Gay elders dance the night away at “Senior Prom” at Los Angeles zoo

“Senior Prom” took on new significance at the end of June this year, as over 300 gay elders celebrated Pride with a night of dinner and dancing at the Los Angeles Zoo.

The annual event, hosted by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, invites gay seniors aged 50 and older to reimagine a high school rite of passage that many found awkward as gay teens, according to ‘LGBTQ Nation’.

“It’s a wonderful thing to be in a place where you’re totally accepted for who you are,” remarked prom-goer Andre Simpson, 67, who attended his high school prom just to “fit in.”

“It was not fun,” he shared with The Washington Post.

On this night, however, he delighted in “seeing all the love, couples kissing, and friends meeting and celebrating just being who you are.”

Image Credit: Canva

The free event, sponsored by women’s soccer franchise Angel City Football Club and CBD cannabis purveyor Charlotte’s Web, includes transportation and financial assistance for those needing a boost for prom attire.

Many prom-goers attended with dates, while others arrived single and ready to mingle.

For instance, 88-year-old Mel Weiss attended Senior Prom alone, unlike his high school prom 70 years ago, which he attended with a girl.

“This was a time where people were not out,” noted Weiss. “I just felt uncomfortable.”

Weiss only came out publicly in his 60s.

“[Before that,] I was out to my family and a few friends, but I wasn’t really out to everyone,” he explained.

Now, after meeting and mingling with other gay seniors, Weiss said he feels more comfortable in his own skin. The Senior Prom is a highlight on his social calendar.

“It’s always a lot of fun,” said Weiss, who, along with the other two oldest attendees, was crowned a prom “monarch.”

“We all felt very happy when we left,” he added.

For fellow prom-goer Andre Simpson, the event was “an inoculation against the past hurts, the past pain.”

“A lot of elders in the LGBTQ community have survived a lot, and still their spirits are happy. They’re still joyful inside. They have not been destroyed by life’s disappointments.”

“Spending time with like-minded people who share so much in common is “really a healing process,” he said.

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