Southern California is the ideal place to celebrate LGBT Pride in style. San Diego and Palm Springs are each home to warm, welcoming and internationally recognized LGBT communities, and their annual Pride celebrations are some of the largest and most festive in the United States.
Bask in San Diego’s sunshine on clothing optional Blacks Beach before hitting its festive weekend parade and festival. Enjoy the desert in all its fall glory during Palm Springs’ annual celebration, the last official Pride of the year.
LGBT guests can visit one or both of these GoGaySoCal’s Pride celebrations during the season and extend their visit to neighboring communities. Following is information about the upcoming 2007 Pride celebrations in San Diego and Palm Springs.
San Diego
The 33rd Annual San Diego LGBT Pride takes place July 21-22. San Diego’s largest civic event, attracting over 150,000 attendees annually, the weekend party offers a powerful display of diversity, acceptance and celebration. The theme of this year’s San Diego LGBT Pride is "United for Equality."
Pre-Pride events begin a week earlier on Sunday, July 15 with the annual Spirit of Stonewall Rally, followed on Thursday, July 19 with the 2007 Pride Concert, during which 100-plus voices from the San Diego Women’s Chorus, Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego, San Diego Men’s Chorus, and the Hillcrest Wind Ensemble will perform in powerful collaboration.
The highlight of San Diego’s Pride celebration is the flamboyant mile-long parade on Saturday, July 21 through Hillcrest, home of the city’s LGBT community, featuring more than 200 colorful floats and contingents. Afterwards, a two-day festival in neighboring Balboa Park features eight live entertainment stages, over 70 performances, food, beverage gardens, and 200 exhibitors from across the country.
Additional Pride activities on July 21-21 include music and outdoor dancing at three Festival T-Dances, along with a host of parties in Hillcrest’s many gay clubs, restaurants and bars. www.sdpride.org.
Palm Springs
The 2007 Greater Palm Springs Pride takes place November 3-4 and is the last official Pride celebration of the year. Last but not least, the festivities deliver a world-class event with attendance estimated at 40,000. Greater Palm Springs Pride continues to grow year after year, attracting visitors from around the globe.
Two days of colorful offerings include Author’s Village, showcasing the breadth and diversity of LGBT authors. In addition to autographing copies of their work, authors offer readings, discussions and Q&A sessions with fans. Also featured is a Family Garden, available for visitors with children and featuring games, crafts, entertainment, and kid’s activities.
The festival’s entertainment line-up for 2007 is still TBD, but 2006’s acts included Culture Shock, Jet Black, Strangetown, and Men of Rainbow. During the weekend, hundreds of vendors offer something for everyone, and the festival culminates in a parade that travels Palm Springs’ main boulevard, Palm Canyon Drive, and is always colorful, musical and energetic.
Greater Palm Springs Pride showcases the best of this small, very gay, resort destination, which is home to numerous LGBT-friendly bars, restaurants, stores, hotels, and attractions. www.pspride.org.
For more information on the LGBT offerings in San Diego and Palm Springs, please visit the GoGaySoCal website, www.gogaysocal.com.
