San Francisco Pride Guide 2014

The whole city seems to explode into a rainbow burst of music, dancing and excitement the last weekend of June for Pride.

Hundreds of thousands line the streets and descend on the annual downtown parade and festival making it the largest LGBT celebration in the country.

The two-day bash takes place in front of City Hall at Civic Center Plaza – the same spot where Harvey Milk addressed the crowd in 1978 during “Gay Freedom Day.”

San Francisco Pride History

1970 – The first “Pride” called the “Christopher Street Liberation Day Gay-In” on the 1-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York
1972 – First celebration in Civic Center
1973 – Name changed to “Gay Freedom Day”
1978 – First rainbow flag, Harvey Milk rides in parade.
1979 – First rainbow banners line Market Street
1981 – Name changed to “Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade”
1983 –  AIDS contingent leads the parade
1988 – Art Agnos becomes first San Francisco Mayor to appear in Parade
1995 – First official use of “Pride” – event name changed to “San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Celebration”
2004 – First Pride to feature newlyweds from recently legalized same-sex weddings
2008 – Wedding Pavilion debuts after Prop 22 struck down. Lady Gaga performs

44th Annual San Francisco Pride Festival & Parade

Theme “Color Our World with Pride”
– Saturday, June 28, 2014 (Noon to 6 p.m.)
– Sunday, June 29, 2014 (11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.)
Free, but $5 donations requested which support more than 40 local nonprofits. With your donation you’ll get $1 discounts on beverages.

The Festival
Pride features not only a main stage with music, competitions and comedy but 300+ exhibitors and more than 20 community-run stages including the Faeire Freedom Village with a glitter gateway of live cabaret and avant-garde artists, a Leather Alley “carnival” to get schooled on S&M, the Cheer San Francisco stage with high-flying cheerleader stunts and a chance to get your same-sex two-steppin’ in at the Country-Western Dance Corral.

The Parade
The massive annual parade down Market Street is the main highlight of Pride. Expect over 200 parade contingents and floats with tons of fabulous eye candy and representing a huge range of causes and beliefs including the 400+ extremely loud (and proud) Dykes on Bikes motorcycle group. Grand marshals for 2014 are trans-activist Janet Mock and late-night talk show host Ross Mathews (E!). The parade kicks off Sunday, June 29, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. at Market and Beale and ends at 8th Street.

Volunteering
It takes more than 1,000 volunteers to keep Pride running smoothly. All who help out with the festival or parade not only get to make a difference but will be rewarded with perks like food, a t-shirt and an invitation to an exclusive volunteer appreciation party.

Pride Week Events

Pride is much more than just the Civic Center celebration. There’s also a fun cluster of gay-friendly events bubbling up around the city all weekend.

Pink Saturday Block Party
Block the traffic and dance at the largest nighttime street party in San Francisco the Saturday night of Pride.  The streets around Castro and Market are shut down by philanthropic organization, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and filled with multiple DJ setups and food trucks and have the feeling of a massive underground house party. The kabuki-inspired cross-dressing nuns-of-fun want you to dance into the night, but the party ends just after 10 p.m. so you’ll be able to get enough rest to wake up the next morning to participate in the Pride parade.

Saturday, June 28, 2014 typically from about 5:30 p.m. until 10:15 p.m. The Castro. Free but $10 donations suggested.

Hella Gay Comedy Show
A free comedy gay-palooza with six comics the Thursday before Pride. Hosted by Charlie Ballard, this is the final “Hella Gay” comedy show after four years of shows. Celebrate this send-off with free cake and ice cream and a barrel full of queer laughter.

Thursday, June 26th at 8pm. Magnet Center, 4122 18th Street, San Francisco. Free.

The Dyke March
The annual San Francisco Dyke March is a gathering of close to 200,000 lesbians and their supporters. There’s no festival Dolores Park for 2014 due to construction at the park, but that won’t stop the celebration. A rally starts at 18th and Dolores around 4pm with the march led by an unofficial motorcycle contingent with members from Dykes on Bikes kicking off at 6 p.m. and ending at the Pink Saturday block party into the Castro. And it’s all for the ladies. Men are asked to be “allies” and support the march from the sidelines.

Saturday, June 28, 2014. Rally at 4 p.m., March at 6 p.m. 18th and Dolores, San Francisco. Free.

Trans March
The diverse transgender community of San Francisco bands together for a Friday afternoon celebration in Dolores Park typically with live music, DJs, performances and speeches. The 7,000-strong group then marches down Market Street ending up at Turk and Taylor for the unveiling of new street signs honoring Vicki Marlane, host of a popular drag revue show who passed away of an AIDS-related illness in 2011.

Friday, June 27, 2014. Pride in the Park: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. March at 6 p.m. Dolores Park. Free.

The Pink Triangle at Twin Peaks
Help transform Twin Peaks into a giant symbol of gay pride by volunteering to help build a massive pink triangle on the vista overlook. The triangle, made up of over 175 bright pink canvasses can be seen for 20 miles on a clear day.

Saturday, June 28, 2014. Volunteer at 7 a.m.. Commemoration ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Christmas Tree Point Road on Twin Peaks. Free. Email friends@thepinktriangle.com to volunteer.

“Pullin’ Pork” Queer Pride Happy Hour
At the 10th annual Pride event hosted by the San Francisco Guardian, enjoy free pulled pork sandwiches (there’s usually vegan options, too) plus $10 for all-you-can-drink beer. Each year is different, but expect fun like go-go dancers, drag performances, fun games and naughty prizes from Good Vibrations.

Thursday, June 25, 2014. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Pilsner Inn, 255 Church Street. No cover.

Good Vibrations Pink Pleasure Party
You definitely can’t miss the lovely dancers of Red Hots Burlesque in the store windows doing a shimmy to the tunes of DJ Olga T and DJ Becky Knox. Come dance, enjoy free snacks, and in-store Pride discounts at the annual Pink Pleasure Party

Saturday, June 28, 2014. 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Good Vibrations on Valencia Street. Free

Rainbow Lights at City Hall
At dusk each night during Pride, San Francisco City Hall turns on its rainbow colors (and sometimes just pink and lavender).

2014 lighting dates are planned to be June 24th through July 2nd. Dusk

Rainbow Lights at SFO
SFO welcomes all who come to SF for Pride weekend with new light scheme.

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