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San Diego Pride Preview: The Pride Parade
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The Lady Chablis
The showcase event of San Diego's LGBT Pride weekend is the Pride Parade. More than 100,000 people from all walks of life are expected to turn out to help the city's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities celebrate. The parade will feature community leaders and supporters as well as contingents from LGBT-friendly businesses and organizations. Colorful, outrageous and a whole lot of fun: the San Diego LGBT Pride Parade can't be beat as a people-watching experience.
The Parade will feature four Grand Marshals this year:
- Cleve Jones - A human rights activist best known for founding the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, Jones will be Pride's Grand Marshal
- The Lady Chablis - Noted drag performer and star of the film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Lady Chablis will be Pride's Celebrity Grand Marshal
- The San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (SAME) - A group of young activists fighting for LGBT rights, SAME will be Pride's Community Grand Marshal
- The San Diego Equality Campaign (SDEC) - A grassroots campaign of LGBT activists striving for equality, SDEC will also be Pride's Community Grand Marshal
The Parade is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 18. As in previous years, the Parade route will move through the heart of Hillcrest, beginning at University Avenue and Normal Street. From there, it will head west on University to Sixth Avenue, where it will move south until it ends at Balboa Park.
There will be ten reviewing stands set up all along the Parade route, including a Spanish-language stand at Sixth and Ivy, an American Sign Language stand on University between Vermont and Richmond, a designated Cool Zone stand for those over age 50 at Sixth and Pennsylvania and a stand for special needs viewers at University and Normal. If you want to catch the Parade from one of these vantage points, be sure to arrive early.
Another popular way to enjoy the Parade is outside one of the local watering holes along the Parade route. Rich's, Flicks, Universal and even Alibi all will be open on Saturday morning and offer a nice place to retreat into for a cool beverage or two. If you want to go to the Pride Festival immediately after the Parade, you might consider watching the Parade along Sixth Avenue. It's a short sprint into the Festival grounds from there.
No matter where you plan on watching the Pride Parade, remember to bring sunscreen, water and a camera. Have a safe and happy Pride.
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