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It commemorates 40 years since the gay rights movement began on the heels of the Civil Rights movement, with the Stonewall Riot in 1969. The theme of this year’s parade was “Stonewall 2.0 – Activism for Equality”. For more information on the festival, see the Festical page at. Admission is $20 and the festival is open Saturday and Sunday. The festival is located just south of Laurel Street.
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The parade ended with a series of classic cars, followed by thousands of people marching down 6th Avenue to the Pride Festival in Balboa Park. It was refreshing to see churches practicing love and tolerance. Obviously they want to distance themselves from the more vocal churches that preach hate and intolerance. One thing that surprised me was the number of churches that entered floats or contingents in the parade, all showing support for gay rights and gay marriage. Smart politicians have learned that they need the support of the gay community if they are to be effective leaders. They included Mayor Jerry Sanders, members of the San Diego City Council, representatives of the San Diego Police, Representative Susan Davis, Senator Christine Kehoe, Assembly Member Marty Block, and others. There were quite a few government officials in the parade. Ocean Beach was represented by Sunset Cliffs Animal Hospital, who entered a classic VW van covered with rainbow-colored balloons.
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The full list of entries can be found at. And, of course, rainbow colors adorned almost everything in sight. Many floats carried signs reading “We all deserve the freedom to marry”. Most floats, however, contained messages of human rights, activism, and remembering the Stonewall Riot of 1969. Some of the local gay nightclubs entered floats that featured music and dancers. They were followed by floats and contingents from various LGBT groups and businesses. The parade started with the lead cars draped with rainbow flags, escorting a large group of motorcyclists.
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Most people were wearing pride beads or a piece of rainbow-colored clothing or jewelry. The majority of people were young to middle-aged men and women, and many same-sex couples. There were a lot of families with children. The crowd included infants in strollers, seniors on scooters, and everything in between. The weather was the usual perfect day in San Diego. When I arrived shortly before 11:00, the sidewalks along 6th Avenue were packed with anxious spectators. It started at University Avenue at Normal Street and worked its way through Hillcrest, down 6th Avenue to the northwest corner of Balboa Park. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered people are joined by family, friends and supporters to celebrate gay life and have some fun. The parade is an annual event that draws about 160,000 spectators and 152 floats and contingents. Saturday, July 18 marked the 35th Annual San Diego Gay Pride Parade and Festival.