Celebrations abound across San Mateo County for Pride Month

San Mateo County will be one of the first local jurisdictions to ring in Pride Month by raising the Progress Flag — an updated version of the Pride Flag that also honors transgender people and people of color — at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 1, at County Center. Participating in the county’s sixth Pride Month flag-raising will be Board of Supervisors President Dave Pine; Chris Sturken, Redwood City councilmember and county LGBTQ Commission co-chair and follow Commissioner Aaron Adriano.

Redwood City held its Pride Flag raising event and mini-pride celebration Wednesday, May 31, in Courthouse Square, featuring LGBTQ resources, a double feature and a photo booth. Pescadero also honored Pride Month Wednesday with a student-led march from Pescadero High School through Pescadero Elementary School to the town sign where a Progress Flag was raised.

Pacifica’s second annual Pride Parade and Festival will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Ingrid B. Lacy School quad on Saturday, June 3. The event will include live performances, tabling by community groups, a family zone and youth music area, food trucks and more.

“This year is going to be bigger and better than ever,” said Jenny Walter, chair and founder of CoastPride, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization on the county’s coast.

Half Moon Bay will be holding its inaugural Pride Celebration Sunday, June 11. The event, taking place from noon to 5 p.m., will begin with a parade down Main Street leading to entertainment, food and drinks and a family fun zone at Mac Dutra Plaza. An after-party, featuring DJ China G, will be held at San Benito House.

San Mateo’s Pride celebration, dubbed Free to Be Me, will also feature a first. The annual block party — always free, sober and family-friendly and featuring live entertainment, resources, food and activities — will be kicked off with the city’s first Pride parade.

More Pride Month programming includes Dragtopia at Filoli House Gardens from 5:30-8 p.m. Friday, June 2. The Filoli Pride event will feature drag performers in the ballroom, a DJ dance party in the pool and other activities.

The San Mateo County Fair will be holding its fourth annual Family Pride on Sunday, June 4, with a full day of events and activities from live music and drag performances, a flag raising and a screening of “TherActivist: They, Them Theirs,” a documentary by Dana Johnson from the county’s LGBTQ Commission.

And on Saturday, June 17, both San Carlos and South San Francisco will be honoring the LGBTQ+ community — San Carlos by hosting Pride at the Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Burton Park and South City with a flag raising at noon at City Hall.

And a lot of work has gone into ensuring the events are safe, said Fernando and Walter. Both organizations have played key roles in planning for this month’s celebration whether participating on the day of or providing guidance in advance.

Celebrations and demonstrations are particularly important this year given the national rise in legislative challenges to LGBTQ+ freedoms and pushback on queer representation culturally, Walter and Fernando said. Pride started out as a protest after all, noted Fernando, referencing the Stonewall Riots of 1969 during which trans and gay New Yorkers protested police raids of gay clubs and bars.

“It’s particularly important to stay visible and vigilant and having our allies walk together with us is what makes us a strong vibrant place to live,” Walter said. “So I think they may seem symbolic but I think they rally people together and when we do see instances of hate it allows for us to come together and be unified.”

They both also underscored the importance of supporting the LGBTQ+ community year-round. Both representatives said they were happy to help plan events and to see community groups reach out to help in June but noted their respective organizations offer programming beyond June, too.

The San Mateo County Pride Center hosts monthly book club meetings, support groups, information sessions and online and in-person gatherings. The organization is known for its legal name and gender marker change workshop, has an LGBTQ+ library with books suitable for people of all ages, and also provides information and assistance on accessing other basic services from housing, health care and employment to basic needs like clothes, hygiene projects, chest binders, condoms and more.

Programming offered by CoastPride includes weekly middle and high school peer groups, yoga classes, twice monthly family peer groups, movie nights and other special events. The organization also offers HIV, hepatitis and syphilis screenings, and information on other resources for addiction and substance abuse, intimate partner violence, faith and cultural support groups among other areas.

“Whether we do it during June or throughout the year, it’s important to have solidarity with our allies,” Walter said. “We won’t be pushed into the proverbial closet. We won’t cave to fringe activists.”

Visit smcpridecelebration.com to learn more about Pride Month events across San Mateo County and other resources.