Los Angeles Magazine Previews Long Beach Pride 2025

Los Angeles Magazine opened its 2025 Pride coverage with a look at our 42nd annual Long Beach Pride Festival, held May 17 and 18, 2025. In a story published April 29, writer Mikey Moran called Long Beach the first major Pride event of the season and walked readers through the weekend ahead.

The weather’s warming up, and Long Beach Pride is ready to usher in another summer of love, unity, and LGBTQ+ celebration with the first major Pride event of the season.

Los Angeles Magazine

The Power of Community

The magazine described us as the third-largest Pride festival and parade in California and centered its preview on the 2025 theme, “The Power of Community,” which it said speaks to the strength, diversity and resilience of the LGBTQ+ family in Long Beach and beyond.

It also told readers where we come from: an organization founded by three local trailblazers, Bob Crow, Marilyn Barlow and Judi Doyle, with a mission rooted in visibility, acceptance and empowerment. The story noted that the City of Long Beach now leads planning of the parade, while our all-volunteer organization focuses on the festival. Interim President Elsa Martinez spoke to that spirit.

We’re incredibly proud to be an all-volunteer organization, and that spirit of dedication and heart is what makes Long Beach Pride truly special.

Elsa Martinez, Interim President, Long Beach Pride, via Los Angeles Magazine

What the Magazine Previewed

The story ran through the music: MegaWoof with DJs and go-go dancers on Stage 2, the Latinx band Mamboson, the ’80s and ’90s live band Radio Royalty on the Founders Stage, and “Secret Service Presents: The Takeover.” It also highlighted a Hip Hop Stage for local DJs, an EDM tent, and Queer Country with DJ Rick and line dancing from The Wranglers.

Beyond the stages, readers learned about TransVisibility, a space highlighting the transgender community through art; Teen Pride for LGBTQ+ youth 17 and under; and a Health Hub offering free testing and wellness resources with APAIT, Bienestar, APLA and the Long Beach Health Department. LGBTQ+ vendors and nonprofit information booths rounded out the grounds.

Long Beach’s own Jewels, a voice of our parade going back years, hosted the Drag Show Extravaganza on the main stage, and the House of Long Beach brought a ballroom dance-off. Jewels shared what the city means to her.

As one of the most diverse cities in California, Long Beach fills me with pride every day.

Jewels, via Los Angeles Magazine

Our thanks to Los Angeles Magazine for helping spread the word. The Power of Community is a theme our volunteers live every day, and it was good to see it reach readers across the region.

Read the full story at Los Angeles Magazine.