L.A. is home to a vibrant LGBTQ community with a rich history in support and development of the group’s civil rights, and the annual LGBTQ Heritage Month each June begins on Saturday with the hugely popular LA Pride Festival in West Hollywood.
Although the month long celebrations are a huge drawcard each June, a series of case studies in the Second Global Report on LGBTQ Tourism by UNWTO and IGLTA, highlights “destinations that make great places to live for LGBT people, make great places for them to visit,” – like LA at any time of the year!
Outfest Los Angeles
Considered the preeminent LGBTQ film festival in the world and oldest film festival in L.A., 2019 Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival returns from July 18 to July 28 for 11 days of world-class films, panels and parties. Each summer Outfest Los Angeles screens more than 150 feature and short films to an audience more than 40,000 people at venues across the city like The Orpheum, and Ford Theatres.
Credit: Skirball Center
DTLA Proud
Now in its fourth year, DTLA Proud Festival returns to the heart of Downtown L.A. from August 23-25 in Pershing Square. A perfect itinerary addition to a late summer visit, the 3-day festival includes a diverse lineup of local stage talent, community booths, art installations, retail vendors, interactive exhibits, food trucks and a pop-up water park.
Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich exhibit
A must-see, the Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich exhibit at Skirball Cultural Center will present an in depth look at the ways in which the famed designer impacted fashion through his beliefs on gender identity, utilitarianism and body positivity. On view until September 1, 2019, the exhibition features more than eighty ensembles representing Gernreich’s vision of the future, brought to life in his Unisex Collection of 1970, in which he stripped away gender markers altogether. The section Unisex Solidarity will showcase garments that could be worn interchangeably by anyone, a revolutionary notion in gender fluidity and fashion at the time.
Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown
The “Summer of Love” campaign at Hotel Indigo is geared toward promoting LGBTQ friendly offerings and experiences around the hotel. Beginning in June and running through August, the package includesIndigo Blue Brunch, a weekly brunch menu with rainbow themed dishes and drinks where a portion of the proceeds are donated back to a to-be-determined LGBTQ charity, Practice for Pride, a weekly yoga event on the hotel’s pool deck, and Walk in our Shoes, a LGBTQ self-guided walking tour of DTLA.
For information on these and many more attractions, hotel packages and events in Los Angeles during LGBTQ Heritage Month in June and throughout the year visit discoverlosangeles.com
TOP IMAGE: DTLA PROUD/Thuc Win
