Teen Pride and Family Fun Zone Redesigned for 2018

Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride announced on May 4, 2018, that its youth spaces would look very different at the 2018 festival. To mark our 35th anniversary and the theme “Remember the Past, Create the Future,” we worked with longtime and new community partners to redesign Teen Pride and the Family Fun Zone as a weekend young people could actually shape.

Teen Pride

The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach led Teen Pride, with Joel Gemino, the Center’s Youth Services Manager, overseeing the evening. It ran Friday, May 18, 2018, from 4 to 9 p.m. at the festival site, and it was free.

Joel and the Mighty Group, a youth group at The Center, planned the night together. They lined up a talent show, performances, guest appearances, a gaming truck, a photo booth, DJs, raffles, gift bags, and free food and drinks.

Family Fun Zone

Two new partners joined us for the Family Fun Zone: the Long Beach Unified School District and Brave Trails Leadership Camp. The zone was open Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with workshops and activities for kids of every age. We planned to post the schedule, along with photos and videos of the activities and more about our partners, on the Long Beach Pride website.

LBUSD was represented by Dr. Cassandra Richards, principal of Fremont Elementary School, and Jonathan Guevara, a kindergarten teacher at Willard Elementary School. They planned hands-on activities that parents could join too.

The kids will have a wonderful time creating things like slime and playdough, just to name a few of the activities.

Dr. Cassandra Richards, Principal, Fremont Elementary School

We are truly excited to be able to give back to our LGBTQ+ families.

Dr. Cassandra Richards

Brave Trails, an LGBTQ+ youth leadership camp, was represented by co-founder Jessica Weissbuch and assistant director Jake Young. Their program centers on four key elements: leadership, community building, self-realization and service.

We use workshops, adventure, creative programming, service projects, peer connections and positive role models to create a safe space where youth can thrive.

Jessica Weissbuch, Co-Founder, Brave Trails Leadership Camp

Volunteers came from across the region. Stephanie Camacho-Van Dyke, Youth Program Manager at the LGBTQ Center of OC, gave her time to the zone.

We don’t have a Family Fun Zone area at our Pride event, so I volunteered my time to be a part of this wonderful event for our youth.

Stephanie Camacho-Van Dyke, Youth Program Manager, LGBTQ Center of OC

Young families weren’t the only ones getting a new space in 2018. The same festival introduced our first Senior Fun Zone, a place for guests 50 and over with bingo, karaoke and games.

Handing the Planning to Youth

Looking past 2018, we planned to turn Teen Pride and the Family Fun Zone over to young people themselves. It was time for the adults to step back and let youth take the lead. An adult mentor group drawn from our community partners would support them with budgets, contracts, decorating and everything else it takes to build their own space.

We saw it as a way to introduce the next generation to Long Beach Pride and help them build planning skills they can carry for life. This is our future, and we wanted to start nurturing that relationship right away. Young people interested in joining could sign up at Teen Pride and the Family Fun Zone.

The 2018 festival ran Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20. The parade stepped off Sunday, May 20, at 10:30 a.m. on Ocean Boulevard at Lindero Avenue, and the youth area was waiting for families once it was over.