Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The San Francisco Pride two-day Celebration and Parade historically takes place the last full weekend in June of each year. The 2013 event, which will be the 43rd anniversary of San Francisco Pride, is set to take place June 29 and 30.

The San Francisco Pride two-day Celebration and Parade historically takes place the last full weekend in June of each year. The 44th annual SF Pride event, is set to take place June 28 and 29, 2014.

The annual Pride Celebration commemorates the rebellion of LGBT patrons of the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village in response to a routine police raid on June 27, 1969. The following year, a "Gay-In" that took place on June 27, 1970 that was the early progenitor of the current Pride Celebration. Since 1972, the event has been held every year, though under various names: "Christopher Street West" in 1972, "Gay Freedom Day" from 1973 to 1980, then "International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade" from 1981 to 1994, and finally, its present appellation, San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Celebration.

Since its modest beginnings, San Francisco Pride has grown to be one the largest and most well-known Pride events in the world. Pride has come to symbolize several things: the long history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer dignity, the freedom of all people to meaningfully and proudly express their sexual and gender identities, and the commitment of LGBT people to combating oppression. From this history of rebellion grew the mission of San Francisco LGBT Pride: to educate the World, celebrate our culture, commemorate our heritage, and liberate our people.

There is no fee to attend the Celebration or watch the Parade (except in the case of Grandstand Seating along the Parade route). We do request a voluntary $5.00 donation at the entry gates to the Celebration area. This donation goes directly toward Pride’s Community Partners Program that is awarded back to community non-profits. Because of attendee donations and beverage purchases, Pride has been able to award back over $2.1 million to community non-profit organizations since 1997.

Grandstand Seating for the Parade at U.N. Plaza is available on a first-come, first-served basis for a fee of $35.00 in advance or for $40.00 at the gate. For those with specific accessibility needs including wheelchair access and American Sign Language interpretation, we also have available Accessibility Tickets for spaces and seating on the Grand Stand, which can be purchased on a sliding scale.

The Pride Celebration and Parade are open to people of all ages. On Sunday, there is a Family Garden area which is focused on providing a safe and less-crowded area for children/youth and their parents or guardians.

For full details about accessibility, go here. We have a range of services for people with accessibility concerns including a dedicated viewing area for the Parade at our Grandstands.

For Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing attendees, we provide sign language interpretation at the Pride Main Stage in Civic Center all day Saturday and all day Sunday. ASL interpreters are also available to interpret at our community-run stages and venues by request. Please visit the Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Tent near the Main Stage at Civic Center to request an interpreter.

Arrangements can also be made for touch interpreters for our Deaf-blind attendees prior to the event -- please contact us by email prior to June 1.

Hundreds of thousands of people from outside the Bay Area visit San Francisco Pride each year. Check out our Travel & Visitors' Guide for information on our travel partners, including local hotels and our official airline.

Each year, we compile a list of Official Events. In order to become an Official Pride Event, the Pride Office must receive all event listings prior to April 26, 2013. In return, Pride provides benefits such as publishing community events in our annual Pride Guide (60,000 distribution throughout the Bay Area), posting events in our newsletter (going out to over 15,000 subscribers) and posting events on our website. Contact us by email for more information.

SF Pride has two yearly publications that each offer unique advertising opportunities. We have a magazine-sized Pride Guide that comes out in early June and we have a portable publication called Pocket Pride, which comes out the day of the event. If you are interested in advertising with Pride, please contact us and we would be more than happy to supply further information specific to your needs.

Each year we have a headlining performer on the Main Stage and some of our past performers have included Karmin, Jessica Sutta, Kimberly Caldwell, Lady Gaga, The Backstreet Boys, BoA, Solange Knowles, Kat DeLuna, Meshell Ndegeocello, En Vogue, Chaka Khan, the Pointer Sisters, and Joan Baez as well as celebrity guest hosts and appearances by Alice Walker, Alec Mapa, Margaret Cho, Alan Cumming, and Graham Norton. Our final schedule is available. Please check under our Celebration section to find out the most up-to-date information on performers.

The Dyke March, while concurrent with SF Pride, is a separate event run by a different organization. The following information can be used to reach them:

E-mail: info@dykemarch.org

Web address: dykemarch.org

The Trans March, while concurrent with SF Pride, is a separate event run by a different organization. The following information can be used to reach them:

E-mail:
info@transmarch.org

Web address:
transmarch.org

More than likely, parking will be found in places far too distant from the Parade and Celebration to make driving worthwhile, which is to say nothing of traffic. You will save yourself a great deal of time and spare the environment the toxins if you take public transportation.

Apart from Pride, San Francisco is also known for its world-class public transportation system, so please consider familiarizing yourself with the MUNI transit system (for transportation within San Francisco city limits) and with BART (for transportation to and from San Francisco from East Bay and other parts of the Bay Area).

To find routes from anywhere in the Bay Area to the Celebration at Civic Center or to the Parade along Market Street, please visit 511 Transit for more information.

Yes, pets are allowed at the event, including, of course, service animals assisting people with accessibility needs. We do, however, strongly recommend leaving pets at home since both the Parade and Celebration are noisy, crowded, and hot. We have found that pets can sometimes be very startled by the crowds and sounds of Pride. In busy areas, it may be difficult to navigate with pets who will be walking on the ground given the high number of stomping feet moving through the crowd.

Grandstand seats are bleacher style seating set up specifically for viewing of the Parade the morning of Pride Sunday. Click here for more information on Grandstand Seating and how to purchase tickets.

Money from Grandstand Seating ticket sales goes toward paying for the bleachers themselves as well as toward Pride's grant-giving program, the Community Partners Program, through which we have been able to give back over $2.1 million to community nonprofits since 1997.

Pride puts together a month of Official Events meant to honor LGBT Pride in the month of June. Check out our Official Events page for everything from art exhibits, to white water rafting outings, to parties and club events.  The following are online resources listing other events in the Bay Area: Betty’s List and LGBT Bars and Clubs in San Francisco

San Francisco Pride provides marked disposal cans for recycling (marked blue), composting (marked green), and trash (marked black). Marked signs will also be posted. All beverage cups used at our event are 100% compostable and are made from natural derivatives -- please toss these in the compost bins at the event -- check the signs.

To help us keep an event this size as green as possible, your support in using the compost, recycling, and trash bins is crucial. Our goal is to reduce Pride's ecological footprint as we continue to pioneer green event practices. Large recycling and composting bins are made available throughout the Celebration area at Civic Center. Please read the signage and place your trash in the appropriate containers.

We have a multitude of ways for local non-profits to participate with Pride. First and foremost, we have a grant-giving program called Community Partners where eligible nonprofits can receive a grant from Pride in exchange for the number of volunteer hours that the organization provides in designated areas of the Celebration and Parade.

We also have community-level sponsorships through our Partners in Pride Program.

Lastly, you can get non-profit rates on Parade entries and for booths at the Celebration. Parade and Booth applications can be found here.

Press packets for the 2013 event were accepted beginnig December of 2012 and ended March 18, 2013. We are no longer accepting submissions for the 2013 Celebration. More on SF Pride's Main Stage Contact us by email.

The Pride Celebration and Parade could not take place without the more than 1,000 volunteers who lend their talent and time during Pride weekend. There are five main types of volunteers: Office, Safety, Medical, Parade and Celebration. There are volunteer opportunities for people of almost all skills, backgrounds, and ability levels. Interested persons must submit an application to become a volunteer. For more information on volunteering for SF Pride, contact our volunteer coordinator at volunteers@sfpride.org.

Grand Marshals are individuals or organizations within the LGBT community who have strived to create change and usually are local heroes who have fought for LGBT rights over the years. To view the most up-to-date information on Grand Marshals click here.

Community Grand Marshals are local leaders who have fought on behalf of LGBT rights and who have have made a notable contribution to the LGBT community.

We welcome organizations who are interested in sponsoring our event and have a variety of custom sponsorship packages to fit your business’s goals. For more information on becoming an official SF Pride Sponsor please email our Sponsorship Department.

Nominations are officially accepted between January and February of each year; however, we take suggestions year-round. You can submit suggestions for Grand Marshal by emailing us at:

info@sfpride.org

Pride's print publications are available at a number of locations around the Bay Area during the month of June. If you would like a copy of the 2012 edition of the San Francisco Pride Guide InsidePride^® sent to you, you must submit a check or money order in the amount of $10.00 along with your return address to:

SF Pride
ATTN: Pride Publication Order
1841 Market St., Fourth Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103-1112

Pocket Pride is a highly portable pocket-sized mini guide to the SF Pride Celebration & Parade^®. It contains the most current information regarding the Pride event including Main Stage set times, Parade route information, exhibitor booth locations at the Celebration site, and much more. Pocket Pride^® available on the day of the event at any one of our on-site Information Booths in Civic Center Plaza.