WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Pride is always on display on Santa Monica Boulevard, where Michael Che strolled down recently ahead of the Pride festivities. But no matter what time of year it is, “There’s always rainbows in West Hollywood,” he said.

Che is WeHo’s arts coordinator and for the past decade has been instrumental in putting together the 40 day long LGBTQ Arts Festival.

This year’s theme is “With Liberty, Diversity, Inclusion and Progress for All.”

“Pride is for everyone,” Che said. “We want to make sure everyone is welcome.”

To reinforce that message, the city recently repainted the famous rainbow crosswalks at San Vicente and Santa Monica boulevards.

“It has the inclusive pride colors, including the colors of the Trans flag, pink, blue, white, and then black and brown as well,” he said.

That is one of several changes this year. It is the first time Pride is back in person in WeHo since the pandemic.

It is also the first time the festival will take place in the newly remodeled West Hollywood Park, and it is the first time the newly branded WeHo Pride is being organized by the city.

LA Pride had been held in WeHo for decades, but in 2020, producer Christopher Street West announced they were moving the event east to Hollywood.

That parade and festival will be held next weekend.

However, Che does not see it as an either/or situation.

“There’s plenty of Prides all throughout the month happening in different cities throughout LA County,” he said. “We hope everyone just celebrates.”

So does Todd Barnes.

“I’ve got to put all this away,” he said, standing in front of a wall of seemingly endless cases of alcohol.

As the general manager of The Abbey and The Chapel, he is thrilled to see Pride happening in person again. It is the biggest time of year for the Abby, which has been in WeHo for as long as the city has existed.

He is not sure how the new schedule will affect the crowds, but he is stocking up to be ready for anything.

“We have both the WeHo Pride and then LA Pride so it might be split up in half or it might just be two big crazy weekends,” he said.

Either way, he thinks the community is ready to gather again, and not just to celebrate but to reflect.

“We look back on all the LGBT+ people that came before us and kind of paved the way and helped us to get where we are today,” he said.

Che believes members of the LGBTQ community have relatively more rights now than when he began organizing the arts festival a decade ago. 

“We never know when those will be taken away,” he warned.  

In 2022, a record number of anti-LGBTQ legislation was introduced around the country, many specifically targeting the Trans community.

Pride grew out of a protest and Che said the fight is not over.

“It’s a chance to remind ourselves how important protest is to show how many LGBTQ people there are and to show our solidarity,” he said.

With their own festival this year, he said West Hollywood has a chance to display exactly what the city stands for. It has always been what he called “an extremely progressive city.”  

A community that, like Sunday’s parade, plans to keep moving forward.