Pride festival kicks off in West Hollywood

Tens of thousands of people are expected to flood West Hollywood on Sunday for the annual L.A. Pride Parade, the culmination of a three-day celebration and music festival.

The festival celebrating the region’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community kicked off Friday with a musical lineup that features more than 40 artists, headlined by pop stars Charli XCX and Carly Rae Jepsen. Held in West Hollywood Park, festival hours are 2 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday and noon to 11 p.m. on Sunday.

Single-day tickets to the festival cost $30, and weekend tickets cost $55, according to the festival’s website. Tickets can be purchased online or at the entrance to the festival.

The Pride parade begins at 10:45 a.m. Sunday on Santa Monica Boulevard and is expected to end at 2 p.m. This year’s grand marshal is Jewel Thais-Williams, who owned the historic Catch One Disco until it closed last year and cofounded the Minority AIDS Project.

Past L.A. Pride festivals have attracted hundreds of thousands of people.

Many roads are closed in West Hollywood this weekend, and traffic is expected to be heavy on surrounding streets.

The city of West Hollywood is running a free shuttle service to help people get around and ease traffic, with multiple stops along a route that includes Hollywood and Highland at its easternmost point.

Between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Sunday, Santa Monica Boulevard will be closed between Fairfax Avenue and Doheny Drive; Crescent Heights Boulevard will be closed between Romaine Street and Fountain Avenue; Norton Avenue will be closed between Havenhurst Drive and Laurel Drive; and streets one block north and south of Santa Monica Boulevard between Fairfax and Doheny will also be closed.

Since Thursday, San Vicente Boulevard has been closed between Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard, and will not reopen until 10 a.m. Monday.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Follow @skarlamangla on Twitter for more health news.

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