Events

Oakland Holds Pride Festival and Parade

Published

11 years ago

August 26, 2014

Oakland’s Pride is stepping out from under San Francisco’s shadow.

Celebrating its fifth year, Oakland Pride festival and Parade, Northern California’s 2^nd largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride celebration, will take place Sunday, Aug. 31, Labor day week end 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The parade starts at 10:30 a.m. at Broadway and 14^th Street. The festival runs from 11 .m. to 7 p.m. at Broadway and 20^th Street.

This year, and for the first time ever, Oakland Pride will produce a LGBT Pride Parade in the city. Event organizers are expecting over 50,000 attendees who will come to enjoy the parade, multiple entertainment stages with over 50 artists and over 100 food, beverage and community information booths, children’s play area, a wedding pavilion, senior seating, community health pavilion, bicycle parking, easy BART access (19th Street Bart), and more in Northern California’s

2014 Oakland Pride Celebrity Grand Marshal Sheila E.

most diverse LGBTQ city.

After a six-year absence, Oakland Pride’s revival in 2010 had been years in the making. In 2008, out lesbian and then mayoral candidate Rebecca Kaplan captured the at-large seat on the City Council and reconstituted the LGBT roundtable to work on gay specific issues in Oakland.

One of the group’s main objectives was to see Oakland Pride’s celebration reborn.

Oakland has been recognized as having the sixth largest LGBTQ population in the nation, with the largest percentage of African American LGBTQ people in the Bay Area. Oakland is noted as having the second highest number of same sex couples in the nation and is home to the largest concentration of lesbians in America.

Pride is an affirmation of one’s self and the community as a whole. Pride’s movement began after Stonewall riots in New York, 1969, when groups of gay people, mostly transgendered people in local bars stood up to unconstitutional raids by New York Police.

2014 Oakland Pride Legacy Grand Marshall, Joe Hawkins

2014 Oakland Pride Legacy Grand Marshal, Joe Hawkins

Today, many countries around the world celebrate LGBT Pride.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and The East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club will host their 2^nd Annual Oakland Pride Breakfast. Assembly member Tom Ammiano will be given a Pride award for his commitment to the LGBTQ community. Oakland’s first parade Grand Marshals will be recognized: Celebrity Grand Marshal Sheila E, Legacy Grand Marshal nightclub promoter Joe Hawkins and Youth Grand Marshal Lirio Zepeda.

Oakland Pride will connect LGBTQ community members to essential services and programs, including HIV prevention, support for persons of color, women, seniors/elders, youth, people with disabilities, Transgender services and support groups.

The AIDS project of the East bay, a leader in providing HIV prevention, will unveil a newly wrapped mobile testing unit sponsored by the CDC’s “Testing Makes Us Stronger” campaign,

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Related Topics:City of Oakland LGBTQ Oakland Oakland Pride Pride Parade rebecca kaplan

Up Next

Latin Magic Band’s 25th Anniversary Celebration in Stockton

Don't Miss

BOOK REVIEW: “Endangered”

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

Published

4 days ago

May 30, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

1 week ago

May 25, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Newsom, Pelosi Welcome Election of First American Pope; Call for Unity and Compassion

“In his first address, he reminded us that God loves each and every person,” said Newsom. “We trust that he will shepherd us through the best of the Church’s teachings: to respect human dignity, care for the poor, and wish for the common good of us all.” Newsom also expressed hope that the pontiff’s leadership would serve as a unifying force in a time of global instability.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Pope Leo XIV. Screenshot.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom on May 8 issued a statement congratulating Pope Leo XIV on his historic election as the first American to lead the Catholic Church.

The announcement has drawn widespread reaction from U.S. leaders, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called the moment spiritually significant and aligned with the values of service and social justice.

In their statement, the Newsoms expressed hope that the newly elected pope would guide the Church with a focus on compassion, dignity, and care for the most vulnerable. Newsom said he and the First Partner joined others around the world in celebrating the milestone and were encouraged by the pope’s first message.

Newsom also expressed hope that the pontiff’s leadership would serve as a unifying force in a time of global instability.

“May he remind us that our better angels are not far away — they’re always within us, waiting to be heard,” he said.

Pelosi, a devout Catholic, also welcomed the pope’s election and noted his symbolic connection to earlier church leaders who championed workers’ rights and social equality.

“It is heartening that His Holiness continued the blessing that Pope Francis gave on Easter Sunday: ‘God loves everyone. Evil will not prevail,’” said Pelosi.