San Francisco got lucky today as the sun shone over a several block area sectioned off for the annual Gay Pride Parade. While June gloom is typical for a summer weekend in the city, it almost felt like it could be a New England summer day as people pranced around in shorts, t-shirts and skirts.
Now in its 40th year, Market Street and anyone anywhere close to Market Street was celebrating. It’s one of those wonderful days where you can wear what you want and be as colorful and as creative as you dare. To give you a taste of this delightful event tradition, take a look at the below shot from from Afrocityblog (2008).
I’ve been attending the event for about five years and it’s always electric. The parade has a long history and has evolved and grown in creativity and numbers. Below is a shot taken from San Francisco Gay Freedom Day on June 24, 1979 (thanks to Gay Pride SF flickr group set)
The two were taken from brainchildvn’s flickr stream.
The parade line up today included a wide range of creative artistic talent including the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Cheer for Life Foundation, San Jose LGBT Pride, Marriage Equality USA, Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers, Equality California, House of Garza and Xuxa’s Drummers, Golden Gate Performing Arts, Gay Men’s Chorus, Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits, Australian Youth Band, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Project Open Hand, American Red Cross, Sonoma State University, Curve Magazine, Academy of Art University, and Bay Area Discovery Museum.
Unfortunately I didn’t get any shots today, so will rely on linking back to the many who were snapping around me once they’re live. (a new Canon lens has been ordered which hasn’t arrived — sadly, it would have been perfect for this moment). Here’s a link to a number of photos I took at the Gay Pride Parade in Santa Cruz in 2007.
Below are a couple of stunningly colorful and playful shots from gaylife’s slide show.
Also participating in today’s annual celebration was Bare Chest Calendar, Diageo Rainbow Network, Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, Planned Parenthood, Soul of Pride, the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, San Francisco Zen Center, Aids Healthcare Foundation, East Bay Animal Advocates, and the Marin Humane Society, not to mention representatives from local schools, senators, and congressmen. Additionally, there was the City Treasurer, Public Defender and District Attorney of the city of San Francisco District.
The event exudes fun, color, creativity and energy. Dancing up and down Market Street there were the likes of fun names such as Cupcake Cars, Betty’s List, Pink Pistols, and Barbary Coast Cloggers. Corporate brands came out to play as well including Google, Levis, Bank of America, Zipcar, PG&E, Wells Fargo, Macys, and Whole Foods and Clear Channel, among many others.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
