Los Angeles County's only queer history festival is back for its fourth year, opening Thursday, September 24, with a launch party featuring a hosted bar and light bites before more than 40 programs ranging from free to low-cost unfold across the county through October 31. Circa: Queer Histories Festival 2026 bills itself as the first and only queer histories festival in the United States, mixing performances, workshops, and exhibitions led by queer and trans thinkers and doers, with tickets offered on a sliding scale.
The festival is presented by One Institute, according to ABC7 Los Angeles, whose report on the 2026 lineup outlines the launch event and the roughly five-week run of programming spanning Los Angeles County. That single-night kickoff on September 24 at 7 p.m. sets the tone for a season built around collaboration rather than a single flagship venue, with events continuing through the festival's close on Halloween.
A Headlining Exhibition Rooted in Trans History
Circa's headlining exhibition, co-presented with Oxy Arts at Occidental College, is called Hold Each Other's Hands: Trans Mutual Aid, 1966–1996. The exhibition's title includes the years 1966–1996, according to Oxy Arts.
ABC7's report also notes that Circa 2026 includes weekly tours highlighting works by LACMA's LGBTQ+ artists, part of a series LACMA is presenting called The Visible and Vibrant Tour. Elsewhere on the calendar, festivalgoers can catch a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at The Ford, a program produced in partnership with Street Food Cinema and One Institute.
An Institution With Roots in a Landmark Supreme Court Case
The organization behind Circa carries a legal and archival history that stretches back more than seven decades. One Institute traces its lineage to ONE Inc., founded in Los Angeles in 1952 alongside ONE Magazine, making it the oldest continuously active LGBTQ+ organization in the United States, according to USC Libraries. In January 1958, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its first-ever ruling on LGBTQ+ rights in One, Inc. v. Olesen, reversing lower courts and establishing First Amendment free-speech protections for gay publications after Los Angeles postmasters had seized issues of ONE Magazine under federal obscenity laws, per the MTSU Free Speech Center.
The archival collections tied to that history, known as the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, officially merged into the University of Southern California Libraries system in October 2010. USC Libraries notes that activist Jim Kepner began collecting in 1942. The Los Angeles Times describes One Institute as newly rebranded from One Archives Foundation, according to the Los Angeles Times.
From Festival Programming to Permanent Public Memorials
Circa launched in October 2023 as the first monthlong LGBTQ+ history festival in the United States, featuring more than 70 programs across 30 venues in Los Angeles County that year, according to WEHO Times. That inaugural edition was timed to LGBTQ+ History Month in October, according to Nine PBS.
In 2026, the organization assumed official stewardship of public programming for STORIES: The AIDS Monument in West Hollywood Park, working in partnership with the City of West Hollywood. The nonprofit also offers programming beyond the monument.
Circa's countywide footprint includes programs involving LACMA, Oxy Arts, The Ford, and Street Food Cinema. This year's edition features a fresh set of exhibitions and screenings, with the September 24 launch party marking the unofficial start of five weeks of queer and trans history programming across the county.
