Silicon Valley Pride, also known as San Jose Pride, is an annual

LGBT pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...

celebration in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, the largest city in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

. Founded in 1975, it is organized by the Gay Pride Celebration Committee of San Jose.

History

First gay pride proclamation for the City of San José

San Jose Pride began as a gay rights rally in 1975 at

San José State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

.Queer Silicon Valley - History of Silicon Valley Pride
/ref> The following year, it evolved into the San Jose Gay Pride Festival, held at St. James Park from 1976 until 1985 (except for 1981 and 1982, when it was held at

Plaza de César Chávez The Plaza de César Chávez is an urban plaza and park in Downtown San Jose, California. The plaza's origins date to 1797 as the '' plaza mayor'' of the Spanish ''Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe'', making it the oldest public space in Northern ...

). In 1986, San Jose Pride moved out of

Downtown San Jose Downtown San Jose is the central business district of San Jose, California. Downtown is one of the largest tech clusters in Silicon Valley, as well as the cultural and political center of San Jose. History The town was first settled in 1777. T ...

, to the SJSU Athletic Fields in

Spartan Keyes Spartan Keyes is a neighborhood of central San Jose, California, located just south of Downtown San Jose. Spartan Keyes is home to a notable community of artists, art studios, and galleries. The neighborhood is home to the south campus of San Jo ...

. It was then based at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds on

Monterey Road Monterey Road is a major Silicon Valley thoroughfare that runs from Gilroy north to San Jose, California, in Santa Clara County. It follows the historic route of El Camino Real and is an old alignment of U.S. Route 101. Route description Mon ...

from 1987 until 1993. In 1993 and 1994, pride was held in The Alameda district, first on The Alameda and then on Stockton Ave. Many gay-owned businesses began to spring up in this quiet west-downtown neighborhood, creating one of the first

gayborhoods A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establ ...

in Silicon Valley. In 1995, the Pride Parade and Festival was brought back to

, to the Discovery Meadow, where it was held until 2014. In 2014, San Jose Pride renamed itself to Silicon Valley Pride, to be more inclusive of San Jose's neighboring communities across the Silicon Valley region. The location of the festival has changed over the years, but it has always taken place within the city of San Jose. Since 2015, pride has been held in the vicinity of

Gallery

File:Silicon Valley Pride Parade 2016 - -SVPride2016 (29178186920).jpg, Pride parade File:Silicon Valley Pride Parade 2016 - -SVPride2016 (29432453856).jpg, Booths at

File:Silicon Valley Pride Parade 2016 - -SVPride2016 (29358226352).jpg, Gay/Lesbian Freedom Band File:Silicon Valley Pride Parade 2016 - -SVPride2016 (28844875013).jpg, Billy DeFrank Community Center File:Silicon Valley Pride Parade 2016 - -SVPride2016 (28844885193).jpg, Traditional dancers File:Silicon Valley Pride Parade 2016 - -SVPride2016 (28842171844).jpg, Pride parade File:Silicon Valley Pride Parade 2016 - -SVPride2016 (28842247664).jpg,

Drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

References

External links

Silicon Valley PrideDeFrank LGBT Center
1975 establishments in California Annual events in Silicon Valley Pride parades in California LGBT culture in the San Francisco Bay Area Tourist attractions in San Jose, California {{LGBT-event-stub