Michele StuevenThe 55th Annual Pride Parade takes place on Sunday, June 8, between and including Highland Ave. and Cahuenga Blvd. The party continues next to the parade route with Pride Village, a free street festival featuring a music stage, community stage, two full-service bars, more than 80 vendors and exhibitors, and dozens of food trucks and stalls.
Gearing up for and gearing down from the parade, here are some sweet ideas to celebrate Pride in June.
The Maybourne Beverly Hills will feature a cocktail recipe for June, with a portion of the proceeds going to an LGBT charity, the Human Rights Campaign. The drink will be made with Cincoro Tequila, which is owned by Michael Jordan, Jeanie Buss, Serena Williams, and other notable sports personalities.
Additionally, the hotel is also launching some great deals in Beverly Hills for summer. One is their new Golden Hour program. Hotel guests and locals alike can enjoy 50% off all food and drink menu items Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. They also offer one of the most affordable happy hours, featuring $10 martinis at Dante, the award-winning bar inside the hotel.
Here’s mixologist guru Paul Zahn’s recipe for the Strawberry Basil Margarita drink of the month at the Maybourne with step-by-step instructions.
1.5 oz. Cincoro Blanco Tequila
Muddled strawberries and basil
0.75 oz. Fresh lime juice
0.50 oz. agave
0.50 oz. Cointreau
Courtesy Pressed Juicery
For Pride Month this year, Pressed Juicery has teamed up with our favorite drag queen and TV star Trixie Mattel to release a limited-edition bottle of their fan-favorite Hydration+ Dragonfruit juice A portion of proceeds will benefit the LA LGBT Center, which continues to provide essential health, housing, and social services to the LGBTQ+ community in LA and beyond. It’s available in stores and at Pressed.com through the end of the month.
From starting on Friday, June 6 until the end of the month, Veggie Grill by Next Level is celebrating Pride Month with its brand-new Peachy Passion Pride Smoothie. This sweet concoction blends passion fruit and organic peaches with organic coconut milk, orange juice, organic agave, vegan collagen, and antioxidant-rich goji berry, rosehip, and pomegranate. Veggie Grill by Next Level will also donate to local LGBTQ+ organizations chosen specifically by Veggie Grill team members.
Maeve, the chocolate brand spreading joy and social good through delicious sweets, dropped the ‘Maeve Loves You’ Pride Box to celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, packed with meltaway bonbons in eight flavors like birthday cake, blackberry bramble, peanut butter, salty toffee, and more. Ten percent of net profits from the Maeve Loves You box will support The Trevor Project, a nonprofit dedicated to mental health within the LGBTQIA+ community.
Get a stack of Rainbow cookies with four moist layers of Italian sponge cake and raspberry jam covered in chocolate for the perfect tea party at home at the N.Y.B.D Bakery.
Italian Rainbow cookies (Courtesy N.Y.B.D. Bakery)
The Garland has a history of embracing individuality and self-expression. Owned by actress Beverly Garland’s youngest son, James Crank, and his husband, Scott Elliot, the hotel has always served as a safe harbor for its LGBTQ employees and is proud to have a staff representing the community.
This June, The Garland celebrates Pride with a vibrant lineup of rainbow-inspired cocktails, with 15% of proceeds from each featured drink being donated to The Trevor Project.
The full cocktail lineup will be available throughout the month during the hotel’s weekly “Good Times in The Tangerine Room” event at The Front Yard’s new intimate space, The Tangerine Room. The iconic Ruby Slipper cocktail will be available at The Front Yard and the Lobby Bar daily.
The colorful lineup of sips includes:
Ruby Slipper (red): Featuring 818 Blanco Tequila, Combier, Chambord, fresh raspberries, lime juice, edible glitter, and garnish of a lemon twist – available daily at The Front Yard and Lobby Bar
Soul Train Spritz (orange): Complete with Aperol, Sprinter Peach, peach juice, and fresh peach slice garnish
Mellow Queen (yellow): With 818 Blanco Tequila, lemon juice, passion fruit juice, mint, firewater bitters, and garnished with a mint sprig and lime wheel
Disco Nap (green): Featuring 818 Blanco Tequila, Midori, Cointreau, lemon juice, and melon ball garnish
Blue Boy (blue): With 818 Reposado Tequila, lime juice, Sprite, blue curaçao, mint, and mint sprig + lemon or lime twist garnish
Lavender Menace (purple): Boasting 818 Reposado Tequila, lime juice, prickly pear juice, lavender syrup, and fresh lavender sprig
Pride cocktails (Courtesy The Garland)