A party and “cosmic carnival” with discounted admission for the topless will be held in West Los Angeles tonight to begin a weekend lobbying effort to push for women to be allowed to go bare-breasted in public.
The carnival will be held in advance of Sunday’s eighth annual topless march down Ocean Front Walk in Venice.
According to an online invitation, tonight’s event at an undisclosed location will feature entertainment such as comedians, stilt walkers, mermaids, a “boob juggler,” hula hoopers, dancers and “topless alien angels.” It will also feature vendors and begin with a 7 p.m. screening of the film “Free the Nipple.”
According to the invitation, people will be admitted free prior to 7 p.m., but after that time, admission will be $20 — but only $15 “if topless or w/ pasties.”
On Sunday, a group of women — joined by shirtless men — will walk from the northern end of Ocean Front Walk to the center of the boardwalk at Windward Circle, where a rally will be held urging lawmakers to allow women to go topless.
Similar marches will be held in dozens of cities across the country as part of the eighth annual GoTopless Day, organizers said.
“We’re working toward freeing women’s nipples and obtaining equal gender topless rights that are enforced worldwide,” according to Lara Terstenjak, head of the Los Angeles branch of GoTopless, the sponsor of the event.
Terstenjak noted that the Venice Neighborhood Council approved a resolution in support of women going topless, but such a change would require action by the city and the county.
“The Venice Neighborhood Council’s approval is a hopeful step forward after our eight years of activism on Venice Beach,” Terstenjak said. “Now it’s time for the city and county to follow up by making equal gender topless rights a priority.”
