Community Corner
Boystown Packed with Pride
Gay Pride 2012 is turning out to be a success with streets and sidewalks around Boystown packed. The rainbow crosswalks and the Lil' Kim concert have been big draws
Gay Pride weekend is underway, proving to be bigger and better than last year. The streets are crowded with people wearing rainbow colors and ready to party.
Traffic is heavy along Santa Monica Blvd. One person told Patch it took him 15 minutes to drive from La Cienega to San Vicente Boulevard.
The city’s freshly painted rainbow crosswalks at San Vicente and Santa Monica boulevards are causing a stir of enthusiasm. Several people told Patch they came to Boystown specifically to see the crosswalks in person.
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“I’ve never felt so excited as I did walking across that intersection,” said Sam Thomas of Hollywood. “They’re beautiful. This is brilliant! I’ll bet a dozen cities copy this by the end of the summer.”
Larry Block, owner of the Block Party clothing store, told Patch people have been snapping up all sorts of Pride related merchandise – t-shirts, hats, flags, wristbands, stickers, etc.
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“We’ve been packed all day,” said Block. “Today [Saturday] is looking to be even busier than yesterday and yesterday was the busiest day we’ve ever had. I can only imagine what tomorrow’s going to be like.”
At the Pride festival itself, a steady steam of people have passed through the gates. Officials don't have an exact figure at press time.
The water park area, a new addition to the festivities, is proving popular, giving people a chance to play in inflatable pools or slide down a Titanic shaped water slide.
“I needed to cool off, the sun was pretty intense this afternoon,” said Kenya Alonzo of Studio City. “The inflatable pool is awesome.”
Rapper Lil’ Kim was a big draw for the day, several people saying they came to the festival specifically to see her.
“I’ve skipped Pride the past few years,” said Brent Michael of West Hollywood. “But when I heard she was playing, I knew where I’d be on Saturday.”
When Lil’ Kim performed at 6 p.m., the area around that stage was packed, while the rest of the festival ground was nearly empty.
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