This year, the theme for the San Diego Pride parade and festival — “Pride Shines On” — resonated more than it has in recent memory.
“I think we can’t avoid the injustices that are going on, particularly under this administration, and what it’s doing to our community,” said Geneva Lake, a member of the event’s board of directors. “We just don’t feel safe. So it makes these types of environments that much more important to us, a safe place, and we can all come and be ourselves.”
In the face of a hostile political environment Lake still asserted, “Love always wins,” and continues to work alongside new executive director KishaLynn Elliott and their colleagues.
“I do it because I love my community so much,” she said. “I see this and all the joy, and it’s impossible not to smile in this environment.”
Once again thousands attended the event with more than 200 local groups walking or riding a float on the parade route through Hillcrest. Leading the way as grand marshals were members of several legal groups who have been fighting for LGBTO+ liberties since President Donald Trump took office in 2025.
The parade and the accompanying weekend festival in Balboa Park are the culmination of a week’s worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ communities, including the Dyke March and San Diego Black Pride last weekend.
“There’s so many people here, there’s so many identities, so many people just of all backgrounds,” said Karolina Decker, who returned to San Diego from Stockton for the celebration. “It’s like, you don’t expect everyone to come together but then something like this comes on, and for like the entire month, everyone’s like ‘OK, let’s put some rainbows on.”
In the more than 50 years since the march originated as an unofficial event, Lake said P:ide has become the city’s biggest social event outside of San Diego Comic-Con.
“We get about 250,000 people,” she said.
The political environment was front of mind for both newcomers to the celebration and people like Brad Blosee, who has attended for more than 30 years.
“I’m sure every year we say the same thing, but this year — especially with what’s going on in politics — I think it’s really important that we’re all out here supporting one another,” he said. “I think we need to show everyone that this is all about just being our true selves, and we’re not hurting anyone and it’s all about loving one another.”
For his part Mike Thrasher, a retired veterinarian, was attending for only the second time after being open about his sexuality in recent years.
“I think it has to be celebratory,” he said of the festival. “I don’t think we can get negative. I think we’ve seen in our current administration the negativity. where it’s getting us, and we have to stay strong and stay positive. You’ve got to take the high road.”
Around 2,400 people took part in this year’s San Diego Pride 5K Run + Walk on July 18, 2026. (Photo by Adrian Childress/Times of San Diego)The day started with the now-traditional 5K Run + Walk — one of the biggest events of its kind in the world, according to Front Runners & Walkers San Diego head Gilbert Gaona, who said around 2,400 people took part this year including 50 members of his group.
Being the first event of the day, he said, gave his group the additional morale boost of having a built-in crowd cheering for them along the way.
“It’s just so fun to see the excitement, the smiling, the love, the joy that is brought to the race,” Gaona said. “It’s literally a Pride parade before the Pride parade.”
While the run route was lined with people shouting encouragement or showering the runners with bubbles, other observers like Emely Villavicencio watched from afar; Villavicencio took in the day’s action from a seat at Better Buzz Coffee, to get a taste of “queer joy.”
Explaining what that meant to her, she said, “To be resilient, to have fun, to celebrate our community, to remember those that we have lost and keep on living the best life that we can.”
Educational leaders from various levels also showed their support during the parade; Geysil Arroyo, president of the board of trustees for the San Diego Community College District, emphasized to Times of San Diego that each of their member campuses included a “Pride center” with resources for LGBTQ+ students.“We have a lot of students joining us from the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
Both Arroyo and San Diego County Superintendent of Schools Gloria Cirisa, who also attended the event, focused on their educational spaces having open doors for LGBTQ+ students.
“It’s a joy to be here, to celebrate with the LGBTQ community,” Ceresa said, “To show our staff, our students and the community at large that we are here to celebrate with them.”
Volunteers carry a gigantic LGBTQ Pride flag down University Avenue in Hillcrest during the San Diego Pride parade on July 18, 2026. (Photo by Adrian Childress/Times of San Diego)Beyond the public school sector Sarah Collamer, associate director of diversity for the private Bishop’s School in La Jolla, said that her school is planning an initiative to ensure “that students and families feel good about expressing the full spectrum of gender on campus.”
Her colleague Lara Korneychuck, who facilitates LGBTQ+ students group on campus, said that they are in particular need of support at this moment.
“Everything that’s happening in the world, like legislation, anti-trans stuff,” said Korneychuck, who teaches music and drama at the school. “Our students are emotionally impacted by it.”
The impact of the Trump’s administration’s attacks on LGBTQ+ Americans has been widespread — from education to healthcare to their personal information. For attendees like Skeeter Chapel, a San Diego artist, it can be hard to steer their gaze elsewhere. But overall they were there to enjoy their occasion, and see one another thriving.
“I think everybody needs to remember that we’re out here, and that there is a community,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be morose all the time. It’s very possible to just enjoy yourself, find people like you, and see a reflection of yourself.”
— Nicole Abrams, Eileen Mamaghani and Andi Ruiz contributed to this report.
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