With colorful umbrellas raised high in the sky and bubbles flying through the air, the 43rd annual Long Beach Pride Parade brought people together to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community Sunday morning.
Unlike past parades, there was no festival accompanying it. On Friday afternoon, the City of Long Beach cancelled the Long Beach Pride Festival, claiming the event’s organizers failed to submit the required application materials for permit review, resulting in a cease-and-desist letter and conflicting statements from Long Beach Pride and the City.
Even with the festival cancellation, the Long Beach Pride Parade went on as scheduled.
There was still plenty of jubilation, with hundreds of people lining up on the Ocean Boulevard sidewalks.
This year’s Long Beach Pride theme, “Fearless and Free,” focused on honoring the centuries-long history of resilience with the goal of the parade showing that standing fearlessly in love is the ultimate path to freedom.
The spirit of freedom was visible in the outfits and the emotions on display from parade participants and attendees.
Dancing, laughing and crying tears of joy — the Long Beach Pride Parade allowed everyone to let go for a few hours on a cloudy morning and just be themselves.
Samuel Chacko
Photojournalist
Samuel Chacko is an award-winning photojournalist from Long Beach, California. Samuel currently works as a freelance journalist for multiple publications and he is a class of 2025 Cal State Long Beach graduate. Samuel loves watching sports (the Ravens and the Yankees) and taking photos.
Check out more of Samuel’s work here: https://samuelchacko.com/
