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Best LGBT Pride Events In The Bay Area

(credit: Thinkstock)

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade, the nation's largest gathering of its type. Find out where to be and when to show your support for a full slate of events over the weekend of June 27 through 28, 2015. This year's theme is "Equality Without Exception." In other Bay Area locations, there are more ways and more dates to join celebrations in June, declared National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month by the White House in 2014. Silicon Valley holds its big parade in August.

San Francisco Pride Celebration (credit: Steve Jennings/Getty Images)

SF Pride Celebration
Civic Center Plaza, next to City Hall
San Francisco, CA 94102
www.sfpride.org/celebration
Dates: June 27 through June 28, 2015

Attendance is free to all, with organizers requesting donations of $5 to $10 to continue support for the Community Partners Program. Civic Center Plaza is ground zero for the weekend celebration, next to City Hall, where Harvey Milk addressed parade-goers more than 30 years ago. Expect entertainment from 20 venues throughout the space, as well as a lineup on the main stage where top name acts have appeared, attracting audiences of up to 250,000. The hours are Saturday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Check the website for more details on the VIP party in City Hall's rotunda on Sunday from 2:00pm to 5:00pm.

(credit: Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

SF Pride Parade 
Market St. Downtown
San Francisco, CA 94102
www.sfpride.org/parade
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2015 at 10:30 a.m.

Complete with a rainbow of floats and costumed contingents of every kind, the annual parade begins at Market St. and Beale St. and ends at Market St. and Eighth St. in downtown San Francisco. Crowds number well over one million for the city's big parade, so spectators are strongly requested to use public transportation. Note the F-Market trolleys are not operating along the parade route. Watch out for potential award winners in fun categories, such as absolutely fabulous and absolutely outrageous.

(credit: XXX)

Ibiza Day Club
The End Up
401 6th Street at Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Visit CBS Local Events for more info
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2015 @ 2:00pm

Come party with St. John for the PRIDE Edition of IBIZA DAYCLUB @TheEndUp!! Saturday, June 27th starting at 2pm! San Francisco's newest / only OUTDOOR day party on SaturDAY! Enjoy yourself BOTTOMLESS MIMOSAS from 2pm – 4pm. Food provided by El Taco Flaco (specialty food truck) ALL DAY!

Related: San Francisco's Gay Pride Preview

(credit: glbthistory.org)

LGBT History Museum
4127 18th St.
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 621-1107
www.glbthistory.org

The "Queer Smithsonian" celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2015 as one of the world's largest collections of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender historical materials, where the exhibit, "Queer Past Becomes Present" is a retrospective spanning a century. The museum is the first of its kind in the USA. It's small, but packs in a powerful punch and can use plenty of support throughout the year. Admission to all galleries is $5 or free on the first Wednesday of each month; closed on Tuesdays.

Equality Everywhere: Sonoma County Pride
Downtown Guerneville
Sonoma Co., CA 94556
(707) 520-4160
www.sonomacountypride.org
Dates: June 5 through June 7, 2015

The Russian River Weekend Celebration kicks off on Friday night with the First Friday Art Walk and a GLBT history exhibit at the host hotel, Guerneville Lodge. From noon on Saturday, an all day beach party is followed by a disco at Veteran's Hall and a Tara Hymen performance at The R3 Hotel. The Equality Everywhere Celebration Parade in downtown Guerneville is the main event on Sunday from 11 a.m., with the Pride Festival continuing at the lodge with a performance lineup to include the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and more talented acts.

Silicon Valley Pride Festival
Downtown San Jose, CA
Santa Clara Co., CA 95126
www.svpride.com
Date: August 5, 2015

"Looking Forward From Forty" is the 2015 theme for Pride XL. Managed by a non-profit, supported through sponsors and administered by volunteers, an organization that was originally called the San Jose Gay Pride Festival has grown. Now encompassing communities through Silicon Valley, the August event will attract crowds for the annual parade from Discovery Meadow Park in downtown San Jose.

Laurie Jo Miller Farr loves walkable cities. A tourism industry professional and transplanted New Yorker by way of half-a-lifetime in London, she's writing about the best of the bay and beyond for Yahoo, USA Today, eHow, and on Examiner.com.


 

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