You can expect a rainbow-hued burst of music, fun and, yes, pride in downtown San Jose as Silicon Valley Pride turns up the volume for its 50th anniversary festival and parade this weekend.
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Latin Grammy-nominated rapper Snow Tha Product — a San Jose native — will headline the festival Saturday at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, which runs from 6 to 11 p.m. and continues Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. You can also expect a huge crowd to come out for Sunday’s parade, which will start at Market and Julian streets at 10:30 a.m. and proceed in spectacular fashion along Market Street to Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
In addition to all the community organizations, corporations and elected officials taking part, the parade also will include a VTA bus decorated with a special Silicon Valley Pride wrap designed by artist Haley Tang. It features images of key figures in the LGBTQ movement over the years, including assassinated San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk; Billy DeFrank, a Black LGBTQ trailblazer in San Jose; Stonewall Riots participant Marsha P. Johnson and Ken Yeager, who was the first openly gay person to serve on both the San Jose City Council and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
The theme of this year’s celebration if “Unstoppable: 50 Years of Love, Legacy & Liberation.” Silicon Valley Pride traces its roots to a 1975 gay rights rally at San Jose State, which was followed in 1976 by the first Pride festival at St. James Park.
“We’ve spent half a century breaking barriers and embracing every facet of who we are, and this historic festival — featuring Snow Tha Product — is our boldest statement yet: we are truly unstoppable,” SV Pride CEO Nicole Altamirano said in a statement. “Whether you’ve been with us for decades or you’re new to Pride, we invite everyone to feel the magic and the momentum that has carried us through five remarkable decades.”
More details on the weekend events, as well as tickets, are available at www.svpride.com.
