When is the gay pride parade in california
The Jewish Gay Liberation carried signs that read, “Chutzpah,” and sang “Hava Nagilah” down the parade route.Īmong the fun moments captured by Peterson’s camera was a group of smiling young men, crowded in a broken-down black van with white letters that spelled out “CAMP.” Chronicle photos show that they remained in a turret on top of the vehicle, shirtless, finishing the parade while being pulled by a commercial tow truck. A guy on roller skates sucking on a pacifier carrying a “Bachelor Club ‘Swings’” sign preceded a drag queen in a muscle car draped in a banner that read “Miss Cowgirl Helen.” There was less amplified sound at the 1972 parade, but plenty of music from singing marchers. Someone affixed a sign that proclaimed “Gay Power is Yummy” at the entrance to City Hall. On June 25, 1972, the first San Francisco gay pride parade features revelers in floats on foot and on roller skates.
If the San Francisco Pride Parade can be compared with Pink Floyd albums, this was its “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn”: modestly budgeted, very psychedelic and unpredictable throughout. His lens showed a march that was much less organized than current parades, but the participants were still having a lot of fun. Greg Peterson/The ChronicleĬhronicle staff photographer Greg Peterson took more than 100 photos, at least 30 of which were unpublishable because of male genitalia somewhere in the frame. There was no event in 1971.) On June 25, 1972, a celebrant drinks on a float at the first San Francisco gay pride parade. (The first official San Francisco Pride event centered on a “Gay-in” gathering at Golden Gate Park on June 28, 1970, one year after the Stonewall riots in New York. The Chronicle, less than two years after writing a 1970 editorial supporting same-sex marriage, offered positive coverage of the 1972 march, then called the Christopher Street West Parade. A leather-outfitted couple waved from the float of the Metropolitan Community Church, as gay marchers alongside sang, ‘Praise Be the Lord.’” “A gay clown roller-skated down Polk Street in a diaper and stopped to kiss men he knew in the crowd.
WHEN IS THE GAY PRIDE PARADE IN CALIFORNIA FULL
“A spirited gay parade with more than 2,000 male and female participants marched with full flourish through 22 blocks of the city yesterday,” reported Chronicle staff writer Larry Liebert. The “no nudity” rule was ignored from the beginning. Greg Peterson/The Chronicle Show More Show Less Greg Peterson/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 7 of7 The first San Francisco gay pride parade ended at the City Hall steps on June 25, 1972. Greg Peterson/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 6 of7 Parade-goers hold hands at the first Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 25, 1972. Greg Peterson/San Francisco Chronicle Show More Show Less 5 of7 The Flamingoes celebrate during the first Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco on June 25, 1972. Greg Peterson/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 4 of7 A van gets towed during the Gay Freedom Pride parade in San Francisco. Greg Peterson / The Chronicle 1972 Show More Show Less 3 of7 On June 25, 1972, motorcycle police at the first San Francisco gay pride parade. Greg Peterson / The Chronicle 1972 Show More Show Less 2 of7 On June 25, 1972, the first San Francisco gay pride parade ends at the City Hall steps. 1 of7 A convertible approaches the Civic Center during the first Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco, on June 25, 1972.