By Timothy. Michael
Up early? Well help clean the beach with Venice Pride this morning.
In honor of Pride 2021 Heal the Bay and Venice Pride are organizing a beach cleanup called Venice Pride’s BIG Beach Cleanup.
On Saturday June 5th volunteers will meet at the Venice Pride Flag Lifeguard Tower north of the Skate Park at the end of Brooks Avenue at 8:30 a.m. All participants must register and sign a mandatory waiver.
Venice Pride’s BIG Beach Cleanup will be easy, fun and kick off the weekend with some excellent karma. It will be a great way to give back to the community given the “Thrive with Pride” theme for this year’s 2021 Pride. People are encouraged to get their family, friends or colleagues involved.
Cash is required if volunteers are planning to park in a parking lot (unfortunately there is no discounted parking). Street metered parking is also available and ride-sharing is encouraged.
Volunteers 12 and younger must be accompanied by an adult and volunteers under 18 must have a waiver signed by parent or guardian.
Venice Pride would also like to remind volunteers that they will be outside for 2-3 hours so wearing sunscreen is highly recommended. Beach weather can be unpredictably hot or cold, so dressing in layers is also recommended. They also encourage people to bring a filled reusable water bottle to stay hydrated (water is available at all cleanup sites), and to bring a snack.
According to Venice Pride’s website “Venice’s first Pride celebration took place on June 3, 2016, in an effort to protect an LGBTQ community at risk of extinction.
“A year later Venice Pride unveiled the Venice Pride Flag Lifeguard Tower, scored the first NFL team in history to sponsor an LGBT Pride event, promoted the opening of a new gay bar in Santa Monica, The Birdcage. Venice Pride’s biggest accomplishment was yet to come. In Fall 2017, Venice Pride announced amid much fanfare the return of Roosterfish. Made possible through a unique nonprofit partnership with the new operator, the beloved gathering place held its grand re-opening in June 2018 to coincide with the third annual Venice Pride.
“What began as a grassroots push to promote visibility and a renewed sense of community among Westside queer Angelenos each June is blossoming into a year-round organization with programming dedicated to saving lives through acceptance and diversity.”
Venice Pride is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives through acceptance and diversity.
Visit venicepride.org/cleanup to register.
