Is there gonna be an Oakland Pride festival next year?  After 50,000 people turned out for the first Oakland Pride Festival in dowtown Oakland this past Sunday, the answer should be yes.  Enjoying bright sunlight and a friendly, inclusive vibe, attendees, strolled the booths, chatted with friends, ate, and, mostly, hung out at the four stages, enjoying the amazing music from stars including Chaka Kahn, Martha Wash (who did rain men), Kippy Marks and another 57 musical acts (!).

For a city that that the 2000 Census reported as having the highest concentration  of LGBTQ families with children, and of lesbians, Sunday's Pride celebration was both an embrace of a diverse community and a celebration with friends and allies.

Comments from attendees ranged from "Wow, the music is amazing. Martha Wash looks great!)," to "Viva Oakland! So much better than in SF," to "Glad to see so many strong people of color out celebrating themselves today," to "Oakland Pride was off the hook!"

Whether you attended, or missed it, there's a wealth of cool photos and videos to enjoy--people in our town, celebrating their fine selves. Kudos to the PRIDE committee that worked so hard to pull this off--Amber Todd, Joe Hawkins, Frank Ciglar, Yvette Deas, Renee Huff, Jonathan Arnold, Thandiwe Thomas DeShazo, Lorraine Hull, Mitchell Lee, Kevin Ming Young, and everyone else who made it happen. 

Photos here--Starting off with a set from OL contributing editor Ms Paula Wirth:

Videos here: