LOS ANGELES—Christopher Street West Association Inc. (CSW), the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that produces the annual LA Pride celebration, has announced its planned programming for the June slate of happenings.
LA Pride 2021: Thrive With Pride will feature a month-long combination of events including a live streamed concert presented by TikTok.
CSW has also expanded and diversified its own board, with a focus on true community representation, including the appointment of its first Black transgender president, Sharon-Franklin Brown. Part of the internal mandate includes looking at ways the non-profit can go beyond a June Pride celebration and actively work for and within the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ community. LA Pride also anticipates more annual programming beyond the month of June designed to ensure Pride can be continuously celebrated all year long.
Current confirmed programming sponsors include: SKYY Vodka, Nordstrom, Coca-Cola, Tinder, UPS, Cedars-Sinai and Lord Jones, with more to be added soon.
Thrive With Pride
Pride 2021 activities are themed around the daily reminder to Thrive With Pride.
“To thrive means to flourish and progress despite the circumstances. Pride this year is a moment for you to stop and breathe,” Brown said. “It’s a moment to remember you’re not just surviving one of the hardest years in recent memory, but growing into your truth. This is why we were so intentional in our planning. We want to bring a moment of celebration, a moment to highlight the community, and an opportunity to give back. If we as a community can come together, even for a moment, to realize we’ve broken down some barriers put on us, it’ll strengthen our resolve to continue tearing more down for those to come after us.”
“After an unprecedented year of challenge and struggle, I am so pleased that this year’s pride festivities embrace the spirit of the first pride parade and our activist roots,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell. “By bringing together LGBTQ+ communities from every corner of our city, we will uplift all voices and elevate the important work of the icons of the LGBTQ movement who sacrificed everything in their young lives at the time so we can all celebrate together in 2021. With a mix of virtual and potential in-person events, this year’s festivities will keep our community safe and connected while providing every Angeleno an opportunity to embrace giving and volunteerism.”
Thrive With Pride Concert and TV Special
LA Pride weekend will kick-off on Thursday night, June 10 with a concert exclusively presented by and live streamed on TikTok featuring pop star Charli XCX and a showcase of up-and-coming LGBTQ+ performers across genres. In-person concert opportunities are not available at this time. Fans and followers can follow @tiktokforgood and @lapride on TikTok for updates and advanced promotions.
Further, a televised special titled “Thrive With Pride Celebration” is set to air Saturday, June 12 from 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. PT on ABC 7 Los Angeles, and will feature special guests, performances and LA Pride honorees.
Pride Makes a Difference: Month-Long Day of Service
In recognition of the incredibly difficult work Los Angeles social justice and non-profit organizations have put into achieving equity, actionable change and stability, LA Pride will launch a 30-day give back campaign to support these efforts. Pride Makes a Difference will highlight opportunities for Angelenos to sign up to either volunteer, or donate goods and/or money to local organizations in Los Angeles County. Pride Makes a Difference is a new program in conjunction with Big Sunday. As part of these new efforts, drop off locations will be set up all throughout Los Angeles. A list of selected local organizations and drop off sites will be available soon, as well as the sign-up details.
“Our utmost priority in whatever we’re doing to celebrate Pride this year [is that it] ensures safety and follows CDC-approved pandemic guidelines,” Brown continued. “That’s why we’re announcing this programming first. Any potential in-person celebratory [activities] will be announced at a later date in the coming weeks. The more we put safety first, the more likely we’re able to plan big physical events in the future, including Pride 2022, where we can celebrate who we are, where we came from, and where we need to go.”
Follow @lapride on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or for more information, visit www.lapride.org.
