As SF Pride gets ready to shine a positive light on the Bay Area's LGBTQ community on Saturday and Sunday, you too can be prepared for the madness.
The main event is Sunday's parade up Market Street, which features Celebrity Grand Marshal Rick Welts, president of the Golden State Warriors. It's free to attend, though a $5-10 donation will be suggested at the gates. Grandstand seating along the route costs $40 and is first come, first served at 9:30 a.m., one hour before the parade's start time.
But it's not like San Francisco to wait until the weekend to celebrate such a monumental occasion as SF Pride, so there are events planned around San Francisco in honor of Pride Weekend that range from reverent church services to decadent dance parties that start Thursday.
The official community calendar of events has all the major details to help you plan a weekend of your own flavor, at your own speed.
One of the biggest events each year is Pink Saturday, which returns as Pink Party this year under the auspices of the SF LGBT Community Center instead of the Sisters of Perpetual Ingulgence, who ran it for 20 years and decided to step down from the responsibility in the wake of continued violence against them. This year, it will have food options but it will also have increased security, earlier hours (3-8 p.m.) and a $10 suggested donation for entrance, which can also be purchased in advance online to save hassle.
BART officials said to help participants get to the parade they will be running more trains Sunday, which will be the length of weekday commuter trains. Golden Gate Ferry is also offering more trips than usual Saturday and Sunday from the Larkspur Ferry Terminal. Ferry officials are asking travelers to purchase tickets in advance.
Complete arrival and departure information can be found at www.goldengate.org/news/ferry/prideferry.php.
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Bay City News contributed to this report.
