Pride Guide: How to celebrate and get around The City this weekend

Pride weekend is descending upon San Francisco, with a plethora of events celebrating and uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community packed into just three days.

Transportation officials are expecting traffic reroutes and service changes for public transit. Whether you’ve already set up your itinerary or need a few more recommendations, here’s what you can expect as you navigate The City.

Laser Rainbow Flag Grand Lighting Ceremony (Friday)

Billed as the world’s largest pride flag, the San Francisco arts nonprofit Illuminate will project lasers spanning 4.1 miles down Market Street starting at Harry Bridges Plaza. The evening features DJs, dancing and live performances, and programming hosted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of same-sex marriage in San Francisco , 20 lasers will be deployed this weekend, an increase from the six typically projected down Market Street. Speakers include Mayor London Breed, State Sen. Scott Wiener, and AIDS and LGBTQ rights activist Cleve Jones.

The event starts at 6:30 p.m., programming at 8:30 p.m. and the lighting will take place at 9:20 p.m.

San Francisco Pride Trans March and Festival (Friday)

The festival, celebrating its 20th anniversary, begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Women’s Building on 18th street with an intergenerational brunch. The next slate of programming, which begins at 3 p.m., will be a resource fair held at Dolores Park. Attendees will get to interact with organizations, resources and initiatives that support the transgender and gender non-conforming community .

The march begins at 6 p.m. and will head to the intersection of Turk and Taylor streets for a rally before afterparties at El Rio and Mothership in the Mission.

Civic Center Pride Celebration (Saturday)

Civic Center Plaza will come to life from noon to 6 p.m. to officially begin San Francisco’s Pride Parade festivities. The event will be hosted by D’arcy Drollinger, the nation’s first drag laureate , and Black Benatar, a queer interdisciplinary artist and performer.

Adore Delano, best known for appearing as a contestant on the sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, will appear, along with a fabulous cast that includes the Oasis Nightclub and Cabaret.

San Francisco Pride Run (Saturday)

If you’re looking to get your steps in this weekend, meet San Francisco Frontrunners at Golden Gate Park for its 45th annual Pride run. The event starts at Middle Drive West and Metson Road at 9 a.m.

This year’s event will support the LGBT Asylum Project, a local nonprofit that provides legal representation for LGBT asylum seekers fleeing persecution due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or HIV Status. It features 5k and 10k runs and walks. Whether you’re an avid runner, walker or none of the above, organizers encourage you to come out and get your cardiovascular system pumping.

San Francisco Dyke March recruitment (Saturday)

Organizers announced Wednesday that there will not be an official Dyke March this weekend. Had the event been held, it would have been the 31st edition.

They said that changes in leadership promoted the temporary pause and organizers will use Saturday to recruit new members, as well as plan for next year's event.

San Francisco Pride Parade (Sunday)

The biggest event of the weekend will kick off at 10:30 a.m., heading down Market Street from the Embarcadero towards the celebration in the Civic Center. Sunday’s stage will be headlined by Billy Porter, who is also serving as the grand marshal of the parade.

With over 200 contingents set to march in this year’s parade, organizers expect it to last roughly four hours.

The annual Juanita MORE! Pride Party (Sunday)

Held at 620 Jones from noon to 7 p.m., this year’s event celebrates 20 years of being one of Pride weekend’s biggest fundraising events. Each year, a beneficiary is chosen by Juanita MORE!, and this year’s selection is the LYRIC Center of LGBTQ+ Youth .

The event space includes an indoor/outdoor space stocked with four bars, two levels, and a high-quality sound system. Juanita MORE! said that the venue’s rooftop has one of her favorite views of downtown San Francisco, so find time to take in the scenery before your partying recommences.

San Francisco street closures

Setup for the San Francisco Pride Festival, which will be held this Saturday and Sunday, begins Thursday. A handful of streets around the Civic Center area will be closed that day, with the closures expected to last through 6 a.m. Monday. The following streets are impacted:

Polk between McAllister and GroveLarkin between McAllister and MarketFulton between Hyde and Larkin

SFMTA will close an additional number of streets on Friday to further accommodate setting up for this weekend's Pride celebration. The following streets will be be closed all day Friday:

Fulton between Hyde and LarkinGrove between Van Ness and HydePolk between McAllister and GroveLarkin between McAllister and Market

These streets will be closed from 8 p.m. until the end of Muni service:

Polk between Turk and MarketLarkin between Turk and MarketHyde between Turk and MarketGolden Gate between Van Ness and LeavenworthMcAllister between Van Ness and Leavenworth

The City will close the following streets all day Sunday:

Polk between Turk and MarketLarkin between Turk and MarketHyde between Turk and MarketGolden Gate between Van Ness and LeavenworthMcAllister between Van Ness and LeavenworthFulton between Larkin and HydeGrove between Van Ness and McAllister

Three streets will close between 12 a.m. and 5 p.m.:

Leavenworth between McAllister and MarketSutter between Sansome and MarketSansome northbound lanes between Sutter and Bush

Six streets will shut down between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m.:

Market between 8th and 9thSteuart between Market and HowardSpear between Market and Folsom (Intersections will remain open)Main between Market and Folsom (Intersections will remain open)Beale between Market and MissionBeale traffic lanes between Mission and Howard, save for the Muni-only lane allowing access to Salesforce Transit Center

Muni service changes

The following Muni lines will see modified service changes Thursday as organizers set up for the pride parade. The changes will be in effect from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

19 Polk to Fisherman’s Wharf21 Hayes to Civic Center

These Muni lines will also be impacted Friday:

5 Fulton 5R Fulton Rapid5 Fulton Owl19 Polk21 Hayes27 Bryant

The following Muni routes will skip stops and/or reroute Sunday:

F Market & Wharves to Fisherman’s Wharf and the Castro, 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. K Ingleside Bus to downtown and Balboa Park, 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.L Taraval Owl to downtown and San Francisco Zoo, 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.N Judah Bus to Caltrain and Ocean Beach, 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.2 Sutter to downtown and the Richmond, 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.5 Fulton to downtown and the Richmond, 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.6 Haight/Parnassus to downtown and the Inner Sunset, 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.7 Haight/Noriega to Ocean Beach and downtown, 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.8 Bayshore to Fisherman’s Wharf and City College, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.9 San Bruno to downtown and Visitacion Valley, 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.12 Folsom/Pacific to Nob Hill and the Mission, 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.14 Mission to downtown and Daly City, 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.14R Mission Rapid to downtown and Daly City BART, 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.15 Bayview Hunters Point Express to downtown and Bayview/Hunters Point, 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.19 Polk to Fisherman’s Wharf and Hunters Point, 4 a.m. to 7 p.m.21 Hayes to Civic Center and the Inner Richmond, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.27 Bryant to Russian Hill and the Mission, 4 a.m. to 7 p.m.30 Stockton to Caltrain and the Presidio, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.31 Balboa to downtown and the Richmond, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.38 Geary/38R Geary Rapid to downtown and the Richmond, 4 a.m. to 8 p.m.45 Union/Stockton to Caltrain and the Marina, 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.California Cable Car to Embarcadero and Van Ness, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.Powell/Hyde Cable Car to Powell and Market and Fisherman’s Wharf, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.Powell/Mason Cable Car to Powell and Market and Fisherman’s Wharf, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Other transit changes

BART said it will run more cars to shuttle Bay Area riders to the San Francisco Pride Parade. BART will open at 8 a.m. and run a five-line service with trains every five minutes through downtown. Officials said that additional trains could be dispatched if ridership warrants the increase. After 9 p.m., the agency will run a three-line service.

Caltrain, meanwhile, will run four extra trains ahead of the parade Sunday. The trains will depart San Jose Diridon at 8:10 a.m., 8:40 a.m., 9:22 a.m. and 10:22 a.m., respectively. The agency will otherwise run a normal weekend schedule.