The 31st annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles will be held Sunday, with an estimated 20,000 people walking 10 kilometers through West Hollywood and the Fairfax district to raise funds for AIDS Project Los Angeles and more than 20 other Los Angeles County-based AIDS service organizations.
The walk will begin at 10 a.m. at West Hollywood Park. The opening ceremony, which will include speeches by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Meister on the state of HIV and AIDS in Los Angeles and West Hollywood, is set to begin at 9:15 a.m.
“The Price is Right” host Drew Carey, Lea DeLaria, who has a recurring role on the Netflix drama “Orange Is the New Black,” and Danny Pintauro, best known for his portrayal of Jonathan Bower on the 1984-92 ABC comedy “Who’s the Boss?” are also scheduled to attend the opening ceremony.
The walkers will proceed to Santa Monica Boulevard, where they will walk east to La Cienega Boulevard, then south to Melrose Avenue, east to La Brea Avenue, south to Beverly Boulevard and west to San Vicente Boulevard. The walk will conclude at West Hollywood Park.
The walk will include a new 90-foot tunnel with artificial turf, water misters and informational panels on the history of HIV and AIDS.
The proceeds from the walk allow AIDS Project Los Angeles and the other organizations to provide food, housing, medical and dental care and counseling for people living with HIV and AIDS and prevention efforts to stop new infections.
AIDS Walk Los Angeles was the world’s first fundraising walk to benefit organizations dealing with AIDS. Since its inception in 1985, the walk has raised more than $79 million, including more than $2.2 million last year, for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and advocacy programs, according to Ben Fordham, the walk’s director of communications.
