A Venice Beach lifeguard tower gets to keep its gay pride rainbow stripes after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to rescue it from getting repainted to the iconic blue. “We received 11,000 signatures on a petition from that area, saying no no, we love it, we’d really like to keep it,” said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who introduced the motion to let the stripes stand.
Sporting a large white mohawk, wearing a neon green tank top and carrying a purple, pink and blue sign bearing the words “Love is Love,” Dave Watt was all smiles. It was his first time leading New Orleans’ annual Southern Decadence parade, and he was spreading the message that anyone who has HIV should be allowed to live stigma-free. Watt, the leader of the HIV-awareness group Mr Friendly, said he landed the coveted spot in the parade because one of the grand marshals was so enthralled by his organization’s message.
Oakland’s first LGBTQ Community Center is scheduled to open on Sept. 7 on Lakeshore Avenue. The opening of the center comes just days before the Oakland LGBTQ Pride Parade & Festival on Sunday, Sept. 10, in Uptown.
Equal parts festival, parade, free concert and circuit party, Southern Decadence is New Orleans’ biggest LGBTQ event — and it’s getting bigger. This year, organizers expect the celebration to attract a record-breaking 250,000 people to the French Quarter during Labor Day weekend (Thursday, Aug. 31 to Monday, Sept. 4).
As soon as I entered Denver’s lesbian bar, Blush and Blu, I was made to feel very welcome. Although predominantly gay women, the bar is popular with the trans community and gay men who appreciate its welcoming vibe. “I am from Houston, Texas. I love this place; they make you feel at home,” Sandra Leal said when I was there earlier this month, before the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey hit Leal’s hometown. Echoed my bar-mate on the left, Alexander Hugg, “You become a regular very super early here.”
The first gay-pride information center has opened in Belgrade to disseminate information about gay-pride week and a pride parade that will be held on September 17. Organizers said the opening of the Pride Info Center on August 29 was a historic event, having “shifted the boundaries” in the conservative Balkan country.
Europe has a vast LGBTI history, as there are many superb destinations to visit to learn more about the progression of the community. We are therefore looking at the best city breaks filled with LGBTI history. Berlin, Germany Before the Third Reich came to power, Berlin was a liberal city that played host to various gay bars, cabarets and nightclubs. It was even the home of many drag bars, where both straight and gay people came to watch entertaining female impersonations.
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