{"id":7318,"date":"2026-05-18T04:04:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T04:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7318"},"modified":"2026-05-18T04:04:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T04:04:02","slug":"thousands-celebrate-community-love-at-43rd-annual-long-beach-pride-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7318","title":{"rendered":"Thousands celebrate community, love at 43rd annual Long Beach Pride Parade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of people lined city streets in the downtown area on Sunday, May 17, 2026 for the annual Long Beach Pride Parade with Pride flags, colorful fans, glittery outfits and bubbles part of the celebration.<\/p>

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This year\u2019s parade once again began with the group Dykes on Bikes leading the way down Ocean Boulevard on their motorcycles, with the Port of Long Beach float and more than 100 others following right behind. People cheered, waved and showed their enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

For more than four decades, the Long Beach Pride Parade has been a staple of the city and region, bringing together friends, families, neighbors and chosen families, among others, to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

Brian Griffen, 46, from Los Angeles, is a regular attendee of the parade and recommended others in the area to check it out. Griffen said he was excited to see the Metropolitan Transportation Authority\u2019s float and get a free Metro TAP card.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite part is seeing everyone, and being extremely friendly to each other,\u201d he said, \u201cand it feels like we\u2019re all family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Long Beach Pride Parade\u2019s origin, like most Pride parades, began during a time when neither the city nor the nation at large offered LGBTQ+ communities any cultural, political, medical or legal acceptance. Over the years, the parade has grown and become a commercially successful \u2013 and more family-friendly \u2013 celebration as LGBTQ+ communities have gained more acceptance.<\/p>\n

Pride celebrations, however, have also become politically significant once again. In recent years, there has been an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, violence and legislation nationwide.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, attendees said this year\u2019s parade continues to be a way to show both pride and resistance, and to learn about groups and organizations that support LGBTQ+ communities.<\/p>

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\u201cThere\u2019s this turmoil in the world right now that this kind of event is really important,\u201d said Redondo Beach resident Mitsy Gottsch. \u201cIt\u2019s important to show up, now more than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n