San Francisco Pride

This is one of the bigger weekends in San Francisco: PRIDE. This is the 38th year of celebration, and I think, with the recent legislation that passed in California, it’s going to be a fun one.

The festivities start on Saturday in the Civic Center Plaza. From noon – 6pm, there will be 20+ stages of entertainment, and a fun, festive atmosphere. The acts are pretty big — The San Francisco Opera, SF Cheer (the most spirited group in San Francisco), and Meshell Ndegeocello, among others. There will also be several pavilions, special interest groups, art, and, of course, food!

Sunday starts off with the world-famous Pride Parade. This year’s sees both Cyndi Lauper and Charro as grand marshals. You’ll see everything in this parade, from families marching to go go dancers, from cars to motorcycles. It is something everyone should check out at least once. The parade begins at 10.30am on Market at Beale, and continues down to the Civic Center. After the parade, the celebration continues, with appearances by Margaret Cho and Cyndi Lauper.

While Pride isn’t for everyone, it is an important part of San Francisco’s landscape.

If you are not interested in Pride, there are plenty of other things going on. But, I recommend steering clear of downtown on Sunday; it will be crowded and public transportation will be detoured all over the place and inconsistent.