San Francisco Pride

The San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration, usually known as San Francisco Pride, is a parade and festival held in June each year in San Francisco to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people and their allies. It is one of the most famous and best-attended pride parades in the world. It is the largest parade of any sort in Northern California and the second largest parade in all of California after the Rose Parade.

Parade
The San Francisco Pride parade is a world-renowned LGBT pride parade. It is held on Sunday morning of the Festival. The route is usually along San Francisco's Market Street, from Beale Street to 8th Street. The parade starts nominally at 10:30 am, though it is hours before all the contingents are able to get onto the parade route, and the last contingent doesn't leave the parade route until 2-4 pm.

Contingents
The parade consists of hundreds of contingents from various groups and organizations. Some of the more well-known contingents are:
 * Dykes on Bikes formerly known as Women's Motorcycle Contingent (WMC) for legal purposes has several hundred motorcycle riders, almost all women-identified although they welcome all gender-variant people. Some of the women are topless, some wear leather or fanciful costumes. The sound of hundreds of motorcycle engines gives this contingent a big impact.  Part of the reason they are first in the parade is that it's difficult for motorcycles to run reliably at the walking pace of the rest of the parade, so as the first contingent they can move faster. On November 13, 2006, they won a battle to trademark the name "Dykes on Bikes", having struggled since 2003 to persuade the United States Patent and Trademark Office that "dyke" was not an offensive word.


 * PFLAG, or Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Usually one of the largest contingents, featuring several hundred people. These are typically the (straight) parents or family members of LGBT people, sometimes marching together with their LGBT relatives. Many carry signs indicating where their PFLAG chapter comes from. It's common to see signs from all over Northern California.  This contingent is notable for the swell in cheers (and some tears) that follow it along the route.
 * Politicians frequently participate in the parade, as a way of making themselves visible to LGBT prospective voters.
 * Churches of many denominations, or religious-oriented LGBT groups, contribute several dozen contingents.
 * Dance clubs and LGBT-oriented entertainment businesses contribute several contingents. It's common for a dance club to decorate a flatbed truck or float, and have several people dancing on it, along with loud dance music.


 * The Leather Contingent consists of lesbian, gay and pansexual leather and BDSM groups.

Groups which are anti-gay typically do not have contingents. During the 1990s it was common to see anti-gay protestors in the spectator area along the parade route, holding large signs condemning homosexuality, often with biblical passages. In the 2000s such protestors have become less common.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators, if not over a million, line the parade route along Market Street. Some arrive hours in advance to claim a prime spot on the curb with a clear view of the street. Others climb onto bus shelters, the walls of subway station stairs, or scaffolding on buildings to get a clear view. As the parade ends, the spectators are able to pass through the barriers and march down Market street behind the parade. The end of the parade route is near the Festival location at the Civic Center.

Festival
A two-day (Saturday and Sunday) festival has grown up around the Sunday morning parade. It is a collection of booths, dance stages, and vendors around the Civic Center area near San Francisco City Hall. On the Sunday, an area of the festival called Leather Alley features fetish and BDSM oriented booths and demonstrations.

The festival is traditionally held in the last full weekend in June. This commemorates the Stonewall riots. There have been proposals to move it to different dates, for instance to July 4 in 2004.

The independently organized Dyke March and Pink Saturday events are held the Saturday night of the festival in the Castro Street area of San Francisco.

Administration
The festival is run by a non-profit organization, the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee. According to their web site, their mission is "to educate the World, commemorate our heritage, celebrate our culture, and liberate our people."

The event is funded by a combination of donations, corporate advertising, San Francisco city funding, and donations collected from the participants at the festival.

Hundreds of volunteers are involved in running the festival and parade. Of particular note are:
 * Safety monitors, crews of volunteers who help maintain order on the parade route and in the festival, particularly with respect to crowd control, and participant actions that might be harmful to themselves or others. Their philosophy and training is similar to the Black Rock Rangers of Burning Man.
 * Medical volunteers, who provide first aid and medical assistance to participants. These volunteers are typically doctors, nurses, or other trained emergency response staff.
 * Contingent monitors, members of the various contingents who maintain cohesion and safety in a their contingent. They are recruited and trained by the safety monitors.

History
The first event resembling the modern San Francisco Pride celebration was held in 1970. Since 1972, the event has been held each year. The name of the festival has changed over the years. The event organizers have selected a theme for the event, which is reflected in the logo and the event’s publicity.

The Rainbow Flag identified with the Gay community was originally created by Gilbert Baker for the 1978 San Francisco Pride Parade. (It originally had eight stripes, but was later simplified to the current six stripes. An eight-stripe Rainbow Flag flies over Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro.)

Note: Several facts in this section are taken from KQED’s LGBT timeline. Logos of the various festivals may be seen at SF Pride’s website.