By Steve Valentine
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
From getting lei’d to going mile high, this year’s Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ Pride Festival did not disappoint.
The kick-off party on June 28 was a tribute to the late Lauri Carleton, a pillar of the community and a supporter of a myriad of causes, including LGBTQ+.
“Get Lei’d on the Beach” at the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa on Friday was the destination for diverse revelers the first night. Other local businesses also showed their support with dueling events at Cadillac Cowboy and Dogwood Tavern with DJ Jonny Cota’s “This Ain’t Texas” dance party.
Saturday started with the annual boat parade, a whimsical, colorful and joyful celebration on Lake Arrowhead, an original concept created by Wesley Lynn and his husband, Matt Clevenger, that has grown and evolved into a beloved and highly anticipated event each year by the community.
The DJ and a dancer at the Mile Hill Club closing event.
Then all disembarked to Center Stage in Lake Arrowhead Village for DJ Ivory Onyx and celebrated drag queens Mayhem, Brynn Taylor, Pandora, Jewels and Jazmyn (several of whom are known from RuPaul’s Drag Race Emmy-Award winning TV show). Center Stage was lively with all ages dancing, having their faces painted and enjoying the theatrical two-hour long drag show.
The drag queens entertained for two hours at Center Stage. (Photos by Daniel Richard Bittner)
The last big evening event of the weekend was Saturday’s “Mile High Club” at the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa. Drag Queen Raja hosted guests as they arrived for a first-class experience greeted by flight attendant uniformed hosts. Guests could get a photo in front of a huge mural as if they were stepping onto the plane via aircraft boarding stairs. Inside the ballroom there was a huge dance floor, disco lights and tunes being spun by DJ Mundo.
For those who didn’t stay up all night dancing, they dragged (pun intended) themselves out of bed on Sunday to go to a drag style brunch, “Dragged Ashore,” at the Lake Arrowhead Brewery for a show with the queens who had opened the festival on Saturday.
Lake Arrowhead’s LGBTQ+’s safe space was created five years ago by Lynn and Clevenger after they befriended Daniel Richard Bittner and Christopher Cardinale and heard their stories of having been bullied and attacked on the mountain.
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