How To Celebrate Pride Month In The South Bay

MANHATTAN BEACH — Pride Month starts Sunday and continues through June, with several ways in the South Bay to participate in the celebration of LGBTQ culture, rights and identity.

Among them is the 5th Annual Hermosa Beach Pride Festival from Wednesday, June 11 to Sunday, June 15, featuring events such as a "pride run," kick-off party with music and games, silent disco and the "Slay By The Bay" Drag Show and Fundraiser.

Other events include:

• Shop For A Cause on Tuesday, June 17, in Manhattan Beach, where a percentage of all sales in the Downtown area will go towards the local PFLAG chapter. PFLAG is a non-profit that supports the LGBTQ+ community by building a culture of inclusiveness and equality.
• 5th Annual Pride Paddle and Lunch in Redondo Beach on Sunday, June 29. The event will start with a paddle at the harbor and end with a drag show lunch. Tickets are available here.
• The San Pedro Pride Festival on Saturday, July 12, features a "hand in hand" theme that symbolizes the power of connection and "speaks to the bonds we share," according to event organizers. It will feature a festival with a market and an after-party at El Principe Night Club. Tickets are available here.

Pride Month occurs during June in deference to the Stonewall Uprising, a tipping point in the struggle for equality among people who identify as LGBTQ. New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969. Such raids were common, but patrons fought back, resulting in days of violent clashes across Greenwich Village.

The observance started as Gay Pride Day on the last Sunday in June, but soon grew to the point that June calendars around the world became packed with Pride parades, parties, workshops, symposiums and concerts.