San Francisco Pride

Overall rating: **

I grew up in San Francisco, but in the twenty-two years I’ve lived here I’ve never been to the Pride Parade. Growing up in San Francisco is itself an adventure, so this weekend I just wasn’t sure what to expect.

On Saturday the sky was clear and sun’s rays pressed softly against the windowpanes. Looking out at the city that stretched off into the distance, I found it impossible not go out. My mom and I headed to the car and drove to Civic Center, where everything was taking place. From my mother, I inherited an incorrigible cheapness and a love of free stuff that no know bounds. If you can avoid the lines of merchants selling amazing smelling food, fairs and festivals are a great place for people with these qualities. We signed up for every “Win a free cruise” we could find. We spun every prize wheel possible. My mom won $15 in gas money and I won a DVD about Switzerland. I hula-hooped for five minutes to win an orange recyclable bag. Yes, a little ridiculous.

That night I went out with a couple friends to the big party in the Castro. We spent most of the beginning of the night searching for my friend, but ended up getting caught in a super crowded dancing patch with plenty of creepers. It was fun though and the music was all right. Several of confusing text messages later and I found my friend’s location, except when we went to the restaurant, we couldn’t see them, even though they were literally sitting right in front of our eyes. Then when we finally found each other, my party had to pee. The line was extremely long, so when it was my turn I said I would have the fastest pee in history and I did. Everyone was very impressed.

After the Castro event ended we headed briefly to the Mission, screaming “buddy” at each other to keep our oversized group together. We finally went to a horrible bar with a creepy unattended package on the ground and a disgusting bathroom, and it was pretty much time to call it a night.

The next morning we went to the parade, which was cool in parts, but overall underwhelming. It’s super crowded and there are big gaps in the procession, which make it more waiting than watching.

Afterwards we went to the big civic center festival again. We were starving so we got some beer (from a liquor store, not at the overpriced fair) and Vietnamese sandwiches. Then we went to the concert area and after pushing through the crowd (and dealing with people trying to push through us!) we finally got a good view to see...the Backstreet Street Boys!!! (Minus Kevin…my favorite.) We also got to see the guy from Erasure—good stuff, although he seemed drunk out of his mind. All in all, a pretty good day.

Fun: ****

Very fun! There were so many different things to see and do. The people watching was great.

Thrill: ***

Started out laid back, but as the crowd grew it became more and more thrilling!


Learning Experience: No stars

Nothing I didn’t already know.

Recommended?

Yes! Everyone, gay or straight, should go to Pride at some point!