Pride On The Promende Sparks Joy In Laguna Beach

LAGUNA BEACH—Pride! 365 kicked off its Summer of Pride in Laguna over the weekend with a Friday happy hour, an all-day party Saturday on the Promenade, and a sold-out drag bingo brunch on Sunday at the Royal Hawaiian.

Forest Avenue was festooned with rainbow balloons, rainbow flags and rainbow-clad people and pets from noon to 10 p.m. It was a perfect summer Saturday, with sunny skies and a sweet breeze. Patch checked in around 3 p.m. to find that, yes, there was, indeed, dancing!

Kids were grooving to KX FM DJ Ed Steinfeld spinning tunes until 4 p.m., with the station's development director Jayne Herring in a sequined, rainbow tube-top dancing along with them.

In fact, the whole town was at full capacity, including the free trolleys on their first weekend out people-moving. Drivers had to leave would-be passengers waiting at their stops to hop on the next one.

The photo wall was in use nonstop, with strangers stepping in to take pics for revelers. Selfies just couldn't capture the expanse of colorful decor.

A group sporting hoodies printed with "FREE MOM HUGS" chatted near the Coast Highway entrance. Did anyone ask for a free hug? We didn't see anyone. Let us know if you got one.

In the early evening, the sounds of steel drums could be heard while a mermaid goddess blew bubbles to float with the music of Upstream. The duo hails from Trinidad & Tobago, and their repertoire of Calypso, Soca and Reggae made for a positive "West Indian Boogie."

As sunset neared, we spotted Eudora slip away. We're guessing to change into her Pride nighttime regalia?

Let us know how Pride on the Promenade lit up after dark!