The 41st annual Pride Parade will make its way through downtown San Francisco this morning to celebrate the gay community of the Bay Area and worldwide.
At 10:30 a.m., the parade kicks off at Market and Beale streets and ends at Market and Eighth streets. This year’s parade theme is “In Pride We Trust.”
Event organizers estimate at least one million parade-goers to attend along with revelers joining post-parade festivities around the Civic Center until 6:30 p.m.
San Francisco police Lt. Troy Dangerfield said during the parade there will be a noticeable police presence.
“There’s going to be a lot of cops along the parade route because so many people come out,” he said.
Last night’s “Pink Saturday” celebrations, organized by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, saw few incidents in the Castro District, according to Dangerfield.
Event organizers set up entrance checkpoints following last year’s shooting during the Saturday night street party. At event entrances security personnel searched bags for weapons and alcohol.
Today’s pride activities will close streets, affecting Muni and other transit routes throughout the day and evening, said SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose.
Golden Gate Bridge District spokeswoman Mary Currie said ferry service would be added from Larkspur into the city for the parade on Sunday.
Bus service through Golden Gate Transit will be disrupted through Monday, she said.
In anticipation of large crowds at downtown San Francisco BART stations, there will be three extra Sunday trains and all trains will have more cars, a BART communications specialist Berta Villalva said.
At the Civic Center BART station the elevator is out of service, but all escalators are working. People needing elevator service should use the Powell Street station to access the downtown and Civic Center area, according to Villalva.
Sasha Lekach, Bay City News
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