DTLA Proud Festival hosts two weekend events and shines a spotlight on LGBTQ+ history
DTLA street banners will memorialize 'The Run,' an area for queer-friendly spaces back when homosexuality was still criminalized.
DOWNTOWN LA (KABC) -- The DTLA PROUD Festival is back this weekend with two special events and a spotlight on a historic district called "The Run."
"The Run" was known as a district of queer-friendly establishments spanning downtown Los Angeles from Pershing Square to Main Street back in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, during a time when homosexuality was still criminalized.
This weekend, a street banner campaign will be unveiled that celebrates the history and future of the LGBTQ+ scene in the area.
The banners will span thirteen city blocks in locations that mark historical (for example, the Biltmore Hotel Bar, Cooper Don-Nuts and Dover Hotel) and modern-day (Precinct, Redline and The New Jalisco Bar) significance for the community.
To kick off "The Run," there will be a 2-day block party, August 26 and 27 from noon to 6pm. Broadway will be closed between 3rd and 4th Streets to house a performance stage, art installations, arts and crafts tables, lawn games and more.
This event is open to the public and free of charge, and ABC7 is a proud sponsor.
The block party is scheduled in conjunction with DTLA PROUD's 8th annual Lovefest at Grand Park, August 25-27.
For more information, go to dtlaproud.org.
