L.A. Pride to Honor Gay Troops

Angelenos will get their Pride on this weekend with Johnny Weir, Margaret Cho and Sam Sparro, among other celebs.

The 41st annual LA Pride festival kicks off this Friday, June 10, in West Hollywood Park and concludes Sunday night. This year's festivities promise great entertainment with performances from Estelle and Macy Gray, and come after an eventful year for the LGBT community.

"This parade is about celebrating our accomplishments and talking about what's next," said Rodney Scott, board president for Christopher Street West, the non-profit organizer of the famous LA pride festival. "But it's also really an opportunity for so many of us to hold our lovers' hands in the streets. Still in 2011, in some places, the simple act of placing a photo of our partner or our lover on our desk at work could be subject to discrimination."

Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir will be grand marshal for Sunday's parade that is expected to draw 400,000 people to Santa Monica Boulevard. The skater turned designer turned television personality/author/recording artist is being honored for his status as an out athlete.

"He has the courage to be authentically himself in a sports environment," said Scott. "In the sports community, we still have challenges; look at what Kobe Bryant did by the [derogatory homophobic] statement he made to a referee."

Gay men and women still barred from serving openly in the military will be the Community Grand Marshal, but their vehicle will be empty because they still cannot come out. Instead, the honorees will be represented by photographs from Jeff Sheng's "don't ask, don't tell" collection.

"We're honoring them with our Community Grand Marshal knowing that they can't show up in uniform yet, but we're working towards that," said Scott.

Another public servant, corrections officer Andrew Johnson of Chino, filed a discrimination claim on Tuesday, June 7, alleging he was denied a request to march in the LA Pride parade in uniform.

Scott said the parade organizers are inspired by Johnson and would be honored to march with him.

Comedian Margaret Cho will be awarded the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of LGBT advocacy work. The tatted comic challenges identity stereotypes with a biting sense of humor in her stand up material.

"Her brand of comedy is truly about asking people to think about the world differently," said Scott. "We're thrilled that she's going to be one of our headliners on Sunday."

Bravo's Andy Cohen will also be honored for his inclusiveness of gays and lesbians in his popular reality and competition shows.

In light of last year's rash of suicides among queer youth, the festival's Outstanding Youth Award will honor teens and young adults in the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, which provides space spaces for LGBT youth in schools.

In addition to the parade; the festival will feature booths, more than 75 performers, kids activities, a running race and more. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will declare June LGBT Heritage month and the Dyke March will lead to the first-ever Purple Party, celebrating women, which will be attended by the cast of "The Real L Word."

"In spite of what keeps coming our way, in spite of people trying to push us back, we continue to move forward because the fact is, no civil rights movement in this country has ever failed," said Scott. "We will not fail. We will continue to push the conversation and visibility of our community."