Stonewall 50th Anniversary Block Party @ TBWA\Chiat\Day

1. Drag queen Billy L’Amour dances with strategically placed feathers

2. The advertising community enjoys music and performances at the TBWA\Chiat\Day offices

3. Billy L’Amour performs as Marilyn Monroe with a fog machine

4. Deutsch designer Jeremy Gozzip celebrates with a cocktail and a fan

5. A boy toddles past a classic car decorated with rainbow flags

6. Billy L’Amour uses her gloves to entice a young man

To celebrate LGBT Pride Month and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, five local advertising agencies — TBWA\Chiat\Day, 72andSunny, R/GA, Media Arts Lab and Deutsch —  joined together for a block party that focused on the theme “Thanks for Coming Out.”

The tunnel from the iconic yellow gatehouse into the TBWA\Chiat\Day offices was painted with a rainbow and lined with photos and information about numerous unsung heroes from the queer movement. More than 300 people from the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the Greater Los Angeles advertising community attended. Performances from sassy local drag queens entertained the crowd as they sipped cocktails and ate burgers from the In-N-Out food truck.

“We think it’s important to harken back to the history of the movement and try to educate folks about people we might not know, but we’re standing on their shoulders thanks to their activism,” said Jeremy Gozzip, a junior designer at Deutsch and one of the event’s organizers.  

— Shanee Edwards