'Beacon of Love': San Francisco Pride weekend warms up with Civic Center festival

San Francisco was rolling out the rainbow carpet for this year's Pride celebration. Pride weekend was kicking off in a big way Saturday, culminating with Sunday's Pride Parade down Market Street.

Drag Performers were keeping it real by bringing the oh-so-fabulous vibes to this year's Pride festival.

Civic Center was turned into a "Beacon of Love" -- the theme of this year's San Francisco Pride.

"Hi I'm Austin, I'm from NorCal," said Austin Weir.

WATCH SUNDAY: 2024 San Francisco Pride Parade exclusively on ABC7

Austin Weir from Red Bluff brought his biggest ally to Pride, his mom Kristy.

"Pride means a celebration of who you are, getting everybody to be so open and honest," said Austin.

"Love who you love, that's all you need," said Kristy Weir.

This gathering also brought some tasty food, because calories don't count at Pride, right?

"This is fish and chips. My cousin wanted Carne Asada with no Pico de Gallo," said Candice Garcia.

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"You can tell people are happy. There's already thousands of people in here," said SF Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford.

Pride Organizers say 400,000 people are expected to party here this weekend, and well over one million spectators may come out for Sunday's Pride Parade down Market Street, one of biggest LGBTQ gatherings in the world.

"The weather's going to be good. First off, bring lots of water. It's going to be warmer than normal in SF, so hydrate," Ford said.

Pride is definitely something to cheer about: a chance to celebrate freedom, equality and being your true self.