Long Beach Pride

05/26/2026

🎬✨ A night of laughter, legacy, and iconic q***r cinema is coming to the city of Long Beach.

Join Long Beach Pride on June 8th for a special screening of aboard the legendary .

Grab your friends, bring your best dramatic entrance energy, and relive one of the most unforgettable LGBTQ+ films to ever hit the screen. From the iconic one-liners to the chaotic family moments we all quote, this is more than a movie night — it’s a celebration of q***r joy, culture, and community. 🌈🍿

Come laugh loud, connect with the community, and experience an unforgettable evening on the waterfront.

05/18/2026

The cancellation of the 2026 Long Beach Pride Festival Fundraiser was incredibly difficult for our community and for everyone who worked tirelessly to make the event possible.

Long Beach Pride extends our sincere apologies to our community, vendors, performers, sponsors, volunteers, ticket holders, and partners. We also reaffirm our commitment to transparency during this difficult moment.

Throughout the permitting process, Long Beach Pride remained engaged, continued submitting materials in good faith, and worked urgently to resolve issues through the final days.

We acknowledge the challenges that occurred, and we are reviewing what happened so we can improve our internal systems moving forward. However, we do not agree with any narrative that suggests Pride walked away from the community or failed to fight for the festival.

We are currently working with ticketing partners, vendors, sponsors, performers, and community partners to resolve the financial and logistical impacts of the cancellation. More updates will be shared soon.

Our priority now is to begin early planning for next year so our community never has to experience a disruption like this again.

We remain dedicated to our mission and look forward to serving the Long Beach community with renewed vigor, accountability, and love.

Read the full post here:
https://longbeachpride.com/long-beach-pride-provides-detailed-chronology-events-leading-to-the-2026-festival-fundraiser-cancellation-and-rejects-logistics-of-late-night-venue-offer/

Moving forward, Fearless and Free!

05/17/2026

Hi, this is Tonya Martin, President of Long Beach Pride.

It is heartbreaking to share that this is final: the City will not allow the Long Beach Pride Festival to move forward.

We truly believed we could find a path forward. For the past 24 to 40 hours, we worked in good faith, stayed at the table, and tried everything we could to reach a resolution with the City.

Unfortunately, that did not happen.

The Long Beach Pride Festival has been built by volunteers, sustained by love, and rooted in more than 40 years of visibility, safety, and belonging for our community.

We are heartbroken, but we are not going anywhere. The full truth will come out, and we will continue to be transparent with our community.

Thank you to everyone who called, shared, showed up, and stood with Pride.

05/16/2026

Thank you, Congressman Robert Garcia, for honoring the history, legacy, and impact of Long Beach Pride.

Long Beach Pride was founded in 1984 by Bob Crow, Marilyn Barlow, and Judith Doyle as both a celebration and a protest. For more than four decades, it has helped save lives, build community, create visibility, and give generations of LGBTQ+ people a place to feel welcomed, celebrated, and seen.

The cancellation of the festival just one day before thousands were set to gather was heartbreaking for our community. There are still many questions that deserve answers, and we believe those answers must come.

But one thing remains clear: Pride in Long Beach must continue.

Pride is more than a festival. It is the parade down Ocean Boulevard, the D**e March, local LGBTQ+ bars, community events, neighborhood celebrations, chosen family, and the people who keep showing up for one another.

We owe it to our elders, our founders, our volunteers, and future generations to keep Pride alive.

Happy Pride. We keep going.

05/16/2026

STAND WITH LONG BEACH PRIDE ‼️

05/16/2026

Long Beach Pride is deeply disappointed by the City’s decision to cancel the Long Beach Pride Festival, a long-standing community institution built by volunteers, sustained by love, and rooted in the belief that every person deserves to live openly, safely, and with dignity.

For more than four decades, Long Beach Pride has stood as a symbol of visibility, resilience, and belonging. Founded by community members who understood the urgent need for LGBTQ+ representation and solidarity, Long Beach Pride has grown into one of California’s most significant Pride celebrations. Today, it remains a 100% volunteer-run organization powered by people who give their time, labor, and heart to create a safe and affirming space for LGBTQ+ people, families, youth, elders, allies, and the broader Long Beach community.

This decision comes at a moment when LGBTQ+ people are facing escalating attacks from the current federal administration and from political forces across the country. At a time when our community is being targeted and made vulnerable, Long Beach should be doing more to protect and uplift us, not taking away one of the most visible and meaningful expressions of inclusion our city has.

Long Beach has proudly held itself out as a national leader on LGBTQ+ equality. That promise must mean something in moments of pressure. Inclusion is not proven when it is easy. It is proven when leaders choose to stand with vulnerable communities when they need support the most.

Canceling Pride sends the wrong message. It tells LGBTQ+ residents, workers, students, small business owners, artists, families, visitors, and allies that their safety, visibility, and celebration are negotiable. It undermines decades of volunteer work and community trust. And it weakens the very values Long Beach claims to champion.

We call on the City of Long Beach to immediately engage in good faith with Long Beach Pride, community leaders, public safety partners, and elected officials to identify a path forward that preserves the festival and protects the community. We call on our Mayor Rex Richardson and the city council members to make the Pride Festival happen. We ask that our city leaders stand with

05/15/2026

Long Beach Pride is deeply disappointed by the City’s decision to cancel the Long Beach Pride Festival, a long-standing community institution built by volunteers, sustained by love, and rooted in the belief that every person deserves to live openly, safely, and with dignity.

For more than four decades, Long Beach Pride has stood as a symbol of visibility, resilience, and belonging. Founded by community members who understood the urgent need for LGBTQ+ representation and solidarity, Long Beach Pride has grown into one of California’s most significant Pride celebrations. Today, it remains a 100% volunteer-run organization powered by people who give their time, labor, and heart to create a safe and affirming space for LGBTQ+ people, families, youth, elders, allies, and the broader Long Beach community.

This decision comes at a moment when LGBTQ+ people are facing escalating attacks from the current federal administration and from political forces across the country. At a time when our community is being targeted and made vulnerable, Long Beach should be doing more to protect and uplift us, not taking away one of the most visible and meaningful expressions of inclusion our city has.

Long Beach has proudly held itself out as a national leader on LGBTQ+ equality. That promise must mean something in moments of pressure. Inclusion is not proven when it is easy. It is proven when leaders choose to stand with vulnerable communities when they need support the most.

Canceling Pride sends the wrong message. It tells LGBTQ+ residents, workers, students, small business owners, artists, families, visitors, and allies that their safety, visibility, and celebration are negotiable. It undermines decades of volunteer work and community trust. And it weakens the very values Long Beach claims to champion.

We call on the City of Long Beach to immediately engage in good faith with Long Beach Pride, community leaders, public safety partners, and elected officials to identify a path forward that preserves the festival and protects the community. We call on our Mayor Rex Richardson and the city council members to make the Pride Festival happen. We ask that our city leaders stand with the community at this critical moment and help ensure that Long Beach remains a beacon of equality, safety, and pride.

Long Beach Pride remains committed to visibility, advocacy, education, celebration, and community. We will continue to fight for a Long Beach where every person can be fearless, free, and fully themselves.

At this moment, we need leadership. We need inclusion. We need the City to stand with Pride, not cancel it.

Tonya Martin
President “L*z Prez”

05/15/2026

Pride Weekend starts with the next generation shining bright. 🌈✨ Teen Pride is all about creating a space where LGBTQ+ youth can show up as themselves, make memories, laugh loud, and feel celebrated by their community. From drag performances and bingo to music and nonstop good vibes, tonight is about being fearless, free, and unapologetically YOU.

Join us this evening from 5PM–9PM at Marina Green in Long Beach and help us kick off Long Beach Pride Weekend with love, visibility, and community. Look for the Teen Pride signs once you arrive on the grounds. 💖

Safe space. Strong voices. Bright futures.

05/15/2026

The stages are almost ready 🎶🌈

Long Beach Pride weekend officially begins this week, and the city is getting louder, brighter, and more colorful by the hour.

Start charging your phone, planning your fit, and texting your crew.

Pride weekend is almost here, and so is the Urban Soul Stage!

longbeachpride.com/tickets

05/15/2026

Our very own L*z Prez Tonya Martin and local drag favorite Jewels Long Beach hit NBC today to talk all things Long Beach Pride and give viewers a preview of the energy, community, and unforgettable moments coming to the waterfront this weekend.

From the performances to the celebration of being fearless and free, the excitement is officially in the air. Did you catch the interview? If not - check it out below 🌈

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/video/community/heres-what-long-beach-pride-has-in-store-for-this-weekend/3890615/

California Live’s Jessica Vilchis chats with LB Pride President, Tonya Martin and drag star, Jewels Long Beach to get the tea about this year’s “fearless & free” themed festival.