The Downtown Long Beach Alliance (DLBA) is honoring Pride Month and the LGBTQ+ community with their virtual Taste of Downtown celebration Friday, June 25.
The two-hour live stream, hosted by award-winning drag entertainer Jewels, will feature LGBTQ-centric business tours, cooking demos, safe space discussions and more, culminating in a drag show finale by Jewels and The Brunchettes from Hamburger Mary’s.
“We are proud to continue supporting our local LGBTQ+ community as well as create programs that highlight the diverse business ecosystem in Downtown Long Beach,” Justine Nevarez, DLBA Special Projects Coordinator said in a statement. “It’s also super exciting to have the fabulous entertainer, philanthropist and drag queen extraordinaire Jewels as our guest host in what will no doubt be an engaging program. As COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease, we hope to bring back the popular in-person Taste of Downtown event at the appropriate time.”
To watch the free live stream on Facebook, click here. The program is from 6-8 p.m.
Program schedule is as follows:
- 6:00 – 6:10: Master of Ceremony by Jewels
- 6:10 – 6:20: LGBTQ+ supportive brands walkthrough by Hi-Lo Liquor Market
- 6:25 – 6:35: Salon Tour and LGBTQ+ safe space discussion by Den Salon
- 6:40 – 6:50: Long Beach bike share program and maintenance with Pedal Movement
- 6:55 – 7:05: Tour and cooking demo with L’Opera Ristorante
- 7:10 – 7:20: Pineapple fried rice and coconut panna cotta cooking demos by Thai District
- 7:25 – 7:35: Meet the LGBTQ+ Maker: Juan Martinez of PaiselyPRO with MADE & Elinor
- 7:40 – 7:50: Pride Lifeguard Tower Painting Tutorial with Brushstrokes + Beverages
- 7:50 – 8:00: Drag Show finale with Jewels and The Brunchettes
To the uninitiated, Taste of Downtown has been a popular, annual food and drink festival where locals could roam through lines of pop-up tents to sip and taste the offerings of dozens of local bars and restaurants in Long Beach. The celebration pivoted to an online platform at the outset of the pandemic.
