On June 1st, Gurus Magazine celebrated its first annual #30Voices30Days initiative with enough pride for an all-night party every day of the month. One Gurus Magazine cover will be released each day of June honoring the diverse LGBTQ+ community and their allys. To kick off the month Gurus hosted a VIP daytime Pride Wellness Retreat followed by a star-studded Pride Cover Launch Party previewing all 30 magazine covers, each celebrating a unique voice every day of Pride – all benefitting GLAAD.
Hosted by Gurus Magazine’s founder and publisher Derek Warburton and produced by Rachel Wilson, the Pride Wellness Retreat invited the cover talent plus hand-selected VIPs to enjoy the Element Lounge of the Godfrey Hotel Hollywood. Emmy Award Winner, Niecy Nash celebrated her with her wife, recording artist Gurus cover Jessica Betts, by raising a glass of bubbly to all the beautiful participants. Drag Race star Laganja Estranja enjoyed a hydra facial and massage by South Bay Plastic Surgeons, while another cover star, Gleb Savchenko (Dancing With The Stars), got a B12 shot from R3 Anti Aging Medspa Beverly Hills. Host of Drag Race Mexico, Valentina got her hair blown out to perfection by the Kevin Murphy Hair team and Cynthia Bailey of RHOA fame got her makeup touched up by Gensee Beauty – both in director’s chairs from FilmCraft LA.
Freshy gifted a pair of shoes to each of the covers with custom velvet bags and gave out even more slides to our VIPS while True Notions handed out specialty gifts to all who attended. Other gifts included Lip Nourishment from Purlisse, skincare by Peter Thomas Roth, Danessa Myricks Beauty, Anna Nicole Smith: Portrait Of An Icon, Equals Human custom tees, and more. All the while, El Cristiano poured coconut margaritas for Joely Fisher (Ellen/ SAG-AFTRA Treasurer), alongside the Godfrey Hotel’s restaurant ALK, About Last Knife, who welcomed guests with a traditional high tea service. VIPs were gifted their own El Cristiano bottles to take home and enjoy.
After rainbow balloons rained down on the courtyard, the daytime retreat came to a close and everyone got glamorous for the Cover Launch Party that spanned the entire I|O Rooftop at the Godfrey Hotel Hollywood. Notables on the Pink Carpet included Patricia Arquette (Actress), Aubrey O’Day (media personality), Niecy Nash (actress), Jessica Betts (recording artist), Sutton Stracke (RHOBH), Cynthia Bailey (RHOA), Laganja Estranja (Drag Race), Matt Dallas (Kyle XY), Tara Reid (American Pie), Joely Fisher (Ellen/ SAG- AFTRA treasurer), Gleb Savchenko (DWTS), Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary), Jonathon Schaech (Blue Ridge), Frankie Grande (Broadway), Valentina (Drag Race Mexico), James Charles (influencer), Camille Meyer (RHOBH), Brian Justin Crum (recording artist , Ronen Rubinstein (actor), Anthony Allen Ramos (GLAAD), and many more.
With all 30 cover stars lining the rooftop with their cover images projected as wall art, guests were invited to enjoy the Poolside Pride Party Lounge designed by Amber Walker Events. Highlights included a Pride Bazaar with luxury jewelry from Todd Sensoli Jewelry, Aumaro Gems showcased her signature colorful stacks; energy bracelets from Larson Arts LA;, sneakers and slides from Freshy, recording artist YellaCATT merchandise direct from her tour, underwear and loungewear sets from True Notions and psilocybin mushrooms from Muse. Kevin Murphy Hair gifted partygoers with kits of their best-selling items, and author Randy Scobey signed copies of his autobiography WHY: A Memoir. Additionally, The Blonde Italian served up rainbow pasta with her superb sauces and spices.
After the Pink Carpet, Gary Thomas Entertainment brought the house down with his cabaret show, Whiskey. Not to be outdone, Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts hopped on the mic for an impromptu performance of their new single, “Pride”.
Following the electrifying performances, Anthony Allen Ramos, Vice President of Communications & Talent at GLAAD, gave a speech about the importance of projecting voices and introduced the “legend” Derek Warburton to the stage. Yellacatt closed the night with two songs and revealed the BTS of her latest video.
A big ‘thank you” to celebrity fashion photographer Josh Fogel, who shot over 5000 frames of the attendees at the “Out Loud & in Color” Floating Garden Photo Studio.
Every guest left the event smiling with Peter Thomas Roth gift bags for all and bottles of Hpnotiq for our cover talent. #30Voices30Days set the standard for a wondrous Pride and has only just begun.