they preserve its history and essence while also creating enough breathing room for change and transformation?

The Blade sat down with Barkow and Garcia to talk about their vision for The Dinah and its future. 

Rose, before you were an emcee and now co-owner of The Dinah, you were attending the festival as a young queer person. What was that like for you?

Garcia: When I first discovered the Dinah, it was in my early twenties, and I couldn’t afford to go for the whole weekend. I was young, working, going to school, and figuring things out, so my friends and I would hop into a car and drive up for Sunday’s pool party. When I first showed up there, I was like: this is incredible. I’ve never seen so many sapphic women in one space. It was thousands upon thousands of women. And even though I’m in a big “market” in LA, we still didn’t have a lot of places to go back then. We had the Palms bar and a couple of clubs, but nothing to this scale. 

So when I walked [into the Dinah], I was meeting people from Australia, Europe, Canada — people from all over the world. And it was so amazing, because I never knew something like this existed. It became my go-to place and a part of my life, honestly: [I could] congregate with my friends, take this amazing trip, and be around thousands of folks and feel a sense of acceptance and safety. 

You’ve both been upfront that you want to make sure The Dinah is affordable, inclusive and accessible. Tell me more about the value of that and how you’re making this happen. 

Barkow: It’s nice to think that LGBTQ rights are on a linear path towards betterness, but unfortunately, the world is not working like that. We both believe that this event needs to keep being accessible to the younger generation, to the people who, like us, came out when they were young, and perhaps saw it on The L Word, or The Real L Word, like myself. I remember seeing it when I was in Toronto and being like: “Oh my God. This place exists. This is a real thing. I can actually go there and be myself.” We do think it’s important that this event is for everyone. I’ve had women in their 70’s who are first timers coming up, so you never know. 

Garcia: I also want to interject that even though it’s been open to everyone, we want to actually scream it from the top of the mountains: that it’s not only a sapphic, women-loving-women (WLW) event. It’s open to all of our friends, and we accept and want everyone to feel welcome. That’s really important to Bella and me. We want to make sure our trans community feels welcome, [our] nonbinary community. We want everyone to feel that they can come to this space and feel accepted. 

Barkow: I started gender sensitivity and proper pronoun usage training with the front-of-house staff at Dinah about two years ago, and we’re hoping to expand that and make sure that all staff, including hotel and security, are aware of that. There’s always the fear that [they could] misgender or misrepresent someone based on how they look. [We make it clear] you need to understand that our community is very, very specific. You need to support that and be a part of it. 

What are you most excited about in this new era of The Dinah?

Garcia: I’m excited to see the people who are going to come. When we launched the tickets, we got an overwhelming, warm, amazing reception. That was something that I was initially worried about [in] the change of hands. “Is it going to fare well with the community?” And we’ve been accepted. So, we’re excited to see what the community says about our first production and to see the faces of people just being happy, celebrating, and enjoying the weekend, and to look at my partner and be like: Man, we did this. Our blood, sweat, and tears for the last 10 months are finally coming to fruition.

Bella: I’m really excited to see how the community takes to the new initiatives that we’re bringing out that are community building-specific activations, so things for the solo and single travelers and things for the sober community that really expand the event. [It’s] a music festival first and foremost, but also a space to build lifelong friendships. As Mariah used to call it, this five-day utopia [is] a place where the outside world doesn’t matter and we’re all there to be together and enjoy community together. 

You’ve acquired The Dinah and you’re deep in the planning of this year’s festival. Does all of this, and the reception you’ve received, give you hope for the future of sapphic spaces?

Garcia: Yes, I think it does. Mariah used to have a partnership program [and] we’re going to reignite that. [We’ll] reach out to a lot of sapphic spaces throughout the country and all over the world, and [become] promotional partners. Not only does it support them in any events that they plan on having, because Dinah does have a big draw and a big reach, but it also helps us reach out to those markets as well. And we support each other. It’s a win-win for both. We [also] see a lot of the younger generation working on bringing more events to the community, and Bella and I are big supporters of all of them. 

Barkow: It’s the understanding that there’s enough room at the table for everyone. We need to support each other as a community. Historically, it’s always been like a woman is sitting at the table and she says: “Oh, this is my seat, and it’s the only seat, and so I have to protect my seat.” And that’s not true. I see this as an opportunity for us to help pull other women up to come join the table because there’s a seat for everyone. 

Dinah 2026 takes place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5 in Palm Springs. More information can be found on their website.

Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

Through perilous times, queer artists, comedians, and performers have transformed personal and collective pain into honest, witty, and radical expressions of joy and empowerment. On Mar. 4, LGBTQ+ civil rights organization Lambda Legal will uplift some of these voices in its inaugural “Stand-Up for Equality” event.

Margaret Cho, Matteo Lane and Tig Notaro will headline the showcase, which features stand-up acts from both established and emerging voices in queer comedy. Other notable performers include Dina Martina, Roz Hernandez, Rachel Scanlon, Guy Branum, Solomon Georgio and Dana Goldberg.

Their eclectic comedic styles and impacts are wide-sweeping: from Lane’s hilarious, crowd-work-based “advice specials” and Branum’s poignant, internet series “What the Old Gays Remember” to Cho’s biting and punchy commentaries on race and gender and Notaro’s warm, charming presence both on stage and on her “Handsome” podcast. Each performer’s work has boldly expanded the country’s broader comedy scene, exposing more and more viewers to a dynamic, vast pool of queer art, humor, and history.

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Proceeds from “Stand-Up for Equality” will go towards supporting Lambda Legal, an organization that has championed LGBTQ+ policy and rights since 1973. Recently, Lambda Legal joined a trio of civil rights organizations that are representing and filing challenges in support of two trans female athletes defending their rights to participate and compete in school sports at the Supreme Court.

As Lambda Legal battles for the protection of queer communities, events like “Stand-Up for Equality” emphasize the necessity of queer joy and its ability to fuel relief and resistance. For Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings, this evening of laughter and rebellion offers queer folks a chance to rise up against an administration that uplifts and advances ant-LGBTQ+ policy and sentiment — and to directly support an organization fighting against it. 

“Activism isn’t a sidebar for our community; it’s part of our survival, expression, and our legacy,” said Jennings, in a press release. “We must all rise to meet this moment, and I am thrilled these comedians are going to help us to continue to fight the fight, while also allowing us the opportunity to gather together and laugh.” 

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Cho, a “huge fan” of Lambda Legal, recognizes the importance of standing up for the organizations that are doing vital work to make sure queer community members have safe spaces and can access legal support, healthcare, housing, and other crucial resources against the hostility of anti-LGBTQ+ policy. “I’m grateful for their long legacy of protecting, advocating, and advancing our rights; and their work is more important now than it ever was,” Cho said in a press release. 

“Stand-Up for Equality” takes place on Wed. Mar. 4 at 8 p.m. at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. Tickets begin at $62. More information can be found at Lambda Legal’s event site. 

Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

LA Art Show is the largest and longest-established art fair in Los Angeles, making its 31st year return at the Los Angeles Convention Center’s West Hall from January 7th to the 11th. The LA Art Show is one of the few remaining privately owned and operated Los Angeles art shows and reflects the authenticity of the city’s art scene, reflecting the vibrancy and multicultural makeup of the community.

This year, 15% of ticket proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association’s Life Is Why campaign. This year’s art show will reflect the fair’s global presence.

Director and producer Kassandra Voyagis shared, “Although it was an unimaginable time for the city, we are thankful that so many people came out for last year’s remarkable 30th anniversary edition during which we got to support the artistic community while also paying homage to the resilience of Los Angeles. We are thrilled to once again unite galleries, artists, and enthusiasts from across the globe to participate in and celebrate the city’s rich cultural legacy.”

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DIVERSEartLA, LA Art Show’s non-commercial platform will be curated by Marisa Caichiolo and will return to explore the evolving landscape of contemporary art through the lens of biennials and museums, exploring their complementary roles and tensions. As an education platform, it will highlight how they both exist as vital platforms for artistic innovation, dialogue, and engagement. This year, Caichiolo will also curate the invitation-only Latin American Pavilion, showcasing emerging artists from other regions of the American Continent.

Focusing on memory, migration,the and identity, the Latin American Pavilion engages in deep ancestral inquiry into power dynamics of artist representation within the gallery system. It invites audiences to reconsider provenance, belonging, and the evolving future of Latin American art — transforming how works move and resonate across borders.

“At a moment when immigration issues continue to disproportionately impact Latin American communities, it is especially important to provide a platform for these artists,” states Caichiolo. “Their perspectives are vital to a more complete and equitable understanding of contemporary art, yet they remain underrepresented at major fairs. This pavilion seeks to amplify their voices and affirm the cultural and creative contributions of Latin America on the global stage.”

Caichiolo invited a select group of galleries to form the pavilion, chosen for their representation of a diverse range of Latin American artists who embody the region’s voices and perspectives

This year’s LA Art Show will feature over 90 exhibitors, both local and international galleries that include LICHT FELD Gallery (Switzerland); Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery (U.K), Coral Contemporary Gallery (Miami), K+Y Contemporary Art (Paris), Arcadia Contemporary (New York), and Fabrik Projects (Los Angeles). Rehs Galleries, a New York-based gallery showcasing historic and contemporary art, makes its return, having participated in the LA Art Show since its inception in 1994.

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LA Art Show 2026 will feature a number of first-time exhibitors, expanding its international reach. These exhibitors include Dublin-based Oliver Sears Gallery, along with a strong U.K. presence with first-time galleries, including John Martin Gallery out of London, and Quantum Contemporary Art. Pontone Gallery, based out of London’s West End, will present works by self-taught Manchester artist Chris Rivers, who has gained a significant presence among collectors and A-list celebrities. Rivers, a professional rock drummer, creates vibrant and surreal oil paintings and hand-gilded editions, drawing from his fascination with astronomy, mythology, and celestial cartography. Other galleries showing at the LA Art Show for the first time include Gefen Gallery (San Francisco), Steidel Contemporary (Lake Worth), and Corridor Contemporary (Tel Aviv).  LA Art Show 2026 will also continue its strong South Korean representation with over 10 galleries participating. 

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Provident Fine Art, located in Palm Beach, will make its LA Art Show debut with a distinctive solo exhibition showcasing Sylvester Stallone’s abstract canvas paintings. Stallone has been painting since his adolescence, and as a prolific screenwriter, he often turned to art to assist in the development of his iconic characters. Exclusively represented by Provident Fine Art, this exhibition will signify his first major showcase in years, with the majority of the works available for purchase. His artworks have previously been displayed in retrospective exhibitions at museums in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Nice, France.

Tickets are now available at www.laartshow.com

In two days, LA Pride and the Los Angeles Zoo are bringing back a festive queer holiday tradition they formed three years ago: LA Pride Night at L.A. Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow. On Thursday, Jan. 8, the organizations are throwing a party filled with colorful, lit-up animal figures and an all-ages DJ party on the terrace for queer community members. 

While this holiday lights show runs every year at the zoo from November to January, this specific night uplifts the local LGBTQ+ community: allowing queer people and allies to dance and convene safely inside the zoo’s light-themed wonderland of plants and wildlife.

Amongst incandescent, warm sculptural lights juxtaposed by a beautiful night sky, attendees can revel in these kaleidoscopic sights and celebrate with fellow queer folks. The event also features interactive displays, photo-ops, holiday-themed treats, and cocktails, as well as a carousel.

The night’s purpose highlights L.A. Zoo’s mission in being a “safe” place for the county’s diverse communities, according to the Zoo’s CEO and director Denise M. Verret. It also allows organizers from Christopher Street West Association, who produce LA Pride, to strengthen their own mission: boldly advocating for queer liberation and visibility. 

“LA Pride Night at Zoo Lights is really about creating space for people to show up as they are, and enjoy something special together,” wrote Christopher Street West Association board president Lawrence Carroll, in a press release. “Partnering with the L.A. Zoo gives us a chance to bring our community, our families, and our allies into one of the city’s most beloved traditions, and remind folks that Pride is about joy, connection, and belonging all year long.”

LA Pride Night at L.A. Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow happens this Thursday, Jan. 8 from 6-10 p.m. at L.A. Zoo. Tickets are $29. More information can be found here. 

Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

Happy Holidays!

We are feeling extra festive this season. To show our gratitude for this amazing community, we are gifting you something special…

We’ve partnered with our resident matchmaker, Daniel Cooley, from Best Man Matchmaking, to throw one of our biggest holiday parties of the year as we close out 2025!

Hosted by Koaty & Sumner Blayne, and featuring Steven Dehler as our very sexy Santa, get ready to make your Christmas wishes known on Tuesday, December 23rd, from 6–9 PM at The Abbey in West Hollywood, California

Expect playful icebreakers, festive flirting, handsome men, and — yes, you read that right — a FREE Singles Mixer. Our first ever! Consider it a holiday gift from us to the community.

Come mingle, sip, laugh, and maybe meet your holiday crush.

RSVP For Free Here

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When Carlos Sosa first became involved in youth services and programming in the early 2000s, he was a young adult himself. And as he worked his way through the landscape of this world, of figuring out how to support disadvantaged young people, he noticed a glaring gap. “Trans youth weren’t being serviced,” Sosa told the Blade. “Lesbian youth weren’t being serviced.” Several LGBTQ+ adolescents were being left out of important pathways to resources, education, opportunities, and events that centered their joy.

In 2005, Sosa founded Community Intervention Through Youth (C.I.T.Y.) x1 Youth Group to make sure that queer youth were not only recognized but also prioritized when it came to their safety, rights, and futures. The nonprofit began with a simple ethos: “youth programming by the youth,” according to Sosa. For two decades, C.I.T.Y. has partnered with fellow organizations to support unhoused and at-risk queer youth, connecting them to services like transitional living programs and substance abuse treatment.

This Sunday, one of their regular holiday social events returns. The Tamale Wars, an annual free holiday dinner party, will bring food, music, dance, and actors from the charity Star Wars costuming organization 501st Legion to queer young Angelinos. Co-sponsored by the City of West Hollywood, Tamale Wars takes place on Dec. 7th from 6 to 9 p.m. at Plummer Park and is open to all queer youth ages 14 to 24, as well as allies and family members.

Sosa wants youth of all backgrounds to feel welcomed and embraced in this environment, especially those who have long been neglected in wider programming. Trans, unhoused, immigrant, and queer young folks will have access to a safe space where their whole selves are held and uplifted. 

When the event first began, it was called the “Eggnog Youth Social.” But as time went on, the C.I.T.Y. team noticed waves of excitement that would follow revitalizations of the Star Wars franchise — how it delighted audiences, new and old. It was both nostalgic and forward-moving, and had the power to bring generations of families together. Their holiday social was then rebranded to “The Tamale Wars,” and has since taken on a life of its own, said Sosa.

These colorful, vibrant holiday dinners emphasize joy, but are also a way into other important resources. “As much as I’m talking about fun and Star Wars, there is an educational component at the end of the day for all of this,” said Sosa. “Once they’re in the door, we have tabling organizations that offer emergency housing, cash vouchers for the unhoused, GED training, and HIV testing.” 

Facilitating queer youth’s access to essential services is the fundamental core of C.I.T.Y., especially as the state of youth programming comes under threat, both federally and locally. The administration’s 2026 budget consolidates several youth-focused initiatives, and opportunities like South Central L.A.’s workforce development program YouthBuild are at risk of significant cuts.

“The more things change, the more they stay the same — in that youth still need a voice in programming,” said Sosa. “Whenever there are budget cuts at the corporate level [and in] organizations, the youth programs tend to be the first that get cut. That was happening 20 years ago, and that’s still happening today.”

C.I.T.Y. is trying its best to adapt to these cycles in order to sustain its mission of helping queer youth thrive. The organization is ramping up outreach efforts, continuing to host events like the Tamale Wars, and continuing to deliver meals, hygiene kits, and other resources to encampments where queer immigrant youth are living. “We can’t swim against a wave because we will cease to exist,” said Sosa, who emphasizes the importance of community sustainment in keeping their mission alive. 

Sunday’s Tamale Wars is free to attend for queer youth ages 14 to 24, as well as allies and family members. RSVP is encouraged but not required. More information can be found here. C.I.T.Y. x1 Youth Group is also asking for donations to help fund the holiday dinner as well as their meal drop off services and other initiatives. 

Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

15 years ago, Spencer Collins organized trips for young students to attend various theater productions. As a former actor, he understood the power of the stage to channel complex truth into heartfelt entertainment. After one of these visits, a student approached him and asked why he, as a queer Black person, couldn’t see himself reflected in these shows. “You haven’t written them yet,” replied Collins.

This became the impetus for B.L.A.C.Mail Productions, a nonprofit that Collins founded in 2010 to uplift Black, LGBTQ+ voices. An acronym for “Black Leaders in Art and Cinema,” the organization supports the work of storytellers who are often sidelined. “It’s really become a movement,” Collins told the Blade. “And the movement is to make sure that we give voice to those who aren’t heard, [including] those who are in the LGBTQ community — who don’t have an opportunity to go and tell their stories.” 

This Saturday, B.L.A.C.Mail Productions will host its 15th World AIDS Day Event, themed “Still Standing.” It features an energetic lineup of performances that includes singer Berkley the Artist and queer rollerskater LARONBEST, and will honor local advocates for their work in championing Black and queer stories and visibility. The event will also include free HIV rapid testing and other health resources for community members to engage with. “You’re going to come and laugh…party. But you’re going to be educated,” said Collins. “You’re going to get tested. You’re going to be tapped into resources. You’re going to rub shoulders with people who identify with you. You’re going to be in a safe space.” 

Aside from providing concrete support to marginalized creatives, Collins knew early on that he wanted B.L.A.C.Mail Productions to platform the behind-the-scenes work being done to uplift conversations around HIV and AIDS. He had various guiding lights, including friends and mentors like Dontá Morrison, Greg Wilson, and Phil Wilson, Black community leaders and educators who were outspoken about HIV and AIDS activism. There was also actress Sheryl Lee Ralph’s DIVA Foundation, as well as the Black AIDS Institute, charitable organizations focused on HIV and AIDS policy, awareness, prevention, and treatment resources — especially when it comes to the lives of Black community members.

Black communities in the U.S. are disproportionately vulnerable to HIV infection, and were diagnosed with the virus at more than two times the rate of other populations in 2023, according to the Office of Minority Health. Collins was baffled that there was not more awareness and conversation around HIV and AIDS in his community, and became determined to champion Black and queer voices in broader conversations and awareness events around HIV and AIDS.

Collins emphasizes that Saturday’s event is focused on accessibility and that no one will be denied entry based on funds. After working in the nonprofit sector for decades, he has witnessed how large-scale events cultivate environments that encourage peers to be with one another, but exclude those with less means. Deciding who can be in attendance based on financial or social status defeats the purpose of awareness events to begin with, Collins explained. “That’s not fair,” he said. “You need to include them in the conversion so they can tell you what help they need…People need more resources, more testing [and] places they can go and feel comfortable to [talk about HIV and AIDS].” 

Fighting for this kind of equitable access is difficult, Collins revealed to the Blade. Aside from stigma, perpetuated both federally and locally, Collins has faced difficulties in financially sustaining his organization. He self-funds a majority of his events and initiatives, and notes that a lack of funding for diverse organizations like his own creates a personal strain on him with each passing year. Five years ago, he was ready to end B.L.A.C.Mail’s annual World AIDS Day event. He felt at a standstill, having hit a wall that was built, brick by brick, through exhaustion. “My body is tired,” Collins said. “I’m physically and emotionally drained.”

Still, he is motivated by his mission to educate and empower his community. As he looks forward to Saturday’s event, the impending celebration of togetherness, education, and resource-sharing is a moment for resistance and resilience. Like the event’s theme, he is “still standing” — as strong as he can, to illustrate the power of Black and queer stories to express the depth of their histories and illuminate paths forward when larger forces fail to. 

Ticket information for the 15th Annual World AIDS Day Event can be found here. B.L.A.C.Mail Productions is also raising funds to support Saturday’s celebrations; details can be found here.

Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.