May
12
Lesbian & Gay Pride festival in weekend
It’s three days until Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride.
Rainbow flags are waving along Ocean Boulevard and parts of Shoreline Drive are being transformed into a festival setting with bleachers, vending booths and stages.
Long Beach Pride takes place 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Marina Green Park and Rainbow Lagoon along Shoreline Drive.
70,000 expected
This year’s arrogance festival is estimated to draw 70,000 people, with 30,000 people expected to watch the parade, Long Beach Pride Co-President Sergio Macias said.
It’s the city’s second-most attended event – the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is first with more than 170,000 spectators.
Seventy-six percent of pride’s revelers visit from outside Long Beach and one more 13 percent are from outside California. The event also draws travelers from Norway, Australia, London also Switzerland, Macias said.
Long Beach Pride also is an economic engine for the city, generating about $10 million of direct spend to Long Beach and over $20 million to the regional economy, according to a Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride Festival Economic shock Study statement.
Road closures are on the way for the big event. For the festival, Shoreline Drive from Shoreline Village Drive east to Ocean Boulevard will close up at 7 p.m. Friday and reopen at 8 a.m. Monday.
The westbound lanes of Shoreline Drive from Ocean Boulevard to Shoreline Village Drive will close at 9 a.m. Friday and reopen at 8 a.m. Monday.
