All-day Pride events slated

Ribbon-cutting ceremony for LGBTQ+ lifeguard tower, music and art to be among festivities

An all-day LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration will take place in Hermosa Beach this coming weekend, the day after the lifeguard tower on 13th Street is expected to be completely painted in rainbow colors.

The celebration will run from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and will feature music, art, strolls on The Strand and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Pride Tower.

The tower is being temporarily painted rainbow colors to honor the LGBTQ community. A Hermosa Beach teen successfully pitched the idea to Los Angeles County after learning that Long Beach’s original Pride Tower burned down in March. Long Beach has since replaced its rainbow tower. Hermosa’s tower will be repainted its original color at the end of summer.

“Living in a town like Hermosa is a whole new world,” said Randy Renner, founder and owner of South Bay Social, a community group that helps foster creativity.

Renner is one of the coordinators and volunteers for the Pride celebration. He lives in Hermosa with his husband, Ty, and even though the couple has experienced hate here, Renner said, it’s nothing compared to the South, where he grew up and experienced a lot of firsthand hate for being gay.

“The ability to walk down to the pier hand in hand and see this Pride tower,” Renner said,

“is a beautiful reminder of the true support the majority of our neighbors really give us.”

A meet-and-greet will take place from 9-11 a.m. at the Bottle Inn, 26-22nd Street. A stroll on The Strand to the Pride Tower will take place at 11 a.m., followed by a celebration and ribbon cutting. That event is expected to end around noon.

The Pride celebration will continue at The Deck, 1272 The Strand, from noon to 3 p.m. A Pride party will also take place at Fox & Farrow (formerly Chelsea Pub and Lounge),1334 Hermosa Ave., from 4-8 p.m. The events at The Deck and Fox & Farrow are for those at least 21 years old.

Java Man, a coffee shop at 157 Pier Ave. will also take part in the festivities, with music and art from noon to 4 p.m.

For more information, go to HermosaOne.com/ pride.