This year, Oakland will host its First Annual Pride Festival since 2004. Oakland has the third-highest concentration of LGBT people in the nation, only behind San Francisco and Seattle. So why shouldn’t we have our own Pride? There is a lot to be proud of in the East Bay, such as great weather with REAL seasons (i.e. Summer?).
Oakland Pride, Inc. (the business behind the festival) recieved a donation from the Port of Oakland in the form of 4,000 square foot office space in Jack London Square. With only a few months to go, fundraising and last minute organizing has been in full swing to make this first festival one to remember and bring hope to continued festivals in the future.
Oakland Pride is also serving as the vanguard of a full-fledged fundraising effort to create the first All-Inclusive LGBT Community Center in Oakland in collaboration with City Councilmember, Rebecca Kaplan, the council’s only openly gay member.
