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Admire the annual Pink Triangle installed on Twin Peaks commemorating the LGBTQ+ victims of the Holocaust—a reminder of how far we’ve come.

Explore more events throughout the Bay Area, including the stunning Ribbons of Remembrance rainbow flag display at Filoli in Woodside on June 14–15; the popular Fresh Meat Festival, featuring trans and queer artists performing in different corners of the 13,000-square-foot Z Space in the Mission from June 19–21; and Frameline49: The San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, running from June 18–28. 

Pacifica Pride

The San Francisco Peninsula town of Pacifica celebrates Pride on June 7 with a car parade and festival from 11:00 a.m.

Highlights include Pride on the Promenade on June 21, a lively street festival with live music, games, and a pop-up marketplace showcasing LGBTQ+ artists and businesses. Expect a family-friendly parade of floats from dozens of participating businesses and organizations. Singapore didn’t decriminalize male same-sex activity until 2022; when my family and I traveled there last summer, a rainbow-striped banner greeted us at the airport.

to 6 p.m. [Note: this worked because the stripe on a 3'x5' state flag is the same width as the red stripe on the 3'x5' six-stripe rainbow, thus making it proportionally correct.] In both cases the flags could be fabricated from stock on hand to cut costs. Baker, whose choice was partly inspired by the fact that a rainbow, like same-sex attraction, is a natural phenomenon, later recalled, “It completely astounded me that people just got it, in an instant, like a bolt of lightning—that this was their flag.”

This article appears in Issue 30 of Alta Journal.
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The flag’s full spectrum of colors, embodying the ideal of inclusiveness, has been debated over the years, with stripes added to some versions to be more representative of the broader queer experience.

To learn more about Gilbert Baker, click here.

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Banner photo: This segment from one of the two original rainbow flags created for San Francisco Gay Freedom Day 1978 was donated to the GLBT Historical Society in April 2021; photograph by Matthew Leifheit, courtesy of the Gilbert Baker Foundation.

 

The official kickoff party is set for June 1 with a Sunday afternoon Tea Dance at Andaz Mercantile Terrace in downtown Napa.

A $5 festival pass at the gate grants you access to live music, more than 100 vendors of food and merchandise, a beer garden, a children’s play area and more.

Santa Ynez Valley Pride

Santa Ynez Valley is kicking off its fourth annual SYV Pride Month celebration with a parade and festival in Solvang on June 14.

with food trucks, musical performances, local artists helming tables with their work, a family zone and more.

california gay flag

In 1979 the hot pink stripe was dropped due to the unavailability of flag fabric in this color. Here’s a travel guide for anyone looking to celebrate LGBTQ+ history and culture at one of the many Pride festivals and events throughout the state.

Sacramento Pride

Every year, more than 20,000 visitors descend on Sacramento for the city’s two-day SacPride. On June 14–15, the Capitol Mall transforms into a buzzing entertainment zone with food vendors and musical performances from Drag Race stars like Shea Couleé as well as local talent. 

On Sunday, honor the 1969 Stonewall Riots at the Pride March.

Participating afterparties that evening include DJs and bands at a local tavern and a Dress-in-Drag party.

Central Coast Pride

Get the party going early at Central Coast Pride, with events that stretch throughout the months of May and June in the towns of San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Cambria, and Los Osos.

It is derived from the State of California flag by replacing the bottom red stripe with the pattern of the Monica Helms' transgender flag.

The total width of these stripes is about 1/5 of the flag width, as opposed to the 1/6 of the stripe on the state flag.

Where to Celebrate Pride Month 2025 in California

From historic parades and colorful street art to massive festivals and star-studded concerts, California honors Pride in a big way.

As an icon, the rainbow shows up everywhere, from the windows of queer-friendly businesses to the design collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, from multicolored city crosswalks to the façade of the White House, which the Obama administration lit up to commemorate the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015. Get your groove on at the Pride Nite dance party, watch Mickey and Minnie Mouse march during the Pride Cavalcade, and try a variety of fun themed eats.

Fresno Pride

This year, Fresno’s Rainbow Pride event takes place on June 7 from 10 a.m.

It also has the inscription repainted into red so that it would be more distinctive against the blue stripe, and the star, while occupying the correct position, is almost merged with the red stripe. He assigned symbolic meaning to each of the flag’s eight colored stripes:

 

“This was our new revolution: a tribal, individualistic and collective vision.

Watch 145,000 or so revelers dance on fabulous floats down Hollywood Boulevard during the parade. This resulted in the popularly known and still most common six-stripe variant of the flag.

This iconic symbol and its evolution have become an intrinsic part of LGBTQ identity, culture, politics and society. The other differences from the state flag include: more oblong ratio (3:5 as opposed to the original 2:3), darker shades of most colors and the lack of darker outline around the grass plot.
Tomislav Todorovic, 9 July 2017

The Rainbow Flag

the original 1978 flag

“I thought of flags in a new light.

Another version was the take a stock six striped rainbow flag and with the red stripe down, insert the California Bear, into the Rainbow field and then add a red star. Other versions were fabricated upon request, but never stocked.
Jim Ferrigan, 30 October 2002

Pink stripe and triangle flag

image by Tomislav Todorovic, 1 September 2013

Six-striped flag

image by Tomislav Todorovic, 1 September 2013

This flag has the bear and star from the state flag on the rainbow field with red stripe at the bottom; no mention was made of the inscription, but as an integral part of the state flag, it was probably there, too.

Baker also removed the turquoise stripe to create an even number of stripes for display on each side of the streetlamps on Market Street for the 1979 Gay Freedom Day parade. Thankfully, in the bakery, I spotted a slice of rainbow cake, the perfect symbol for our modern family.

Looking back, I see the genius in Baker’s vision, that after years and years of persecution, a movement for equality could make room for joy and love in a panoply of expressions.