Members of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) march in the 2016 Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade. Photo: Long Beach Pride.
LONG BEACH — Closets are for clothes — come out, come out, wherever you are.
It’s the week before gay pride, and the rainbow colored flags are hung with care along Ocean Boulevard, signaling that thousands of onlookers will soon be there.
The Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Pride Festival and Parade, the city’s second largest attended event, takes place May 20 and May 21.
Here’s what you need to know:
FESTIVAL AND PARADE
- The Long Beach Pride Festival will takes place from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on Shoreline Drive between Shoreline Village Drive and Alamitos Avenue at Marina Green and Rainbow Lagoon parks.
- General admission advance tickets are $20 online and $25 at the gate for each day.
- Children under age 12 are free, but must be accompanied by an adult.
- Senior citizens over 65 are free with valid ID as well as veterans and active military with ID.
- The parade will step off at 10:30 a.m. May 21 on Ocean Boulevard at Lindero Avenue and marches west to Alamitos Avenue. At 9:45 a.m., the tribute to the Orlando 49 will begin.
RELATED: Long Beach Pride: Pulse nightclub survivors to pay tribute to shooting victims
FESTIVAL RULES
- No re-entry
- No distribution of pamphlets, flyers or handbills
- No solicitations
- No beverage containers allowed into the festival grounds.
- No pets, only service animals will be allowed.
- No folding chairs, bikes, skates, rollerblades or skateboards.
- Anyone under the age of 21 found consuming alcohol will immediately be evicted from the festival and turned over to Long Beach Police.
RELATED: Long Beach Pride: Chaka Khan to perform at festival
FESTIVAL ROAD CLOSURES
- Shoreline Drive westbound between Alamitos Avenue and Shoreline Village Drive will close 10 a.m. Thursday
- Shoreline Drive eastbound between Shoreline Village Drive and Alamitos Avenue will close 7 p.m. Thursday
- Shoreline Drive will re-open 10 a.m. May 22
PARADE ROUTE CLOSURES
Ocean Boulevard
- Between Redondo and Lindero avenues from 5 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Between Lindero and Cherry avenues from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Between Cherry and Alamitos avenues from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
RELATED: Here are the 2017 Long Beach Pride Parade grand marshals
Country music fans dance under the tent at the 2016 Long Beach Pride Festival. Photo: Long Beach Pride.
