Pride Parade & Pro Beach Volleyball
- Emily Richardson
- Jun 28, 2016
- 2 min read
When in San Francisco, it's practically evil not to attend the Pride Parade if you're in town during the month of July. In any case, I wouldn't miss it for the world! To start the day, Henry and I dressed in bright blue and vibrant teal, picked up a few rainbow flags, put on some beaded necklaces, and we were off!
We didn't even make it 30 feet out of the apartment building when we could already hear the sounds of music and cheering from Market Street. We crossed Market and started heading northwest towards downtown. To our immense enjoyment - the first thing we stumbled upon was a giant Haagen-dazs vendor giving away free ice cream cups! I got peanut butter chocolate and Henry got vanilla. This felt like one of the warmest days of the summer so far, so it was great to get some free ice cream to go along with it!
We saw dozens of decorated floats, filled with many people dancing, singing, and all around letting loose and having a great time. The sidewalks were fully packed with spectators, and Henry and I made slow but steady progress as we walked against the flow of the parade. During the time we walked down Market, we saw many crazy things (most that I definitely cannot post online), many scantily clad performers and crowd members, but most of all, we saw love all around. It was a fabulous day, everyone was outside celebrating, and you could truly feel the happiness in the air.
We finally made it to Pier 30, since we had a dual agenda for the day! The AVP Professional Beach Volleyball Tour was in town and many big name athletes were competing including Kerri Walsh and Phil Dalhausser. By the time Henry and I made it into the stands, we only got to catch the last set of the Men's Final Match, but it was one of my favorite 30 minute segments of the day! I had always seen these stadium matches on TV, but I never thought I would actually get to experience and attend one in person. We watched 2 American brothers compete against foreigners. They unfortunately ended up losing, but the crowd was very supportive and even cheered for the foreigners too when they won.
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