Petrelis Files

St Patrick's Parade Includes SF Pride and O'LGBTs

There are two positive items about SF Pride that I want to share today. The first is that the board of directors have kept their promise to me and the community to quickly post minutes from their monthly board and membership meetings. Read the agendas and minutes, and other members' info, here. This allows folks who can't make the meetings to still engage with the organization and stay informed. Bravo!

Second, the board is circulating an announcement about their participation tomorrow, Saturday, March 15, in our Saint Patrick's Day Parade. Unlike the needlessly divisive and hateful exclusions and caveats for gays trying to march in such parades back East, the Irish Pride event in the City of Saint Francis does not have any problems with the gays marching. Brava!

If you're interested in joining the fun tomorrow with the fairy folks, who may just find a pot o'gold at the end of their rainbow, read excerpts of the alert for details:

While similar parades for this holiday in New York City and Boston have been boycotted by their respective mayors, citing LGBT discrimination, local organizer United Irish Societies of San Francisco has welcomed SF Pride and LGBTs with open arms.

SF Pride Board President Gary Virginia was elated with the invitation stating, “Identifying as LGBT crosses all races, cultures, and beliefs so what is the harm of inclusion? There are Irish LGBT people the world over, and non-Irish lovers of the holiday and parade, even in New York City and Boston where gays are still excluded.”

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade celebrates and showcases the Irish community, culture and tradition in all its forms. For their 163rd annual parade, Bay Area Irish and their many friends will be celebrating a “Tribute to the Irish Workers of America.” In recent years, the San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade has grown to attract an estimated 100,000 people. [...]


Those wanting to march with SF Pride can join them on Saturday, March 15 at 10:30 AM, lined up on Second Street between Folsom and Harrison. Questions may be referred to SF Pride Vice President Marsha Levine at MarshaL [at] sfpride.org.