LONG BEACH — Long Beach Pride will be pumped.
TV personality and LGBTQ advocate Lisa Vanderpump will be the celebrity grand marshal for the 34th Annual Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade, Long Beach Pride announced Monday. Long Beach Pride is the city’s second largest event and party along the waterfront.
“Thank you Long Beach Pride! It is an honor to be recognized by a community that you love so dearly that they are embedded in your heart,” Vanderpump said in a statement. “Together, we have passed several milestones, but we are not finished yet, and I plan on being here every step of the way.”
The pride parade will take place May 21 at 10:30 a.m., stepping off at Ocean Boulevard and Lindero Avenue and marching west to Alamitos Avenue.
Following the parade, Vanderpump will address the crowd from the main stage at the Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival at 3:45 p.m. The pride festival takes place along Shoreline Drive at Marina Green and Rainbow Lagoon parks.
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Vanderpump is a spokesperson for GLAAD and has worked with the Desert AIDS Project and The Trevor Project.
In 2015, Vanderpump received an Ally Leadership Award from Equality California.
Apart from LGBTQ issues, Vanderpump advocates for animal welfare. In October 2015, she organized a peaceful Los Angeles protest march against China’s Yulin Dog Meat Festival and launched StopYulinForever.org. Protesters marched from MacArthur Park to the Chinese Consulate in downtown.
Also, Vanderpump, who has joined the movement to end the abuse, torture and slaughter of dogs worldwide, is producer on a documentary that will expose the barbaric practice and hopefully bring it to an end.
Lisa Vanderpump’s reaction to being named the celebrity grand marshal in the 34th Annual Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade: “Thank you Long Beach Pride! It is an honor to be recognized by a community that you love so dearly that they are embedded in your heart,” she said in a statement. “Together, we have passed several milestones, but we are not finished yet, and I plan on being here every step of the way.” Photo: Lisa Vanderpump
