The Californer - Official City of Long Beach Statement Regarding the Events this Weekend in Long Beach to Celebrate Pride

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~ Long Beach, California - This weekend, the City of Long Beach is bustling with excitement as it celebrates Pride and the LGBTQ+ community. The highly anticipated Pride Parade, which boasts a record-breaking 141 entries, will take place as planned and is expected to be the biggest in the city's history. In addition, many local bars, restaurants, and businesses will be fully activated to join in on the festivities. To accommodate the influx of visitors, the city has also permitted five special events to activate additional spaces. For a comprehensive list of all the events happening this weekend in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, visit visitlongbeach.com/events/annual-events/long-beach-pride. This website will be updated throughout the weekend to provide up-to-date information.

The city is encouraging everyone to have fun and celebrate safely during this joyous occasion. However, there is one event that will not be able to take place this year - the Long Beach Pride Festival. According to a press release issued by the city's Special Events team, sufficient information has not been made available by the event organizers for them to safely permit the event.

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To ensure that those who were planning on attending the festival still have options for celebrating in Long Beach, additional transit options will be added to connect downtown locations to Bixby Park area. More details about these transit options can be found at VisitLongBeach.com.

The Pride Festival has been an annual tradition in Long Beach for many years and is organized by Long Beach Pride - a private organization. While the city now manages and funds the Pride Parade, they do not have control over the festival which remains an independently organized and ticketed event. In order for it to be permitted, detailed operational plans must be submitted along with construction and public safety plans.

Despite working closely with Long Beach Pride over several months and providing multiple deadline notices, the city did not receive all necessary documentation needed for safety reviews and inspections. This includes critical event infrastructure such as the stage, electrical systems, and emergency exiting plans. With the festival scheduled to begin today, May 15th at 5 p.m., and essential information still outstanding, the city has determined that there is not enough time to safely permit the event this year.

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The city shared this decision with Long Beach Pride on Thursday, May 14th and continued to work with them on the possibility of a shortened event this weekend. However, despite expedited efforts, the organization was unable to provide all necessary documentation for safety reviews and inspections. As a result, the city has directed the event organizers to not continue with their event.

Businesses that obtained special business licenses and other necessary health permits to be a part of the festival will receive a full refund from the city. The city will be reaching out directly to these impacted businesses and organizations. For any questions related to the event, including ticket refunds, vendor participation fees, and sponsorship information, please contact Long Beach Pride at 562.987.9191.

While it is unfortunate that the Pride Festival will not be taking place this year in Long Beach, there are still plenty of opportunities for everyone to celebrate Pride and support the LGBTQ+ community in a safe manner. The city remains committed to promoting inclusivity and diversity within its community and looks forward to hosting future Pride events in years to come.

Filed Under: Government, City

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