This year marks the 39th anniversary of the San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade. The San Francisco Pride parade is a world-renowned LGBT pride parade. It is held on Sunday morning of the Festival. The route is usually along San Francisco's Market Street, from Beale Street to 8th Street. This year's theme is "In Order to Form a More Perfect Union…," Homosexuals and supports showed their support to legalize gay marriage in California. Prop 8 which made gay marriage illegal was passed in Nov 2008. With over 200 parade contingents, 300 exhibitors, and more than a dozen community-run stages and venues, the San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade is the largest gathering of LGBT people and allies in the nation. The first event resembling the modern San Francisco Pride celebration was held in 1970. Since 1972, the event has been held each year. The name of the festival has changed over the years. The event organizers have selected a theme for the event, which is reflected in the logo and the event’s publicity.
The Rainbow Flag identified with the Gay community was originally created by Gilbert Baker for the 1978 San Francisco Pride Parade. It originally had eight stripes, but was later simplified to the current six stripes. An eight-stripe Rainbow Flag flies over Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro, arguably the best known gay village in the world. The pride parade used to start in the Castro. june 29, 2009 Photo by Daniel Dreifuss

See more at http://www.demotix.com/news/gay-pride-san-francisco