Christopher Street West Association Announces Grand Marshals And Details For 2023 LA PRIDE PARADE & VILLAGE 

Today, Christopher Street West Association (CSW) - the 501(c)3 nonprofit that has produced the iconic LA Pride celebration for more than 50 years - announces its trio of grand marshals to be celebrated at the LA Pride Parade on Sunday, June 11 taking place at its original historic location in Hollywood.

This year's LA Pride Parade grand marshals include comedian, actor and activist Margaret Cho as the Icon Grand Marshal, an individual who needs no introduction and achieved major milestones within their career and industry; a posthumous tribute to Emmy-winner Leslie Jordan as the Legacy Grand Marshal, a new title this year in honor of Jordan for his everlasting impact on the community; and the ACLU of Southern California, that helped CSW obtain the permit for the first LA Pride parade, as the Community Grand Marshal, which celebrates a group or individual who has had a powerful influence through their work and dedication to and for the LGBTQ community.

"I'm thrilled and incredibly honored to be the Icon Grand Marshal," said Cho. "We need this Pride more than ever. I have been attending Pride celebrations since 1978 and this time around the need to celebrate as well as unite is more urgent than it has ever been. Our love is greater than their hate.

"On behalf of Leslie Jordan, we are overjoyed by Christopher Street West's heartfelt recognition to name Leslie as LA Pride's Legacy Grand Marshal," said Jana "Cricket" Jordan. "This honor further solidifies the positive impact he made in the world, but more importantly for the LGBTQ+ community. His spirit continues to bring love and light."

"For a century, we've been on the front lines fighting for people to be their true, authentic selves," said Hector Villagra, executive director of the ACLU SoCal. "We're honored to be the Community Grand Marshal and proud to love, live among, and protect LGBTQ Californians."

"Christopher Street West is honored and humbled by this year's three grand marshals," said Gerald Garth, president of CSW. "Each have contributed to the LGBTQ+ community in their own unique ways, furthering our fight for acceptance, equality, and justice."

Multi-hyphenate artisan and activist Margaret Cho is a five-time GRAMMY and Emmy nominee. Cho staunchly supports the causes that are important to her: anti-racism, anti-bullying, gay rights, all while fulfilling her successful creative side with a legendary stand-up career that has yielded 10-plus comedy tours. Her recent television appearances include Season 2 of The Flight Attendant (HBO Max), Season 2 of Hacks (HBO Max), and two Netflix is a Joke comedy specials: Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration and Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin: Ladies Night Live. Her most recent feature film role includes the well-reviewed Fire Island.

Leslie Jordan was one of the most consistently recognizable faces in popular entertainment. His journey towards stardom provided one of the quirkier, impressive, and varied career trajectories of the past few decades. Through it all, Jordan remained constant, relevant and - above all - funny! His ability to take it all in stride kept him moving onward, upward but never straight. Jordan received an Emmy in 2006 for his role in Will & Grace and was most recently seen on Fox's comedy series "Call Me Kat". He conquered the international stage and remained an in-demand mainstay as a performer, voice-over artist, fundraiser, spokesperson, out artist, equal rights activist, and all-around Southern Baptist celebutante.

The ACLU Foundation of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) works to defend the civil liberties of all people as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights through litigation, policy advocacy, media advocacy, and organizing. Founded in 1923, the ACLU SoCal is one of the largest affiliates in the country with over 100 staff members across the southland. For 100 years, the ACLU SoCal has fought to expand and protect the civil rights of all people - women, youth, people of color, LGBTQ people, immigrants and refugees, members of minority religions, disabled people, people experiencing poverty or houselessness, and people who are incarcerated. In 1970, the ACLU SoCal joined CSW in a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Commissioner to obtain a parade permit to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York City. The case was won in California Supreme Court, enabling CSW to hold the first permitted gay parade in the world.

The parade, which will feature a special drag performance presented by the ACLU SoCal and staged by Morgan McMichaels to music by 14-time Oscar nominee Diane Warren, will air LIVE on long-time LA Pride broadcasting partner KABC/ABC7 on Sunday, June 11 beginning at 11:00 a.m. PDT. It will also air nationally on ABC News Live and Hulu, and wherever viewers stream ABC7 including abc7.com and the ABC7LA mobile app. Anchor Ellen Leyva and reporter Christiane Cordero from ABC7 Eyewitness News will co-host the ABC7 broadcast. The parade route will begin at Sunset Blvd and Highland Ave heading north, then east onto Hollywood Blvd, then south onto Cahuenga Blvd, ending at Sunset Blvd and Cahuenga Blvd.

This year's LA Pride Parade partners include our Icon Sponsors: Corona Extra, Corona Hard Seltzer and SVEDKA Vodka: Hero Sponsors: Toyota Mirai, TikTok and H&M; Activist Sponsors: Delta Air Lines - the Official Airline of LA Pride, The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) - Official Transit Partner of LA Pride, Glamazon, Kim Crawford Wines, L.A. Care Health Plan, Los Angeles Tourism, Nordstrom, Optum, Sony Pictures Entertainment; Advocate Sponsors: AEG, including the LA Kings, LA Galaxy, and AEG Presents, Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions, Coca-Cola, Grindr, Honda, LADWP, LVMH, Rare Beauty, UCLA Health, Warner Bros. Discovery and Kenvue CARE WITH PRIDEⓇ; Ally Sponsors: Activision Blizzard, the Dream Hollywood hotel, FOX Pride, Moxy/AC Marriott, NBCUniversal, Target, Tiffany & Co., as well as returning television and digital broadcast partner ABC7, and official radio partner iHeartMedia Los Angeles and PRIDE RADIO on the iHeartRadio app. A&CO (www.aubryandco.com) serves as LA Pride's official partnership agency of record.

Additionally, The Hollywood Partnership, the non-profit organization that oversees the public realm in the Hollywood Business Improvement District (BID), has once again partnered with LA Pride to bring the LA Pride Village back to Hollywood Blvd. LA Pride Village is the official place to be after the LA Pride Parade, with festivities taking place from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., just steps from the official parade route. When the iconic LA Pride Parade returned home to Hollywood Blvd last year after more than four decades, it prompted the start of new traditions and celebrations in Hollywood, including LA Pride Village, a free and open to the public street festival. The second annual LA Pride Village celebration promises to be even bigger and better, with a new location on Hollywood Blvd, between Vine St. and Gower St., to make room for more booths featuring local vendors and non-profits, an expanded beer garden, delicious food trucks, two performance stages for twice the entertainment, and more comfortable crowd space for dancing. All details can be found here: https://lapridevillage.com/do/la-pride-2023.

Public transit and ride share services to LA Pride Parade and Village are strongly encouraged. For the Parade, connect to the L.A. Metro B (Red) Line and exit Hollywood/Highland or Hollywood/Vine Station. Metro has many Park & Ride lots servicing the county - parking is just $3.00 per day, payable onsite. If self-driving to LA Pride Parade and Village, vehicles can access parking and the event site via Vine Street or Gower Street. For additional information about parking and transportation, please visit https://lapridevillage.com/about/parking-and-transit.

Christopher Street West Association (CSW), a 501(c)3 nonprofit, organized the world's first permitted parade advocating for gay rights on June 28, 1970, to commemorate the Stonewall Rebellion on Christopher Street in New York City the year prior. Over 50 years later, CSW remains an active voice for the LGBTQ+ community of Greater Los Angeles. While best known for producing the iconic LA Pride Parade celebration & Pride in the Park (the largest Pride music event in the country), they also organize, sponsor or support community events throughout the year, and work with their nonprofit, philanthropic, and community partners to further diversity, equity, and inclusion. Visit lapride.org for more information and follow @lapride on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.

The Hollywood Partnership is a non-profit organization established to manage the Hollywood Entertainment District Property Based-Business Improvement District (HED BID). In 2018, the HED BID was renewed for a period of ten years and its geographic area stretches along the world-famous Walk of Fame and spans historic Hollywood Boulevard, from the La Brea Avenue Gateway on the west, through the iconic Sunset Boulevard, to the Hollywood 101 Freeway on the east. Many of Hollywood's famous landmarks are located in the HED - the epicenter of the entertainment capital of the world and birthplace of the movie industry. For more information, visit http://www.hollywoodpartnership.com.

An affiliate of The Hollywood Partnership (THP), the Hollywood Partnership Community Trust (HPCT) is a non-profit organization that secures additional funding for projects and programs designed to strengthen and benefit the Hollywood neighborhood. The HPCT enhances the public experience in Hollywood by augmenting THP's valuable place management work through donor contributions, grants, sponsorships, service contracts and enterprise programs. Since its inception in 2022, HPCT has raised more than $1.5 Million from public and private partners to reinvest in clean and safe programs, beautification projects, economic development efforts and community events in the HED.

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