'Celebrate being us': Sonoma County Pride kicks off in Santa Rosa with biggest parade yet
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KGO) -- Sonoma County Pride kicked off Saturday with a parade through downtown Santa Rosa. It's the largest gathering yet, with thousands of people taking part in celebrating equality, love and inclusion.
The sun was shining in Santa Rosa and so was the pride. This parade through downtown gave vibes of love and inclusion.
"Pride is about celebrating community, everybody coming together, celebrating differences, similarities, being present," said Luis Santos-Flores from Santa Rosa.
Thousands of people came out for the 39th annual Sonoma County Pride Parade and Festival. The Spurlock family was there showing support.
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"It's just a moment to be ourselves and celebrate being us," said Savannah Spurlock.
"We grew up in an area that didn't have a lot of queer support so it's nice to see a big community supporting the queer community," said Jason Spurlock.
Some marched advocating for the rights of Trans youth, who are under attack across the country.
"I think it's sad that people are attacking people who are trying to live their lives to be themselves," said Sara Wilson.
This parade started small years ago, with a few dozen people taking part. Now, it stretches more than a mile with 105 entries.
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"Pride overall means we can be in a safe place and be with our love ones," said Sonoma County Pride President Christopher Kren-Mora.
"I've been here all along. I've seen the growth. It's all about inclusion. our community understands it, they appreciate it, and they support it," said North Bay Democratic Congressman Mike Thompson.
Organizers say it's great being among the first in the Bay Area kicking off Pride month celebrations.
"We love it. We call it the book ending: you come here and have a great Pride, and you go to San Francisco and have a better pride," Kren-Mora said.
