A&PI COMMUNITY MARCH AND CELEBRATE PRIDE

The Asian and Pacific Islander community got to show its Pride during the SF Pride Parade & Celebration this year. Market Street was a sea of sapphire A&PI Pride t-shirts as we were joined by the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA) and South Bay Queer & Asians as part of our parade contingent.

An estimated 30,000 people made their way through the pavilion and stage area, visiting the booths from various A&PI groups such as GAPA, A&PI Equality, GAM Global, TEPOT, and our outreach and testing booths.

The A&PI Stage lived up to its reputation as the most "colorful and diverse" stage during the Pride Celebration with 22 different perfomances. Highlights from this year were Michael Nguyen, Erika David, Chris Cole, Divo Bayer and 4playLadies. Introducing the acts were our fabulous emcees: Tita Aida, La Monistat, Mr. and Ms. GAPA, and Estee Longgah! We're also grateful to our stage sponsors: SF Pride, Shangri-la at the Endup, GAPA, Asian Men Redefined Calendar and Club Dragon. We had a great time, and hope you did too!

See you again next year!

Photo courtesy of Robert Raney

Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center is proud to present Asian & Pacific Islander Pride at the San Francisco LGB&T Pride on Sunday, June 26, 2011

This year's theme is “In Pride we Trust”

You can partake with the celebration by marching with our A&PI Pride Parade Contingent, or visit our A&PI Pride Pavilion and familiarize yourself with different A&PI non- profit organizations or celebrate and witness the various performers at the A&PI Pride Community Stage with celebrities like Singapore Idol's Justin Jap, Erika David, Divo Bayer, Chris Cole, 4Play Ladies, Culture Shock, Freeplay Dance Crew, Leslie Deep, Elemental Remix, Poisoned Cupcakes, La Monistat, Malena, The Rice Rockettes, and community icon and emcee extraordinaire, TITA AIDA!

TRANS:THRIVE, TLISH & ATE TALK ABOUT PRIDE AND THE TRANS MARCH

It's not often that the transgender community in San Francisco has the opportunity to come together and celebrate.  More often than not we come together around bad news, whether that's mourning those we lost every November at the "Transgender Day of Remembrance", or protesting attacks made against community members all across the country. That is exactly why events like the Trans March, put on the Friday before Pride Sunday every year, are so important for the community.

This year TRANS:THRIVE, TLISH and ATE had the opportunity to both table and provide a community oriented hang-out space during the Trans March in Dolores Park. Staff spent most of the day giving information to people interested in learning more about the program, and serving sandwiches and water to clients and Trans March participants.  After Pride weekend several TRANS:THRIVE clients expressed their gratitude for the space provided during the march.  Many clients are on very limited, fixed incomes, and wouldn't have been able to attend an outdoor, all day, community event like this without a place to rest up, get a bite, and quench their thirst.

On Pride Sunday, TRANS:THRIVE, TLISH and ATE again came together to put on the Trans Pavilion. Information was handed out about the various programs along with community resources. Throughout the day staff spoke with hundreds of people about the importance of our programs, and were able to educate the public about the struggles that our clients face everyday.

The entire weekend was a resounding success for TRANS:THRIVE, TLISH and ATE. Supporting our clients while also educating the public about our programs and services, we were able to meet several needs of our community at once.  One client summed it up best when she said "I wouldn't be here with my brothers and sisters if it weren't for TRANS:THRIVE."