“They told us, ‘I never thought I’d be back in this place. Some were so advanced in age that they hobbled into the venue with canes and walkers. The men say several guests cried at last year’s party at the revived Boom Boom Room, which closed in 2007. He joined radio personality Craig Cooley and Larry Ricci, who created the beloved Club Q senior social club, to create a Gay Pride event. It’s not what I thought it was anymore,’ ” he says. “But then I got here, and it was, ‘Oh, no. Three years ago, he finally accomplished a long-time dream-resettling with a family of his own in Laguna Beach, where he could feel comfortable surrounded by a nurturing LGBTQ community. Tebbutt grew up in Mission Viejo and left for New York. I’m still here.”īut at the opposite end of the bar, dropping by after his son’s football game, realtor Chris Tebbutt, 47, isn’t laughing. Ricker, a high-end interior designer, swirls his usual-a dry martini with a lemon twist. Stress melts from Robert Ricker’s gold-jacquard shoulders as Will-the-bartender, wearing only a bow tie and vest over his ripped abs, gives him an impromptu massage.
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This location will host a kickoff party June 1.Īs I enter, all eyes are on actress Allison Janney, killing it in a red angel-sleeved gown on a TV screen over the bar. To find out, I drop in for an Oscar party at the last gay bar in town, the Main Street Bar and Cabaret. The events are planned to complement, rather than compete with, the third annual Orange County Pride Festival and Parade in Santa Ana, which draws more than 15,000 people and is scheduled for June 23.īut has the gay scene really fled Laguna Beach? And if it has, can this new tradition bring it back? There’s a sunset party opening night in Heisler Park, and a walking tour of gay cultural landmarks will be tied to the trolley stops.
West Street Beach will offer endless volleyball games and a DJ.
The famed Boom Boom Room, once part of an entire block of gay bars, opens again for just one night. That was the rallying cry last year, when the city staged its first annual Gay Pride party, an event that returns in a more expansive form the first weekend of June.Īfter a decades-long lapse in the Laguna gay vibe, it promises to be a wild affair.