SF Pride Parade Returning To The Streets Of San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) - San Francisco Pride announced this week it will return to in-person events this June for the first time since the pandemic as the nonprofit also prepares for a change in leadership this year.
"I think what stands out for me about my time here at San Francisco Pride is being really heartened by the resilience of our community of the ways we have consistently faced challenges with love and compassion," said Outgoing Executive Director Fred Lopez.
Lopez was in charge of the organization for the past two years, overseeing its journey through the COVID-19 pandemic. While the search for his successor continues, Suzanne Ford will take on that role in an interim basis.
"We're going to step back into our greatness and we're going to let the world know that the queer community is resilient in San Francisco and San Francisco Pride is at the center of that," Ford told KPIX 5 on Thursday.
Community leaders say the return of a celebration in person will benefit the whole city. One estimate calculated that $357 million was generated for all of San Francisco over the two days of Pride weekend, according to the Castro Community Benefit District.
"Pride has always been a little bit like Christmas for the Castro as far as the small businesses go," said Andrea Aiello, the executive director of the Castro CBD. "We're back, we're moving forward."
While the benefit for the city is clear, the Castro District expects to see a much needed bounce for businesses who have struggled during the pandemic. Those who are located in the neighborhood say they are eager to have a safe and successful Pride celebration in 2022.
"This I think is a necessary thing for the community, to remember what it's like to live life, and to get through the pandemic, we've come along way in the past two years," said Paul Perretta, one of the owners of Hot Cookie. "I'm a firm believer that in person is always better when it comes to celebrating with others."
Some question if this is the right move at this time, hoping it will be safe but wonder if more time is needed to assess the current state of the pandemic.
"Bringing hundreds of thousands of people together seems a little premature," said Louis Knox, a San Francisco resident. "I say baby steps, I say baby steps and evaluation, baby steps and evaluation because you see we've been here before, this is not the first time we've had a 'reopening' only to find out it's a 'reclosing.'"
Pride Weekend will be June 25 - 26 with "Love Will Keep Us Together" as the 2022 theme. Organizers say they will have more specific details to announce in another month. They hope people will donate to the organization or become a member to help fund their work.
"Everybody from the city who wants to say 'Hey, San Francisco is open and we're ready' to accept people from all over the world who want to experience that sense of community and acceptance that San Francisco is known for," Lopez said.