Hundreds of LGBTQ+ people and allies gathered in downtown Long Beach CB for the Long Beach Pride Festival on Saturday, May 18, 2024. (Photo by Victoria Ivie, Press Telegram/SCNG.)
Day two of the Long Beach Pride Festival once again brought hundreds of rainbow-decked people of all ages to the downtown area on Sunday, May 19, capping a successful weekend of celebrating the LGBTQ+ community.
Many came straight from the 41st annual Pride Parade, which happened earlier Sunday a few blocks east of the festival.
Families, drag queens and couples participated in line dancing classes, vendor games and nice breezy weather in what was a chill atmosphere on Sunday.
Among the festival-goers was Emily Voelker, who said she could only make it Sunday to participate in Pride weekend. This was her second time attending the festival.
“I just wanted to celebrate, have some fun and get out there,” the Long Beach resident, 39, said. “I’m single again so it’s perfect timing.”
Voelker said she enjoys the “chill vibe” at Long Beach Pride Festivals and that the music was good, both the live performances and the DJ sets.
There were about 400 people at the festival in the afternoon, but, like on Saturday, more and more people began showing up as it got closer to the evening musical performances. Day 2 highlights that attendees said they were excited for included Spanish singer Rene Ortiz, who drew a large Latinx crowd and Ru Paul’s Drag Race contestant Valentina, who rode in the parade and was set to close out the festival with a performance Sunday night.
And it wasn’t just locals who enjoyed the festival. Many attendees, in fact, came from other states to experience the city of Long Beach for the first time.
Carlos Beltran, for example, came from Las Vegas just for Long Beach Pride — attending both the festival and the city-run parade.
“I wanted to see this Pride for the first time and it was so worth it,” Beltran, 53, said. “The weather, the people, the food; everything has been great.”
Like Beltran, LGBTQ+ author Tunita James traveled to Long Beach. James lives in Washington D.C. and attended as a vendor.
James, who writes diverse, LGBTQ-affirming children’s books, normalizing “her family and families like ours,” has two books out.
“I am creating a universe,” James said, “for families, allies, friends, and our children to see themselves in the books that they read.”
It’s essential for people to be able to access books like the ones she writes, James said, so “the people who really need it can have it in their hands.”
Books about or with LGBTQ+ themes or characters have been challenged nationwide.
But James didn’t have to worry about that in Long Beach, a city that has long touted itself as an LGBTQ-friendly city — and one that has among the most popular Pride events in the region.
“Being here and being at any place that accepts me,” James said, “is everything.”
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