'Time to get the party started': SF re-imagines Pride 2020, virtual events go live

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The 50th anniversary of Pride is being re-imagined in the Bay Area this weekend. Although major events have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pride is still shining through.

"I think it's time to get this party started," said one Trans March speaker.

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The annual Trans March kicked off its first virtual gathering, typically the first major event of Pride weekend.

"We need encouragement, we need to know we're loved," said speaker Pavie Valsa.

This year, there's a renewed sense of focus and empowerment with the virtual march.

"With Black Lives Matter, we wanted to give our support to black lives and black Trans lives," said Niko Storment, Trans March Co-Organizer.

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Several marches are scheduled on Sunday in San Francisco, celebrating pride and protesting racial injustice.

"This will be the year Pride feels more like a protest, back to 1969 at Stonewall, it's feels appropriate to our time," said San Francisco resident Susanna McDonald.

Several San Francisco artists are creating something cool for Pink Saturday, a pink torch that will be the star of a Pride procession relay from Oakland to the top of Twin Peaks where thousands of Pink LED lights will be lit forming that famous triangle.

"We wanted to capture the pink triangle in our torch, this can be a tradition in the city every year," said artist Srikanth Guttikonda.

Mayor London Breed says 50 years of Pride is amazing but it hasn't always been easy to achieve.

"We have a president sadly who is trying to take down our LGBTQ right, the Supreme Court just ruled that no matter who you love, you can't be discriminated against in the workplace," said Mayor Breed.

Go here for the latest news about this year's Pride.