Celebs Join The Celebration At LA Pride Parade, Nation's Biggest!

L.A. Pride has been a symbol of equality and inclusion for the LGBTQ community for almost five decades and is one of the largest LGBTQ events of the nation.

Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of festival-goers turned out for the three-day event in West Hollywood, along Santa Monica Boulevard in WeHo between Fairfax and Doheny. Many celebrities, including Ryan O’Connell, Meghan Trainor, Lisa Vanderpump and Paula Abdul among others were also a part of it.

Ryan O’Connell was one of The Grand Marshals at LA Pride, he is an actor, writer, and producer and can currently be seen starring in SPECIAL, an eight-episode short-form series on Netflix, which he wrote and executive produced.

For some, it was a platform to talk about the condition of the LGBTQ community in the US. Jay Gendron, a professor at Southwestern Law School who lives in Manhattan Beach and identifies as a gay man, raised concerns about Trump administration banning transgender people from serving in the military. Supporting the LGBTQ movement “In a way it means resistance,” he told LA Times about the parade.

For others, it was a way to show that they cared. “For me, personally, it’s not about being gay, it’s just about being here and supporting the other people’s decisions,” Nickn[last name not given] who was there with his mom told CBS Local.

Also present at the event was The Gay Freedom Band Of Los Angeles. It was founded in 1978 to lead the annual Gay Pride Parade and its mission is to bring together the diverse communities of Southern California (including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight) through education, rehearsal and performance of music and other performing arts.

The LA Pride Parade was a colorful event with music, rainbows, and bubbles. Elected officials also participated in the parade, including L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, followed on foot by dozens of officers from local law enforcement agencies.

Gary Gerber, 67, observed the parade near the beginning of the route. A longtime L.A. resident, he said it’s been gratifying to see the event evolve over the decades. “We’ve come a long way, and I hope this shows the rest of the country what can be done and which way the country is headed,” he said, reports LA Times. “This is the direction we’re headed, and there’s no stopping it.” One of the attendees and CEO of LGBT centre, Laurie Jean told ABC7, "We are celebrating 50 years of service but we are looking forward to 50 more and we are not only celebrating or pride, but we're also sending a message: Our community is not going back into the closet ... We are not gonna stop until equality is ours."

The Pride movement has come a long way in the last few decades and there is still a long way to go. There have been many Pride Parades across the nation in the Pride Month but this one was one of the largest this year with the participation of Demi Lovato, Meghan Trainor, CupcakKe, Years & Years and Ashanti Amara La Negra, MNEK, Dej Loaf, and Paula Abdul headlining a free Friday night concert.