Show us your Oakland "PRIDE" while celebrating 41st SF Pride this weekend!

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Hey Oaklanders - Whether your heading to the city or staying close to home, we'd love to see how you celebrate this weekend.

Check out some of the going ons below and send us your photos to mfc [at] oaklandlocal.com.

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What has nine stages, a parade with 200 marching contingents and countless rainbow flags lining the streets?

It’s "In Pride We Trust" - the 41st San Francisco Pride Celebration, which takes place this Saturday and Sunday, June 25 and 26 in downtown San Francisco.

And regardless of your race, gender, age or - believe it or not - your sexual orientation, this annual event is the largest queer celebration in the nation and literally offers something for everyone. And ... you don't even have to cross the Bay bridge to enjoy it.

SF Pride Oakland-style

The cool thing about SF Pride is that you can be part of the party and still keep your Oakland flow.

 

On Saturday, Rimshot, Pride Edition celebrates at the Bench and Bar. Also on Saturday, Mo Butta is going down at the Oasis. Oakland-based  Movement Productions is crossing the Bay to throw Eden, an all-weekend women’s event, with a host hotel and six different parties.

If clubbing isn’t your style, consider stopping by the Oakland Museum of California. Admission is one-half off and there will be an LGBT tour of the Art and History Galleries with OMCA docent John Tuttle.

Everyone loves a parade

Mayor Jean Quan and Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan are inviting Oakland residents to march SF Pride with them. Meet between Mission and Howard streets in San Francisco no later than 9:30 a.m. Sunday, June 26.

Volunteer opp

The Oakland Pride booth at Sunday's SF Pride could use some volunteers for an hour or two. If interested, contact jonathan@oaklandpride.org.

Wild ride of Pride events


The Dyke March gathers at Dolores Park at 3 p.m. on Saturday (TODAY!).

On Sunday, the parade kicks off at 10:30 a.m. at Market Street and Beale and ends at Market and Eighth Street in downtown San Francisco.

Of interest

Frameline35 - the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival - plays until June 26.
 
On Tuesday, June 28, a staged reading of D’lo’s new play, "Boys That Pray" will take place at Brava Theatre, 2781 24th St.

Happy liberation

My queer family, did you know that Pride was once called “Gay Liberation?" The two terms have very different connotations.

In the spirit of liberation, let’s dig deep, reflect, release dysfunctional patterns and celebrate with joy and respect. Set yourselves free!

About

Tehea Robie is a contributing writer to Oakland Local, a novelist and a spoken word artist. She loves genre bending, gender benders and interactive media tools. She was a finalist for the 2005 Glimmer Train Short Story Award for New Writers; she's been published in Rad Dad, Five Fingers Review, Controlled Burn and various sites online. She composes her poems by heart, without writing them down and has been featured at venues all around the Bay, such as the 2009 Nectarena stage at San Francisco Pride, I Am A Man Fundraiser and ShePeoples. Tehea was raised by an exquisite, fierce, working-poor mother. She received her MFA in Writing and Consciousness.