History

History

The Sacramento LGBT Community Center produces Sacramento Pride Weekend events.

Sacramento Pride Weekend events are produced by the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. Our mission is to create a region where LGBTQ+ people thrive. We work to support the health and wellness of the most marginalized, advocate for equity and justice, and build a culturally rich LGBTQ+ community. Pride is our largest community engagement event of the year, gathering more than 20,000 people throughout the weekend to celebrate LGBTQ+ arts, culture, and activism. Net proceeds from the events support year-round services at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, making up approximately 2.5% of the Center’s annual budget. For more information on the impact of our work, visit the Center’s website.

Since 1979, Sacramento Pride has commemorated the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion on New York’s Christopher Street, a critical tipping point in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. In the decades since, Pride marches, parades, and festivals around the world have evolved to both commemorate the struggle of the Stonewall era and celebrate the progress we’ve made in the fight for equity and justice in the decades since. We remember the victims of the Pulse Nightclub Massacre and the murders of trans women every year. We acknowledge this land was, and still is, the Tribal land of the Nisenan and Plains Miwok people and that AAPI community members faced extreme discrimination and violence during the pandemic. Sacramento Pride is the region’s largest and most inclusive celebration of diversity, advocacy, LGBTQ+ culture, and community building in Sacramento Region, providing an incredible and safe opportunity for visibility and action.

Sacramento Pride 2023 will feature the Pride March Sunday, June 11, a two-day festival on June 10-11 on Capitol Mall, and a multitude of community partner events throughout Pride Month.

In our efforts to create a better Sacramento Pride experience year after year, we have made improvements to how we organize Sac Pride.

 
  • A Less Congested Guest Experience–We aim to drastically reduce wait times in entry and beverage lines and eliminate the need to exchange cash by providing a digital cashless experience for entry and at beverage stations. We are also increasing the number of beverage stations, ordering more products, changing our staffing model, and expanding festival hours to improve the flow and overall guest experience.
  • Focus on Health and Safetyβ€”As COVID-19 becomes a new normal in our lives, we will be monitoring any and all developments regarding COVID-19, its variants, and any CDC/County guidelines that may come up leading to Sacramento Pride weekend. Participants may be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result obtained within 72 hours. Guests requiring most ADA accommodations may request assistance by emailing accessibilty@saccenter.org. Limited capacity on-site rapid COVID-19 testing and vaccination opportunities will be available. Guests can expect private security conducting checks at entry points for prohibited items and throughout the festival, Sacramento Police will be present in a non-participatory role, only responding to emergencies as required by our agreement with the City of Sacramento, and we will have two first aid stations staffed by EMTs.
  • Investment in the Local Creative Economyβ€” We have committed to sourcing 90% or more of our equipment vendors, supplies, artists, performers, and event staffing from diverse local companies that support the LGBTQ+ community.
  • Adjusting Prices for Sustainabilityβ€” As of 2019, Sacramento Pride’s $10 admission price for an individual ticket hadn’t increased in more than 30 years and vendor fees had increased only marginally. Meanwhile, due to a number of factors the cost of producing the event has continuously increased more than tenfold. Between 2019 and 2022 alone, rates for staging and A/V, fencing, toilets, equipment rentals, security, staffing, and other non-discretionary expenses have increased by 25-50% due to the 2020 pandemic, inflation, and other factors. Additionally, the Center’s goal is to produce COVID-safe events, create a diverse and equitable event program, offer compensation to performers, and provide free tickets to low-income individuals and families, all of which come at significant cost.

In order to ensure we can continue producing this highly impactful community event, we are slightly increasing vendor, exhibitor, and march entry fees. We are also introducing a progressive time-based ticketing structure that will start with single-day tickets being available online for $10 and progressively increase over time until the gate charge for a single day will be $20. Tickets purchased online in advance will always be cheaper than waiting to pay at the gate and will drastically reduce wait times for entry. For more information on 2-day pass discounts, VIP options, and the best deal on tickets available to purchase today, visit our ticketing page.

  • Police at Prideβ€” LGBTQ+ officers will continue to be welcomed with their partners and families for all Pride events as members of the community. Law enforcement agencies will not be allowed to participate with armed, uniformed Pride March contingents or as Festival exhibitors in alignment with a policy adopted by the Center’s Board of Directors in 2020. However, the City of Sacramento continues to require a limited police presence for road safety and security at large-scale events in the case of emergency, and guests should expect to see their presence at the Pride March and Festival.

Diversity, Accessibility, Inclusion Statement

Diversity, accessibility, and inclusion are essential to the Sacramento LGBT Community Center’s mission to create a region where LGBTQ+ people thieve through our work to advocate for a more equitable and just world and build a culturally rich LGBTQ+ community through Sacramento Pride.

We respect, value, and celebrate the unique attributes, characteristics, and perspectives that make each person who they are. We believe that by bringing a diverse spectrum of individuals together, we collectively and more effectively may address the issues that face our communities. Our aim is for our leaders, volunteers, staff, participants, attendees, organizational strategies, public communications, marketing efforts, sponsors, partners, and events/programs to all reflect these core values.

Our highly visible platforms, including our performer selection, Pride March Grand Marshals, hosts, and speakers, feature an increasingly diverse community of leaders and representatives. We have emphasized diversity in our staff hiring guidelines and tolerate no discrimination in the workplace for paid staff or volunteers. We also endeavor to increase the accessibility of our events, whether that means providing accommodations for people with disabilities, translation services for people with different language skills, or free and reduced-cost options for individuals of various socio-economic resources. Lastly, we have begun to prioritize diversity in our supplier and service providerβ€―contracts with an emphasis on local businesses.