The parade and festival had a really fun vibe overall, with some highs and a few confusing parts…read more We got super lucky right from the start--and found a parking spot in the neighborhood near Orange Street and Anaheim St., which is where the parade began before heading toward Long Beach City College PCC campus. It also wasn't overly crowded where we were, which made it a lot less stressful. The parade itself had some beautiful moments. The Cambodian pride was sooooo contagious--it was honestly the highlight. There were so many stunning traditional outfits, traditional music, and dancers that made the parade feel special and meaningful. That said, there were quite a few gaps between 'floats' - or parade participants, and at times it things just stopped altogether. At one point, the gap made us think the parade ended, so we left and went to the festival. We actually walked the parade route and the more festive and crowded part was closer to LBCC. The festival was lively with lots of things to check out. There were tons of food vendors (though the lines were pretty long), along with booths offering services and others selling different things. They also had a stage with music and dancers, which kept the atmosphere fun, and even a bounce house for kids. Be careful walking around the neighborhood...on our walk back to the car, the neighborhood had several homeless and sketchy folks trying to talk to my friend and I...just be aware. Overall, even with the slow pace of the parade, the cultural pride, performances, and festival atmosphere made it a worthwhile experience. Just wish I could've grabbed some yummy food. I stood in line for a bit..but it didn't move...so we decided to grab lunch elsewhere.

The only other Tamale Fest I'd ever heard of was the city…read moreof Indio and I happened to find out about this one by accident when I was getting coffee one day. Placentia's tamale festival almost looks like a scene from a movie. If you park at the non existent train stop parking off of Crowther and walk across the bridge, you get the perfect view of the festival. The first year I went, there were tons of tamale stands and a few were offering samples of tamales and asking people to vote for them, that was in 2019. Post pandemic, I didn't see too many tamale stands this year and definitely no one handing out free samples. I ended up waiting in line for Tlaquepaque's tamales, out on the street, then a passerby said I could go inside the restaurant and it's much faster and you can get rice and beans as well. I ended up going inside the restaurant and the line indeed did move faster and I got a chicken and pork tamale to go. You could also order sides and other items as well to-go and you could see everything being made in front of you. I did visit the corner store for the strawberry tamales from Imperial Restaurant and Market and wish I knew they were selling tamales earlier. The strawberry tamales almost taste like cake and I love this particular sweet tamale and look for it at tamale festivals. Imperial Restaurant & Market's was so delicious and I wish I got more than 1! Outside there was a stage that had entertainment all night long from Native American dancers to Christmas Carolers to Mariachi Divas. There's round tables and chairs as well as high tables spread out on the street for people to sit and enjoy their tamales, but if you're not there early they usually go fast. There's also a big beer garden area and the streets are lined with food, craft and artisan vendors. There's more stores and restaurants on these streets as this is Old Town Placentia and most of those brick and mortar stores are open as well. It's a great time to visit Placentia and get a feel for what the city is like.

This was my first time hearing about the festival in Old Town Placentia, so my boyfriend and I…read moredecided to check it out last night. There were several tamale stands to choose from, but I recommend looking for signs that say "best voted" or checking out the stand with trophies displayed in front--you can't go wrong with those! Not a big fan of tamales? No problem! They also have birria, birria ramen, burritos, quesadillas, funnel cakes, and churros. It's like a mini fair, complete with a beer garden. Plus, several surrounding restaurants were open and selling tamales as well. The entire event is vibrant and festive. I highly recommend visiting this festival annually--it's definitely worth it!

Thanks to Natasha that my boyfriend and I had so much fun at this event! Scored myself a 3-days…read morepass, but I can only made it two days. Not sure what we have missed on Friday night, but Saturday and Sunday was awesome. It was a great experienced on both days, but would have been better if we can be able to go all three days. My boyfriend and I got there on Saturday around 5pm. Parkings there are not great at all. We went circling around the area for cheaper parkings like $5, but no luck; then we went to the place across from the Lagoon Rainbow Park. It's $1 per an hour, but way better than $15 for the parking structures. We rather save those parking fees for a food tasting at the event. We came back on Sunday around 7pm and this time we parked at the same place as on Saturday to save us some bucks for food....that's how we do it. When we got in, walked over to the Cinema Makeup School area for some free simple zombie makeup. Didn't know about the Long Beach Zombie Fest until this year. It was a very cool idea and very fun event. Great event opened out for just mainly focus on zombies of all kind and also good for family, kids, and friends; basically cool for all ages. So many people and kids have created their own creativities/arts on makeup and dressed up as zombies. It would so worth it to go for all three days because they have different bands and singers/artists performed each day in the evenings; more like different kind of fun with mazes, music, food vendors, and only cost $25 general admission fee included FREE souvenir E-Photo (which I forgot to claimed), great deal to me. Oh and children 12 and under are free. We were so dead tired on Sunday, but had a great time and very memorable event. Definitely look forward for another Long Beach Zombie Fest next year.

Zombie Glorified! If you love Zombies like me, you need to come to the Long Beach Zombie fest and…read moreZombie Walk! It's a smaller festival but it's fun to watch the others dressed up in costumes and masks. Some costumes and make up are really good and really gruesome. (check out my pictures attached) The Zombie fest has many booths of vendors selling their items, haunted maze, The escape bus, costume contest, dance contest, food trucks and alcohol. There are Tribute bands Bring cash if you can, some booths only accept cash or those that does accept credit cards, charge you a small fee to use your credit card. Cinema makeup school is the makeup provider for the Zombie Fest. You can get a simple zombie make up done for free or for $15 for a latex effect, and an additional charge for any kind of makeup makeover done the way you want. They have a free souvenir E-Photo Booth for everyone with all kinds of glory, scary props to use in your picture. This is awesome, what a great memory to have for this zombified event! Parking is $15 or you can park across the street for free or metered parking.

WEHO Pride 2026…read more Before Pride Month officially ends, I could NOT leave without giving WEHO Pride the review it deserves. Some experiences live rent free in your head... and this was one of them. This year was our second year walking with Project Angel Food and somehow it was even more magical than the first. I had the honor of leading the parade with my son (with my husband under the balloon), which meant we got to set the tone from the start--twirling PAF flags, dancing the entire route, hyping up the crowd, and enthusiastically yelling "HAPPY PRIDE!" approximately 500 times (and loving every second of it). As if that wasn't iconic enough, Kym Whitley and Caroline Rhea followed behind us in the car and the crowd absolutely LOST IT every time they rolled through. And can we talk about the KTLA anchors?! They brought amazing energy all day--especially Melvin Robert! We got to chat before the parade and immediately bonded over our matching yellow moment. Coincidence? I think not. One thing WEHO Pride always gets right is the energy. Everywhere you looked there were families, friends, allies, adorable pets, sunshine, rainbow disco vibes, and people genuinely celebrating and showing up for each other. There was laughter, music, dancing, joy, and so much LOVE in the air. WEHO Pride... you did it again!!! Five stars. No notes. Already mentally planning next year's outfit and counting down until year three with Project Angel Food. ‍

WeHo Pride, we're back!…read more And this year was stacked!! From the Out Loud Music Fest featuring Ava Max, Jade, the Pussycat Dolls, Baby Tate, so many greats... including Lizzo making a surprise appearance at the Abbey. Ya gurl comes through every year now! To the Street Fair and Festival itself and the rampant cheer of all things LGBTQIA2s+ and beyond :) As a queer black multi-ethnic, part indigenous, Two spirit individual (he/they) - the history and importance of pride thrives in me and others. From our victories to our struggles, our leather folks, our allies and so many people from all walks of life coming together to be unapologetically truthful to ourselves and in the moment. The Sunday parade is always a good time and as multi-year parade marcher with various orgs including the Leather Contingent of West Hollywood, the Imperial Court of Los Angeles and Hollywood, numerous non-profits and supporter of so many great brands and groups that stretch down Santa Monica Blvd is worth it every single year, but maybe in more sensible shoes then thick cut leather boots. Celebrating small and local businesses via vendors, food spots and the bar life is a must. Motherlode was the hot spot for the bulk of the post parade fun, but absolutely check out personal favorites like Gym Bar, Schmitty's, Trunks and others. Roosterfish we meet again, but a last your VIP unnecessary entrance we had to expel a, "Hard pass!" Music was amazing and hanging out with so many of my chosen fam, fellow leather titleholder siblings, and making plenty of new friends was the vibe and then some. Everyone singing, "Like A Prayer" remixed by Madonna is something that will stay with me for a very long time. And the Mel C. DJ set. Highly recommend a rideshare, LA Metro or carpooling as parking is beyond sparse during this weekend, especially the day of the parade. Portable restrooms throughout the start of the parade on Crescent Heights, all the way down to the Pavilions and Robertson Blvd. Q Tips: Keep an eye on your belongings Be respectful. Be happy Be you! Happy Pride :)

It was today! You missed it! I didn't!…read more But there's always next year...because this event is held annually, on Sunday, around the weekend before Halloween, in front of Lunada Bay Plaza (Via Anacapa & Yarmouth Road, adjacent to Palos Verdes Drive West). Signs are posted in Malaga Cove & Lunada Bay on PV Drive West before the event. The festival is small, mostly locals who walk there from home. If you drive, park on surrounding residential streets (free). Via Anacapa is shut down between the hardware store & Yarmouth Road for the festival. There's a concert in Lunada Bay Park, right in front of the plaza. The event is put on by Lunada Bay Homeowners Association for Lunada Bay residents but open to all. Leashed dogs apparently OK, I saw several (who didn't know quite what to think of the critters in the petting zoo). No charge for entry to the festival or concert but you might want to bring a pumpkin on wheels & register to enter the pumpkin race. Great fun! Pumpkins go every which way, rarely in a straight line. People chase their pumpkins down the hill on the practice runs to keep them from smashing into whatever's in their path. I saw one wipe out against a car tire. Adults were having at least as much fun as kids with those pumpkins. There was also a petting zoo, a climbing wall, food booths, balloon artist, face painting & more. Some kids wore their Halloween costumes. The owners of Lunada Market & Deli cooked up burgers, brats, corn on the cob, sides, all reasonably priced. Delicious cheeseburger with all the trimmings ($7)! I shoulda had two. I got sunburned watching the pumpkin races! They race in groups of 5, then the winners of each race compete, assuming their pumpkins survive the first round. Family fun at its finest. I wanna enter the pumpkin race next year! I'll borrow a neighbor kid to bring with me so I don't look stupid. In my Halloween costume....

The Fit Expo is an annual must for us in LA, but this year was very disappointing. It was poorly…read moreorganized, with people cutting lines, and the women at the booths lacked customer service skills. There were fewer booths this year.

This event could use some better planning. When you drive into the convention center, there's no…read moresignage telling you where thefitexpo is. You figure it out on your own and then realize you could have parked closer. They soak you for $30 on parking, too. Then you get in line and there is no one guiding the huge crowd. People are forming a looping line around the building. After 30 minutes of waiting, an employee came out and moved the line. She told us that "people without wristbands should hang a left" when they go through the glass doors. Actually, hanging a left brought you to checkins for martial arts shows. The second left brought you to thefitexpo checkin. So that miscommunication got the line all mixed up and people were confused and some waited in the wrong line. We figured it out and got in the right line, but we lost our place and were WAY further back now after waiting 1 hour outside. Aggravating, unprofessional experience. Only one appearance by one employee giving incorrect instructions to hundreds of people. Fortunately, a nice couple recognized us from outside and the woman called us over to get in line with them since she saw we lost our place. They were unhappy with the unorganized mess, too. My advice is to get serious about managing the crowd outside the event. You need way more employees guiding the crowds with accurate information. When you have hundreds of people at an event, this is not an appropriate time for self service, figure it out on your own stuff. I was annoyed before I entered the event. The event itself had some good and bad. There were lots of booths with free samples, which was good. It was a big crowd, but there was a lot of space on the floor, so that was good, as well. Plenty of bathrooms were available. Now for the bad...I wanted to see the powerlifting competition, the bodybuilding competition, strongman, and jiu-jitsu, but everything was going on all at the same time. The schedule they emailed me made it look like the shows were staggered. We had to go back and forth between powerlifting and bodybuilding missing parts of each. That was disappointing. They had photo opportunities with celebrities, which is very popular. We made the rounds and one thing I noticed was that Jay Cutler's booth handled this professionally. He had proper lighting and a woman there to take photos with your phone. I was very happy to have her do it instead of me because I was carrying bags and had to fumble around taking a photo with one hand. None of the other celebrities took it as seriously and didn't do this. They should all do it like Jay did. Elevate the sport and show your fans that you care. Jay impressed me by doing these simple things. I was a little frustrated by the fact that the event didn't seem well managed. There didn't seem to be a lot of celebrities there, either. At past events, celebrities were roaming all over the place. I guess it's changed.

Great way to interact and get knowledgeable on the city of Santa Monica. There was live…read moreperformances, Samba dancing instructors, food trucks, art, etc. Best of all, it was open to all for free! If you're interested in what's going on in the city of Santa Monica, ie; projects around the city such as the metro, etc this was a great way to speak to someone in the department. There was tents for every city department you can think of. Even Ford came out to promote their new hybrid and plug in cars. It was very interactive for kids, I saw a line with parents with their children waiting to get on the SM waste truck to experience what a garbage truck does. They setup dance floors for kids & adults to all dance with Samba instructors. Overall, I was truly impressed and genuinely had a good time. Even if you don't live in Santa Monica, it's still a fun and FREE event to attend next year!

Southern California's only LGBTQIA+ Comic Convention, located in Greater Los Angeles' West…read moreHollywood. Taking place at Plummer Park annual, typically during pride month, this queer and very inclusive convention brings together creators, creatives, vendors, small businesses, artist, actors, writers, illustrators, artist, comic enthusiasts, story tellers, local celebrities, cosplayers and then some! I've had the chance to get the full experience in my full on variant get up Fantastic Wolverine, claws out and cigar ready to be lit, but not permitted indoors for obvious reasons ;) ran into a lot cosplay friends and acquaintances - met Gui Agustini, the voice actor from X-Men 97's Sunspot, kind and beautiful both inside and out. Didn't realize I knew so many locals as at least five or more of my awesome creative pals were working their magic with their tables and booths nicely set between the Fiesta Hall on Vista St and the main recreation center on Santa Monica Blvd. The Fiesta Hall is also where the cosplay contest took place. I had just missed out of signing up, so maybe next year. Though I was really there to have fun, celebrity more of pride month, all things nerdy and geeky as well as support local and small businesses. I got quite a bit including a brand new Sunnydale High School drawstring from the Hellmouth Con area. My claws did a tiny number on it (on the way home, but it's still intact ;) Q Con ran from Noon until 6pm making it a full day, with discussion panels on a lot of great topics, with a lot of great people in the entertainment world, queer community, comic side and pro/top cosplayers. All the volunteers, security and even people were warm and friendly. A lot of people complemented my unique take and costume. Adorable kids were intrigues, very family friendly function. And I got a great pic with the one of the host Ember Vain (aka Dazzler) and her partner in crime, master of ceremonies Julian Jetson. Nothing but good times and good vibes. Hope it continues to grow and thrive, as I will continue to support whenever I can, in or out of uniform. "Where's my supersuit!?!"