{"id":320594,"date":"2026-05-18T01:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T01:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/320594\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T01:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T01:00:09","slug":"long-beach-pride-parade-rages-on-after-festivals-shock-cancellation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/320594\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach Pride parade rages on after festival\u2019s shock cancellation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Undeterred by the shocking, last-minute cancellation<\/a> of the city\u2019s annual Pride Festival, Long Beach\u2019s Pride Parade roared forward Sunday.<\/p>\n

The event marched on along Ocean Blvd \u2014 kicking off at 10 a.m. as planned under this year\u2019s \u201cFearless and Free\u201d theme, celebrating resilience, authenticity, and equality \u2014 despite city officials pulling the plug on the 43rd annual Long Beach Pride Festival on Friday because of missing paperwork and inspection failures.<\/p>\n

City officials pulled the plug on the 43rd annual Long Beach Pride Festival on Friday over missing paperwork and inspection failures. Instagram\/@lbpride<\/p>\n

In response, city leaders sprang into action, transforming Bixby Park into a vibrant event with live music and a free drag show by Jewels of Long Beach to keep the Pride spirit alive from noon until evening.<\/p>\n

Xavier Becerra, who is currently campaigning to be the next Governor of California, walked in Sunday\u2019s parade. \u201cAs Attorney General, I fought to protect LGBTQ+ Californians from discrimination and attacks on trans youth and families \u2026 And as Governor, I\u2019ll keep standing up for equality, dignity, and the freedom for everyone to live openly and with pride,\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n

California Governor candidate Xavier Becerra walked in Sunday\u2019s parade. Xavier Becerra<\/p>\n

\u201cTo accommodate those coming into town,\u201d officials said, Long Beach added extra transit options linking downtown to Bixby Park while also encouraging visitors to support local bars, restaurants, and businesses.<\/p>\n

The 3-day-long festival typically draws up to 80,000 attendees.<\/p>\n

The 3-day-long festival typically draws up to 80,000 attendees. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are especially excited for the Long Beach Pride Parade,\u201d city officials said. \u201cThis cherished tradition brings joy to residents and visitors alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2024, the city has taken the reins of the parade from the volunteer-run Long Beach Pride group, which continues to oversee the festival and now faces growing scrutiny following the dramatic permit debacle.<\/p>\n

Officials recounted working late into Friday night and through the early hours of Saturday, racing against the clock to secure new venues after permit deadlines passed.<\/p>\n

Since 2024, the city has taken the reins of the parade from the volunteer-run Long Beach Pride group, which continues to oversee the festival and now faces growing scrutiny following the dramatic permit debacle. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the timeframe had passed to issue permits for the festival as it was originally envisioned,\u201d the city said, efforts continued to help organizers host \u201ca meaningful community gathering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with the festival\u2019s sudden shutdown, Long Beach\u2019s iconic Pride parade raged on, proving the city\u2019s celebration was unstoppable. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Organizers say they\u2019ll be back with a full festival next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Undeterred by the shocking, last-minute cancellation of the city\u2019s annual Pride Festival, Long Beach\u2019s Pride Parade roared forward…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,839,54503,131,133,132,4182,21730,21357,3145,3586],"class_list":["post-320594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-festivals","tag-gay-pride","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-metro","tag-parades","tag-permits","tag-pride","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320594","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=320594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}