(San Diego LGBT Pride)
LGBT Pride, Hillcrest

Step Back Into The ‘Rainbow Mile’

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

San Diego’s largest civic event is returning this summer in full, living color after being held in virtual format for the past two years because of Covid.

The weekend celebration by San Diego LGBT Pride is a lively Hillcrest tradition that dates back nearly 50 years. Barring any new Covid restrictions or unwanted virus variants, the festivities will resume on July 15-17. They begin with a politically charged Spirit of Stonewall Rally on July 15. The rally is followed the next day at 10 a.m. (July 16) with a must-see parade that travels about a mile down University Avenue, starting at the corner of Normal Street.

The float-filled procession concludes near Marston Point in Balboa Park, where a sprawling two-day festival replete with multiple entertainment stages takes place. Headliner bands have yet to be announced.

“Pride brings us together in times of protest, mourning, victory and celebration,” said San Diego Pride executive director Fernando Zweifach Lopez in his statement announcing the celebration’s in-person return. He added that the organization has doled out more than $3.2 million to LGBT-serving organizations since starting its grant program in the 1990s.