San Francisco’s 53 Annual Pride Parade and Celebration Happens June 24 & 25
Countdown to Pride: Less than 4 weeks away — are you ready for Pride? The 53rd Annual Pride Parade and Celebration takes place on Sat. June 24th and Sun. June 25th. Check our website for information updates, a last chance to register for the Parade and Vendor Booths, both deadlines coming up June 1st! Grandstand tickets and VIP Passes now on sale.July 5th Board MeetingLink to Meeting Zoom and Agenda.July 12th Member MeetingLink to Meeting Zoom and Agenda. IN THE PRIDE SPOTLIGHTLast week, Mayor London Breed announced the first ever San Francisco and worldwide Drag Laureate, after a distinguished panel reviewed all the submissions and recommended D’Arcy Drollinger!A well-known drag performer and Oasis SF nightclub owner, Drollinger, boasts many talents, including writer, actor, and choreographer amid her philanthropic activities. As anti-LGBTQ+ bills and intensifying threats of violence against our community increase, drag performers are reclaiming the spotlight. Serving as a cultural ambassador and spokesperson in San Francisco, this role comes at a crucial moment. |
Pride – Not Just a 2-Day Celebration & Parade THIS YEAR, we are proud to share some very different events leading up to our Pride Weekend. To start, on June 2nd we bring you the Pride Kick-Off: A Night of Queer Entertainment, at the historic Castro Theater. Tickets are available for purchase until they sell out. Featuring a combination of drag, theater, music and film, it has something for everyone. Running from June 16th through July 4th, SF Pride is partnering with the creators behind Fleurs de Villes (Flowers of Cities), who are bringing their inaugural United States Pride floral show to The Mint in San Francisco. Using a mix of mannequins and flower arrangements, they will create likenesses of about 15 “Rainbow Champions” from our LGBTQ+ and ally communities. There will be many familiar faces on display! Tickets are now available for the unique show. Adding to new and unique ways to engage with Pride, plan on attending the Inaugaral San Francisco Pride Human Rights Summit, on Thurs., June 22nd, from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM, at the Commonwealth Club of California. Featuring keynote speaker Imani Rupert-Gordon, the summit will also offer panels and breakout sessions addressing political, racial, and cultural issues facing the LGBTQ+ community today, and what actions we should take up. To register, visit the Commonwealth Club website – tickets are FREE and available for in-person and virtual attendance. Added donations will fund future CWC programming. |
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 ABOVE: Transwoman Dylan Mulvaney enjoying a cold one,BELOW: Target quietly moved Pride displays to the back of some stores when customers had “violent” reactions to a few of the items for sale, removing those, too.  IN THE NEWS THIS MONTH:DESANTIS CONTINUES HIS PLAN TO TURN BACK TIME. In the conservative efforts to erase us, more states have added drag show bans and anti-trans laws regarding youth access to medical care and gender information. Florida leads the way for the most anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, including efforts to block children from attending drag shows with the threat of criminal charges. Government’s decision that they know what’s best for kids, instead of their parents, should sound a major alarm. And why is there not a bigger or more vocal revolt about this? With Pride month coming up and many Florida celebrations being cancelled for either safety or financial reasons, the legacy of Stonewall is threatened, but we won’t let it go unchallenged.RETAIL THERAPY. Target and Anheuser Busch’s brand, Bud Light, might need some counseling having walked back their campaigns to tout positive LGBTQ+ branding. Bud Light was a bit subtle, by lessening their promotion with transwoman Dylan Mulvaney, and quickly running their more all-American Clydesdale commercial — a wild horse running across the Plains, possibly with a rugged cowboy or two chugging a beer. The subliminal message was not missed! Target quietly moved their Pride displays to the back of stores and eliminated some items for sale that provoked “violent” reactions by a few customers, out of concern for how it might turn into physical situations for their employees. Sad, but instead, let’s charge those who attack or remove the abusive, instead of retreating. On a positive note, some stand up to the right’s bullying, such as North Face. Read more here. |