San Francisco Pride 2024: Parade Logistics, Transportation and Partying Safely

“But it really doesn’t — it will just help your body regulate itself,” he said. “So if you’re drinking alcohol, having a cup of water between each [drink] isn’t going to stop you from getting drunk … but you will feel much less hungover the next day.”

If you plan to bring water bottles to either the parade or the celebration at the Civic Center, don’t forget that they have to be empty plastic bottles that you can refill at each event.

What to know about accessibility at Pride

Sunday’s Pride parade has a free accessible viewing area, which organizers say provides an “unobstructed view” of the parade for each person who needs it, plus one guest. This area at the parade grandstands also has accessible restroom facilities. In order to request a spot, you will need to complete an online form.

SF Pride also offers American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and a special seating platform at the main stage on both days for people with hearing difficulties. To access this service, you will need to pick up a wristband at the SF Pride information booth at Fulton and Larkin streets.

If you are taking BART to Pride: All BART stations have accessible elevators, but being prepared for issues with those elevators is a good idea. You can sign up for BART alerts to be notified of an issue with the elevator at the station you plan to use or check the status of elevator operations at any station by calling 510-834-LIFT.

My friends and I are thinking of doing drugs during Pride weekend. How do we keep each other safe?

Taking party drugs (molly, cocaine, ketamine, 2C-B or “tusi”) has become more dangerous in recent years as these drugs are now being laced with fentanyl more frequently. And while we’re certainly not encouraging folks to do drugs at Pride, we do hope this information can help reduce the risk of a bad trip or an accidental overdose.

Before going out …

First off, Cuadra said, check in with yourself now, before the weekend starts, about what type of experience you want to have. “If you’re being realistic with yourself and you would like to do some drugs this weekend,” he said, “that’s probably something you want to prepare for ahead of time.”

Making a decision now about what you want to do can keep you from making risky decisions later on, Cuadra said.

“You run a risk whenever you take any drugs, but I think the risk is heightened if you’re at a club and looking for drugs right there and then,” he said. “Maybe you don’t know the person that’s selling it to you at the club. You just might be a little bit more desperate for whatever you can get your hands on.”

Cuadra adds that if you do buy drugs, it’s best to do so in advance and from someone you know and trust — which, in turn, gives you more time to test for fentanyl. Many party drugs are increasingly laced with fentanyl, many times without the user’s knowledge. A 2022 scientific study found that nearly a third of overdoses reported nationwide in 2021 involved both fentanyl and stimulants such as cocaine.

Even if you were told by someone else that none of your drugs have fentanyl, it’s still a good idea to test them for yourself, Cuadra said.

“People who do drugs that are not opioids sometimes think, ‘Well, I’m not doing opioids, so why should I be testing for fentanyl?’” he said. “Unfortunately, more opioid overdoses happen with people who are not used to those drugs because your body hasn’t built up a tolerance.”

The nonprofit FentCheck provides a list of bars and other community spaces that offer fentanyl test strips and Narcan. The group also has a step-by-step tutorial on using test strips.

While you’re out …

Wherever you end up on Pride weekend, go with a group of friends. Even if you end up meeting someone else, Cuadra said, having your friends nearby can make the night less anxiety-inducing, especially if you’re having a bad trip.

“Even if you’re taking a drug regularly, it might not have the desired effect that day,” he said. “It might just mean you’re in a different space, and it’s just nice to check in with someone and take whatever steps you need to get into a better headspace or a safer environment.”

Something else to consider bringing with you when going out: Narcan. Narcan is the brand name for a naloxone nasal spray that is administered to someone when they are experiencing an opioid overdose (including from fentanyl).

Anyone can buy Narcan at a pharmacy without needing a prescription, and you can also get it free of charge at the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Community Behavioral Health Services pharmacy at 1380 Howard St. The pharmacy is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Hooking up with somebody new? Protect each other’s sexual health

For decades, Pride in San Francisco has been a time when LGBTQ+ people have come together to advocate for the health needs of their community. Part of celebrating Pride is honoring that legacy and protecting our own sexual health and that of our partners.

“One of the most important things one can do before initiating a new sexual relationship is to get screened for HIV and STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and to know your status,” said Dr. Stephanie Cohen, director of HIV and STI prevention at the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH).

If you have insurance, call your healthcare provider and share that you need to know your status ahead of this weekend. And if you are uninsured, multiple clinics around the Bay Area offer free or low-cost STI testing. Here’s just a handful of them:

• San Francisco: Magnet (the sexual health clinic located at Strut) and the SF Free Clinic.
• Oakland: The Glenn Burke Wellness Clinic at the LGBTQ Community Center.
• San José: The Crane Center.

“We have more ways than ever to stay healthy and protect ourselves from HIV and STIs,” Cohen said, adding that people can talk to their providers about HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis — or HIV PrEP — which comes either as a pill or injection and can help protect people from HIV infection.

“HIV PrEP starts working quickly,” she said. “If somebody is not on HIV PrEP but anticipates that they may be having new partners during Pride, they can start and will be protected by [Pride] weekend.”

Cohen also points out that doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis — or DoxyPEP — an antibiotic taken after sex, can help prevent infections from other STIs, like chlamydia and syphilis. “We’ve shown through research that that strategy is very effective at preventing bacterial STIs,” she said.

Vaccines for mpox are now also widely available, and San Francisco health officials are encouraging at-risk populations, like men who have sex with men, to get vaccinated. Public health experts say we haven’t seen an outbreak this year like the one in 2022, but getting vaccinated is one way to protect the wider community from another potential outbreak.

Cohen said that although talking to your physician about STI prevention is critical, the conversations you have with your partner before having sex are equally important.

“We never want to leave out talking to your partner,” she said. She acknowledges these talks can sometimes be a bit awkward, especially if you are just getting to know the person. “Some people prefer to have those conversations via chat, especially if they’re meeting someone on an app,” she said. “That’s perhaps a little lower stress than a face-to-face conversation.”

And remember, these conversations don’t have to be a thorough examination of each other’s dating history. They can be pretty straightforward.

“Make sure to ask your partner if they’ve been tested, what prevention strategies they use and decide if condoms or something that you or your partner also want to use as an additional layer of protection,” Cohen said. “We always want to think about all these different options together.”

This guide includes reporting from KQED’s Carly Severn.