The LGBT community will once again be celebrated by San Francisco this weekend at the city's 49th annual Pride celebration, traditionally held on the last weekend of June.
Ahead of the big Pride Parade on Sunday, the event officially kicks off on Friday with the 15th annual Trans March, at Dolores Park.
Celebrating the city's trans residents, the event starts with a brunch and rally, followed by a march at 6 p.m. Marchers are expected to go from Dolores Park to Market Street, with the march ending at Turk and Taylor streets.
For that event, Taylor Street between Turk and Eddy streets will be closed from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., as well as Turk Street from Mason to Taylor streets.
Drivers, pedestrians and bus passengers should expect delays along the impacted streets. More information is available here.
On Saturday, two Pride-related events are set to take place.
The first is the celebration at Civic Center Plaza, which lasts from noon to 6 p.m. That event will feature several stages with an abundance of performers.
Attendees should expect to pass through metal detectors to enter the celebration. Also, all bags will be searched and bags larger than 18 inches by 18 inches will not be permitted, according to organizers.
The two-day celebration, held at Civic Center Plaza, will be filled with inspirational performers, events and parties. The celebrations will begin on Saturday at 12 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m., ending at 6 p.m. both days.
"I think younger generations are much more aware of our connectedness and of what collective power looks like than when I was younger," said Jen Orthwein, 2018 recipient of the Heritage of Pride Freedom award, according to the SF Pride website. "I am inspired by the sheer number of youth of all backgrounds, abilities and identities who are engaging in and influencing our politics."
The annual Pride Parade will be held on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on Market Street from Beale Street to Eighth Street. More than 100,000 spectators are expected to attend. Check out the parade route here.
Because of the political climate, more residents are motivated to join in this year's Pride events.
"Often when there's a big parade, because I've lived in the neighborhood so long, we'll pull the shutters up and go to Sonoma for the weekend," said Ken Stegmiller of San Francisco. "But we're staying this time. I think it's really important to show up."
For the famed parade, hundreds of organizations, city departments and companies are set to march with banners and in colorful floats. Several streets will be closed for the parade starting at 6 a.m., including Market Street from Steuart Street to Van Ness Avenue. Also, Beale, Main, Spear and Steuart streets will all be closed from Market to Folsom streets.
The procession will disband near Market and Eighth streets.
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Then at 11 a.m., the Pride Celebration at Civic Center will start, lasting through 6 p.m. and will feature several performers on multiple stages. Just like the Saturday celebration, visitors will have their bags checked and must pass through metal detectors.
During Sunday's festivities, San Francisco Municipal Railway buses that run along Market Street will be rerouted onto Mission Street, and other lines in the area may be affected.
For transit information, festival-goers can visit www.sfmta.org.
Entry into the event is free, although small donations of $1 to $5 are requested at entry points. Viewers may also purchase tickets to the grandstands for a better view of the parade, and tickets to the VIP party held on Sunday night at City Hall are still available on the SF Pride website. Some volunteer opportunities are still open.
Silicon Valley is holding its own Pride celebration, complete with a parade, on Aug. 24-25 at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park in San Jose. Oakland will hold a Pride celebration on Sept. 8 on Franklin Street.
