Drag queens, Drew Carey and Eric Garcetti will be among the thousands turning out Sunday for the 33rd annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles downtown Los Angeles.
The walk of 10 kilometers will raise funds to battle the dread disease, and it will begin at 10 a.m. in Grand Park.
The opening ceremony will begin at 9:15 a.m. and include speeches by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, and Councilman Jose Huizar about the AIDS and HIV crisis in Los Angeles County.
“The Price is Right” host Drew Carey, television personality Carson Kressley, singer Frenchie Davis, “How to Get Away with Murder” cast member Conrad Ricamora and actor A.J. Shively are also scheduled to attend the opening ceremony.
Post-walk festivities will begin at noon at Grand Park. The “Downtown Divas of Drag Show” will start at 1:15 p.m. It features Raja Gemini, Bob the Drag Queen, Milk, Naomi Smalls and India Ferrah from the VH1 competition series “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” There will also be music, dancing and food trucks.
The proceeds from the walk benefit APLA Health, which provides food, housing support, benefits counseling and more for people living with and affected by AIDS and the human immunodeficiency virus which causes AIDS, and primary medical, dental, and mental health care and HIV prevention services focused on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and other underserved communities.
AIDS Walk Los Angeles was the world’s first fundraising walk to benefit organizations dealing with AIDS. The inaugural walk in 1985 began at Paramount Pictures, then moved to West Hollywood because of security concerns following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It was first held in downtown Los Angeles last year.
Since its inception, the walk has raised more than $84 million, including more than $2 million last year, according to Ben Fordham, the walk’s director of communications.
—City News Service