{"id":319938,"date":"2026-05-17T12:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T12:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/319938\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T12:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T12:05:07","slug":"long-beach-pride-feud-explodes-after-festival-cancellation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/319938\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach Pride feud explodes after festival cancellation"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of California\u2019s<\/a> largest and most storied Pride<\/a> celebrations unraveled in spectacular public fashion this weekend after the City of Long Beach abruptly canceled the annual Long Beach Pride Festival just hours before it was set to begin, igniting a bitter and public feud between city officials and LGBTQ<\/a>+ organizers over safety, politics<\/a>, and the future of Pride itself.<\/p>\n

The collapse of the festival in one of the country\u2019s most LGBTQ-friendly cities stunned community members across Southern California and quickly escalated beyond a logistical dispute into a fight over who gets to define and steward queer civic life at a moment when LGBTQ+ communities nationwide already feel politically cornered.<\/p>\n

Long Beach officials announced Friday evening that the three-day Pride Festival would not be permitted to proceed because organizers allegedly failed to provide the critical safety and operational documentation required for approval. The decision came less than an hour before Teen Pride festivities were scheduled to begin.<\/p>\n

The city-backed Pride parade, however, will continue Sunday as planned.<\/p>\n

For decades, Long Beach Pride has stood as one of the crown jewels of the national Pride calendar, drawing hundreds of thousands of attendees annually and serving as both a political gathering space and an economic engine for queer businesses, artists, and nonprofits.<\/p>\n

Then came the public blame campaign.<\/p>\n

Related: \u2018Gayest\u2019 Congressman Robert Garcia & Maine Gov. Janet Mills target Trump at LGBTQ+ leadership conference<\/a><\/p>\n

In a statement posted late Friday, Long Beach Pride President Tonya Martin, who goes by \u201cLez Prez,\u201d accused city leaders of abandoning LGBTQ+ residents during a dangerous political moment for queer Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cLong Beach Pride is deeply disappointed by the City\u2019s 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,\u201d Martin wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision comes at a moment when LGBTQ+ people are facing escalating attacks from the current federal administration and from political forces across the country,\u201d Martin wrote. \u201cAt a time when our community is being targeted and made vulnerable, Long Beach should be doing more to protect and uplift us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin also challenged Long Beach\u2019s progressive self-image.<\/p>\n

\u201cInclusion is not proven when it is easy,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIt is proven when leaders choose to stand with vulnerable communities when they need support the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

But by Saturday evening, the city had mounted an aggressive rebuttal.<\/p>\n

In a public statement, officials laid out a detailed account of what they described as repeated failures by organizers to provide required permitting materials. The city said completed applications for festivals of that size are typically due 65 days in advance, and that staff had continued working with organizers \u201cin the hours leading up to the scheduled start of the event\u201d to salvage the weekend.<\/p>\n

According to the city, organizers still had not submitted approved structural plans for the stages and trusses, approved electrical plans, detailed security plans, or sufficiently detailed site plans that identify critical infrastructure locations.<\/p>\n

Related: Getting personal with Robert Garcia, who\u2019s been leading the Democrats’ release of the Epstein files<\/a><\/p>\n

The city also disclosed that officials had attempted to rescue portions of the festival by offering alternative venues, including the Long Beach Terrace Theater and Bixby Park. Under those proposals, alcohol sales and fenced festival grounds would not have been permitted because of the compressed timeline, but city officials said events still could have gone forward.<\/p>\n

Mayor Rex Richardson even offered to privately raise up to $50,000 to support replacement programming, according to the city. Long Beach Pride declined the options, the city said.<\/p>\n

While Long Beach Pride historically operated both the parade and festival, the city repeatedly emphasized that it now directly funds and manages the parade after stepping in several years ago when organizers could no longer support its operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was originally intended as a one-time commitment to support the organization as it reorganized has now continued for a third consecutive year,\u201d the city said Saturday.<\/p>\n

Later, the city announced a replacement Pride event at Bixby Park with the name \u201cCanceled? Never Heard of Her!\u201d<\/p>\n

The free event on Sunday will feature DJs, drag performances, live music, and appearances from local performers, including Delta Work.<\/p>\n

\u201cLong Beach Pride weekend goes on. The spirit goes on,\u201d Richardson said in the announcement.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s Saturday evening statement notably contained no mention of reconciliation efforts with Long Beach Pride. Instead, officials highlighted replacement programming, additional transit services, public restroom installations, and city support for bars and restaurants handling increased crowds.<\/p>\n

Across the United States, Pride organizations are confronting rising security costs, political backlash, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, shrinking sponsorship dollars, and increasing operational burdens.<\/p>\n

Gay U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia<\/a>, a Democrat<\/a> and former Long Beach mayor who now represents the area in Congress, attempted to strike a more reflective tone.<\/p>\n

In a public statement, Garcia called the cancellation \u201cgut-wrenching\u201d and praised the festival\u2019s founders and volunteers for creating a movement that \u201csaved lives, launched political movements, and created space for millions to enjoy the diversity and strength of the Long Beach LGBTQ+ community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many outstanding questions about the festival that need to be answered,\u201d Garcia wrote.<\/p>\n

But he also urged residents not to let the festival’s collapse eclipse the broader meaning of Pride in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cPride is more than just a Festival,\u201d Garcia wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s an incredible parade down Ocean Boulevard, a Dyke March, protests, and countless parties.”<\/p>\n

Garcia added, “We owe it to our community elders to fight on and keep Pride alive.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of California\u2019s largest and most storied Pride celebrations unraveled in spectacular public fashion this weekend after the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319939,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,2434,131,133,132,121539,3145,12855,132982],"class_list":["post-319938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-lgbtq","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-long-beach-pride","tag-pride","tag-robert-garcia","tag-tonya-martin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}