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SF Gay Pride Parade & Celebration: Discover Key Details About the 2024 Festival
by Jill Loeffler •
Updated: March 4, 2024
The SF Gay Pride Parade and Celebration is June 29 and 30, 2024. This weekend-long festival includes music, gourmet food, and more than 300 exhibitors.
Pride in SF is one of the largest LGBT gatherings in the world.
It's also one of my favorite parades in San Francisco and I try to attend as often as I can. Each year, I find there is such an outpouring of love, acceptance and color. In my experience, there is no other event like this parade.
Each year, they also have a theme. This year's theme is "Beacon of Love."
The popular and colorful Pride Parade is on Sunday, June 30. It starts at 10:30 am at Market Street and Beale. It lasts for about two hours.
Disclaimer: I receive a small commission from some of the links on this page.
Pink Triangle on Twin Peaks
Before the festivities begin, community volunteers will once again install the huge Pink Triangle on Twin Peaks.
It's an annual commemoration of the gay victims persecuted and killed in concentration camps in Nazi Germany starting in 1933.
Today, this important symbol for the LGBT community also shows how far we have come in the fight against homophobia and inhumanity throughout the world.
The Pink Triangle is usually set up early so you can view it for most of the month.
Celebration Details
This year's celebration in the Civic Center starts at noon on Saturday and the festivities continue until 6 pm that day.
On Sunday, the festival starts at 11 am and lasts until 6 pm.
In addition to the more than 200 parade contingents and 300 exhibitors, you will find over 20 community-run stages and venues set up throughout the streets with local musicians, dancers, and other entertainers.
The heart of the event is set up around the Main Stage at the bottom of the City Hall steps on Polk Street.
I also love spending at least a few hours at this festival every year. I find it's a great way to connect and support the local LGBTQ+ community.
I find that the festival is a blast every year. There is such a mixture of people attending and it's a fun way to meet new people and just let your hair down for the weekend.
One thing to note is that some people do walk around naked. It's usually just one or two, but if you are attending with family, it's something to be aware of before you enter the festival.
>> Click here for a schedule of this year's performers
Parade Details & Route Map
The 2024 SF Gay Pride Parade is Sunday, June 30. This year, they are again expecting close to 200 parade entrants.
The parade starts at the corner of Market and Beale Streets at 10:30 am.
The route runs along Market Street and ends at 8th and Market in downtown San Francisco.
The parade is free and open to the public. Here is the parade route map.
If you want to get a good spot to view the parade, I recommend heading to the parade route as early as you can.
By the time the parade starts, the crowd is usually about 10 people deep and it can be hard to see anything.
I usually have recommendations on the best places for people to watch the parade, but for this one, since it's SO crowded, any place you can see the parade is a good spot.
I find that there are fewer people at the start of the parade down by Market and Beale up to about 2nd Street.
Again, this area is still crowded, but I find it's less crowded here than when I watch it closer to the Civic Center.
I think this is due to the fact that the spaces closer to the Civic Center are closer to the festival.
Either way, if you find a spot with a good view...STAY THERE until the parade is over because it will be your best chance to see as much as possible.
More Details About the Parade
What will you see during the parade? This amazing, colorful and fun event is full of wonderful floats, groups supporting the LBGTQ+ community and so much love and acceptance.
It's a once in a life opportunity to attend this event.
Based on the year's I've attended, the crowds get pretty deep, so you can buy tickets for grandstand seats if you prefer to get a better view and/or not have to deal with standing in the crowd for a couple of hours.
This allows you to pay money upfront to guarantee that you have a seat for the parade.
You will find these seats at the end of the parade route on Market between 7th and 8th Streets.
Click here to visit their website for more details.
Here are a few more pictures of the parade from years past to give you a better idea on what you will see during the parade.
In this picture I took, you'll find Peaches Christ, a local celebrity, getting some love from her fans in the parade.
More Fun Events this Weekend
Every year, there is a ton of Pride and non-Pride activities all weekend long. I'll continue to add details to this list as new events are announced.
- 6/28 - 6/30: SF Giants vs. LA Dodgers at Oracle Park, Friday night there are fireworks after the game, find tickets
- 6/28: SF Opera, Partenope at 7:30 pm, find tickets
- 6/28 - 6/30: Company - The Musical, find tickets
- 6/28 - 6/30: Evita (Preview Nights) at the SF Playhouse, find tickets
- 6/28 & 6/29: Drive By Truckers at The Fillmore, find tickets
Fun Activities & Tours for this Weekend
In addition to the fun events listed above, I thought I would also provide you with some recommendations on great tours. If you are visiting San Francisco on vacation, these are some things that I think you will enjoy doing during your visit!
- Castro Walking Tour: Two hour historical walking tour around the Castro, find tickets
- 60-Minute Bay Cruise: Most popular cruise that takes you under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz, find tickets
- GoCars, Golden Gate Bridge & Lombard Loop: Explore SF on these fun, yellow, 2-seater Go Cars, this loop includes stops for great views of the bridge and you get to go down Lombard Street, find tickets
Best Places to Stay Nearby
Your two best options for lodging are in the Castro and in Union Square.
The Castro is a great place to find small, locally owned hotels and B&Bs. Click here for some of my top recommendations.
You can also stay in Union Square. This district has more than a 100 hotel options that range from small inns to large five-star hotels. Click here for my recommendations in Union Square.
Tips to Get to the Celebration
From Union Square
- Light Rail Trains: The best way to get from Union Square to Civic Center is by using one of the light rail trains. You can pick them up at the underground station at Powell and Market Streets. From here, take any of the outbound trains to the Civic Center station, which is one stop from the Powell Station.
From Fisherman's Wharf
- 49 Caltrain Bus: The easiest way to get to the Civic Center Plaza from Fisherman's Wharf is by taking the 49 Caltrain Bus. Pick up the bus on North Point Street, it stops every two blocks. Take it all the way to Van Ness and McAllister, which is across the street from City Hall. From here, you can enter the festival from one of the western entrances.
From The Castro
- Light Rail Trains: From the Castro, I recommend taking one of the light rail trains from either the Castro or Church Street Stations. Take any 'inbound' train to the Van Ness or Civic Center stop. Head north one block and you will find the entrance to this year's festival.
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
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