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SF Delight 2021: Public-Chosen Neighborhood Grand Marshals Named, Occasions Deliberate for June – San Francisco Bay Occasions

On April 15, the public voting winners for the Community Grand Marshals of San Francisco Pride 2021 were announced. These are the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center and Melonie Green and Melorra Green, the executive directors of the San Francisco-based African American Art & Culture Complex. Melonie and Melorra, who are twins, shared on social media: “We have a lot to do and it starts with accepting who we are regardless of what we are told.”

The San Francisco Bay Times congratulates Melonie, Melorra and the entire Oakland LGBTQ Community Center team on winning the award. We also congratulate all nominees: Krewe de Kinque and The Queer Nightlife Fund (organizational) of the SF Bay Area as well as the individual nominees: Akira Jackson, Angelique Mahan, Clair Farley, Morey Riordan, René Rivera, Nicole Santamaria and George Smith III.

The SF Pride membership and board of directors will select several additional community grand marshals and award winners later this month. See the San Francisco Bay Times for the full list of next month’s winners.

Alltogether

# SFPride51 will take place during the month of June 2021. After a full year of physical distancing and other restrictions, the Bay Area LGBTQ + communities can regroup in limited in-person events while strictly following current security protocols.

The theme for this year is “All in This Together”. While SF Pride cannot host a celebration at the Civic Center or a parade on Market Street, the organization has expanded its program from the last weekend in June to include all of Pride month.

“Our mission to connect the LGBTQ + communities of San Francisco and the Bay Area remains unchanged,” said Fred Lopez, executive director of San Francisco Pride. “Knowing how much people miss being together, we have worked tirelessly with our partners at City Hall and elsewhere to ensure a range of incredible and safe experiences. This year, SF Pride is all about locals, from small queer-owned businesses to other nonprofits that have shown real leadership over the past year. It is really a pride for people. “

“Pride is one of my favorite times of the year and I am so excited that in June we will have the opportunity to come together and safely celebrate our LGBTQ community,” said Mayor of London Breed. “While this year’s celebrations don’t look like they did in the past, SF Pride has done a great job creating events that allow us to share our pride in our great city and be united with our LGBTQ + community. The events planned for this celebration of more than 50 years of pride in San Francisco give me hope for the future of our city. Despite the challenges that lie ahead, we will continue to find creative ways to keep our San Francisco spirits alive and move safely together. “

The 2021 celebrations will consist of three main events: a Pride Expo, a Pride Movie Night at Oracle Park, and a Black Liberation event centered around Juneteenth.

Pride Expo

To support the city’s LGBTQ + communities, SF Pride is working on the production of a Pride Expo, a modified version of the annual celebration at the Civic Center. Instead of providing entertainment on stages and venues programmed by the community, the expo will have the appearance of a resource fair. SF Pride plans to establish a secure forum for LGBTQ + sellers, dealers, and nonprofits to reconnect with the community and connect with potential volunteers, clients, and customers.

Pride Movie Night at Oracle Park

SF Pride is excited to be working with Frameline and the San Francisco Giants on a film screening at Oracle Park (Friday and Saturday, June 11-12). This socially distant ticketed event, which is subject to state capacity restrictions, is the result of SF Pride’s longstanding relationship with the country’s longest-running LGBTQ + film festival.

“Frameline is excited to partner with San Francisco Pride and the San Francisco Giants to host the largest screenings in our 45-year history,” said James Woolley, Frameline’s executive director. “We can’t wait to delight audiences by showing some great films on a jumbotron screen. Movies are best enjoyed in front of an audience, and we are delighted to be able to host a joint but safe event for the local community. “

This June, San Francisco Pride and The Giant Race will also team up for the 2021RUN Virtual Fitness Series and create a month-long themed virtual run / walk challenge. Those who register will receive an exclusive challenge pin and race number.

Black Liberation Event with AAACC

Pride will build on its successful 2020 Marsha P. Johnson Rally with a similar event at the African American Art & Culture Complex. Rescheduled for the evening of June 18, the eve of June 19, this event will celebrate the intersection of black history and LGBTQ + culture and elevate a marginalized community at the heart of Western Addition.

“The struggles for racial justice and LGBTQ + equality are one and the same,” said Carolyn Wysinger, president of the SF Pride Board. “Last year we brought Black Lives Matter back to the top of the Pride movement with a Marsha P. Johnson Rally, and this year we’re working even harder to center the voices and culture of black LGBTQ even more. I know how much our churches want to be together after more than a year. “

“The African American Art & Culture Complex is proud to partner with San Francisco Pride as we create space to celebrate and honor the collective freedom of our LGBTQIA black sisters, brothers and sisters,” said the green sisters. “We are committed to activating and strengthening our relationship by being a safe place for our collective LGBTQ + voices through visibility and community building. Last June we proudly hosted the Marsha P. Johnson Rally Black Trans Lives Matter in our open air gallery. It was a nice and much needed start! It is our wish that our community encompasses all of our individual and collective displays of freedom! Celebrate with us the freedom to identify and love who we love as we love. “

Bay Area-focused

# SFPride51 will essentially be a celebration of, by, and for the people of the Bay Area, according to the organization. The CDC is not yet recommending vacation trips, and SF Pride respectfully requests visitors from outside the area to reconsider their participation. It is SF Pride’s hope that by maintaining a local focus in 2021, San Francisco can welcome everyone in 2022 and beyond.

“San Francisco Pride is back! After a year of terrible loss, I am delighted that our local queer community can safely celebrate San Francisco Pride 2021 this June, ”said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. “We’re not entirely normal and this Pride season will reflect that reality, but we’re moving forward and coming out in the best way. Connected, resilient and ready to create a strange post-pandemic renaissance, we are indeed ‘All in this Together’. “

https://sfpride.org/

Published April 22, 2021

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