Pride Month is officially underway, and in San Francisco, there is no shortage of ways to celebrate LGBTQIA+ history, culture and community.
Here’s a list of events happening in the city this month:
The San Francisco Giants’ annual Pride Celebration at Oracle Park is on June 10, with San Francisco’s inaugural drag laureate D’Arcy Drollinger scheduled to throw the first pitch. The celebration will feature the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band and a community spotlighting of LYRIC, a San Francisco-based organization that supports LGBTQQ youth. For further incentive, the first 20,000 fans who enter the ballpark will receive a San Francisco Giants Pride jersey, presented by Gilead. For more information, go here.
Liminal Space SF, a trans-centering art gallery, hosts an opening reception for “Retroactive Continuity,” an exhibition featuring trans artists from across the gender spectrum. It’s June 10 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Liminal Space SF, 16 Sherman St.
The SF LGBT Center, 1800 Market St., will host “Queer Prom” for queer and trans individuals 16 to 24 years old. Get those prom dresses, tuxedos or hybrid dress-tuxes ready to wear for June 16 from 6 to 10 p.m. To RSVP for this free event, go here.
This year’s Pink Triangle installation at Twin Peaks takes place at 11 a.m. June 17. Pink Triangle founder Patrick Carney will introduce guests such as San Francisco Mayor London Breed, SF Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford, the Grand Marshals of the 2023 SF Pride Parade and Drag Laureate D’Arcy Drollinger, who will read the “History of the Pink Triangle.”
The 1st Annual San Francisco Pride Human Rights Summit, covering topics such as trans activism, race and intersectionality runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 22 at the Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero. To register for in-person or online attendance, go here.
The Mission District’s women- and femme-centered queer bar Mother is the host of “Queer Exposure,” a photography show that highlights the work of queer photographers. This month, Chloe Sherman’s “Renegades: San Francisco The 1990s” will be featured. The opening reception slideshow is at 7 p.m. June 22 at 3079 16th St.
The all-important San Francisco Trans March gets underway at 6 p.m. June 23 in Dolores Park, preceded by performances and a resource fair starting at 3 p.m.
The 2023 Fresh Meat Festival of Transgender and Queer Performance is June 14-18 at Z Space, 450 Florida St., in the Mission.
Frameline47: The San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival is yet another option to celebrate Pride this month, with in-person film screenings from June 14-24 at the Castro Theatre.
The 31st San Francisco Dyke March proudly takes to the streets of the Mission and Castro on June 24. The march starts at 5 p.m. at Dolores and 18th streets.
2023 San Francisco Pride weekend is June 24-25. The Pride Parade will kick off at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, with Dykes on Bikes again revving their engines and leading the parade up Market Street. The theme of SF Pride this year is “Looking back and moving forward.”
The queer party throwers Queerly Beloved host “Queerly Beloved Pride” featuring a live performance from legendary queer artist Peaches, with Micahtron and Your Muther as well as drag, dancing and burlesque. This age 21+ event takes place starting at 9 p.m. June 25 at 1015 Folsom St. To purchase tickets, go here.
“Sketch Belly,” a live model figure drawing event featuring trans model Alida Pepper, will take place at Moth Belly Gallery, 912 Larkin St., from 6 to 9 p.m. June 14. To register, go here.
For introverts, neurodivergent folks, and others who might prefer or need a quieter, low-key and less social- and sensory-filled Pride, there are other ways to celebrate. A solo or small group tour around San Francisco—whether it be walking, biking, running, scootering, in a wheelchair or via public transit—can serve as a reminder of just how LGBTQIA+ friendly and forward the city is. Check out the Castro neighborhood, the Pride flags outside of City Hall and lining Market Street, Union Square store windows’ Pride-themed displays, the Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District, the Transgender District and public art such as KT Seibot’s Pride roses mural on the Alliance Health Project Services Center.
Or head to one of San Francisco’s many parks for some outdoor reading of Elliot Page’s memoir, “Pageboy,” or another recently released LGBTQIA+ book, such as “Open Throat” by Henry Hoke; “Dykette” by Jenny Fran Davis; “The Adult” by Bronwyn Fischer; “Moby Dyke” by Krista Burton; “The Male Gazed: On Hunks, Heartthrobs, and What Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men” by Manuel Betancourt; and “The Celebrants” by Steven Rowley.
And for some at-home, on-screen entertainment this month, check out “Queen of the Universe,” a reality show that highlights the vocal talents, choreography and visual artistry of drag queens from around the world via live singing performances. Season 2, which is currently airing, features Bay Area native Militia Scunt, who has performed at SF’s Oasis and the Stud. About her local fans, she says, “The Bay Area has always been rooting for me … they’ve always been a great support system.” New episodes air on Fridays via Paramount+.
For the LGBTQIA+ community, the city of San Francisco itself continues to be an invaluable support system, as well as a space of queer joy, this month and beyond.