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  • 2022 Sonoma County Pride Parade Information

Saturday, June 4, 11:00am – 12:00pm
Fourth Street & Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa

Join us for our 36th annual Sonoma County Pride Celebration! We are returning to downtown Santa Rosa after a two-year absence due to the Corona Virus Pandemic. We are so excited to be back and to have you join us! Please read all these pages carefully. To ensure a safe and enjoyable parade experience for participants and spectators, the rules and regulations herein will be strictly enforced.

Our 2022 theme, We Are Family is all about coming back together in a spirit of oneness and belonging and celebrating our connectedness as a community.  The last two years have been a challenge for us all, but we survived.  Now we move forward, each of us unique, we struggle, we rise, but in the end, we are here for one another as family. 

Together as chosen family we will persevere, heal, and lift up one another. Sonoma County Pride invites you to showcase what makes you or your group one-of-a-kind and to celebrate what makes our Sonoma County community so special. We encourage you to be as original and colorful as you dare. Decorate, decorate, decorate. The sky is the limit to show We Are Family!

Parade participants were encouraged to use this theme when thinking about your entry concept & decoration.

master of ceremonies

Brent Farris from KZST
He was called a Radio God since the first day he grabbed a microphone with his strong, manly hands. With flowing golden locks and six-pack abs, this Adonis body pales Read More
Brent Farris from KZST

He was called a Radio God since the first day he grabbed a microphone with his strong, manly hands. With flowing golden locks and six-pack abs, this Adonis body pales in comparison to the soothing sound of his voice that some say is a cross between Barry White and Andrea Bocelli.

Debbie Abrams from KZST
Debbie has been working in radio broadcasting for nearly thirty years, and has been employed in such places as Washington State and California, including the Oroville and Chico markets. She’s Read More
Debbie Abrams from KZST

Debbie has been working in radio broadcasting for nearly thirty years, and has been employed in such places as Washington State and California, including the Oroville and Chico markets. She’s been on the air at KZST for more than twenty years. She holds two college degrees; in English from UCLA and Broadcast Journalism at Cal State Northridge. You can find her keeping Brent in line on The Brent Farris Morning Show, owning the airwaves on the Midday Show from 9am-2pm, and anchoring the afternoon news updates.

grand marshals

Amy Schneider
Sonoma County Pride welcomes Jeopardy champion, Amy Schneider. Amy enjoyed a 40-game winning streak during her time on the popular game show, making her the second-winningest contestant ever! Since then, Read More
Amy Schneider

Sonoma County Pride welcomes Jeopardy champion, Amy Schneider. Amy enjoyed a 40-game winning streak during her time on the popular game show, making her the second-winningest contestant ever! Since then, Amy has gone on to become a prominent spokesperson for the trans community, which has included numerous speaking engagements around the country, and a visit to the White House in support of Trans Visibility Day. Amy is currently working on a book about her life, and is eagerly anticipating Jeopardy’s upcoming Tournament of Champions in November.

honorees

Tina Dungan
Tina Dungan was born and grew up in Petaluma. She attended Sonoma State University from 1972-75. During those years, she and others started the Women’s Studies Program and the Penngrove Read More
Tina Dungan

Tina Dungan was born and grew up in Petaluma. She attended Sonoma State University from 1972-75. During those years, she and others started the Women’s Studies Program and the Penngrove WomanCenter. 

From 2007 to the present Tina has been working with Lesbian Archives of Sonoma County to preserve the history of the vibrant Lesbian community that existed here from 1965-1995. 

In bringing together people who were involved in “changing the world back then” we create community once again. In 2017, Tina joined up with Shad Reinstein to create the Sonoma County LGBTQI Timeline that premiered at Pride 2018. In the Fall of that year, she began teaching a class based on the Timeline through the Older Adults Program at SRJC. She is passionate about collecting the stories of this county’s LGBTQI people and assuring that our histories are preserved for future generations.

Tina is also currently involved in an archival project to house Sonoma County LGBTQI histories, documents and ephemera: LGBTQI+ LEGACY Sonoma County. You can check them out at the Timeline tent on the Plaza!

When not lost in the annals of local history, Tina enjoys playing keyboards with bandmates in Mister Sister.

Gary Saperstein
Direct from NYC Gary has been a resident of Sonoma County for over 25 years now. It definitely has become “home.” Hospitality has always been at the forefront in Gary’s Read More
Gary Saperstein
Direct from NYC Gary has been a resident of Sonoma County for over 25 years now. It definitely has become “home.” Hospitality has always been at the forefront in Gary’s life, from being in the restaurant business to being the Owner and Co-Founder of Out In The Vineyard, an LGBTQ+ Tour and Event Company here in Sonoma. For Gary, it is about bringing the community together to share the amazing lifestyle of wine country. Out In The Vineyard produces one of the most nationally recognized LGBTQ events in the country with Gay Wine Weekend, a 3-day event celebrating food, wine, and community. Over the years Gary and the team have helped raise over $400,000 for Face to Face, Sonoma County HIV/AIDS Network. He also supports other LGBTQ non-profits in the county including Positive Images.
Gary is proud to be one of the many voices for our Queer community here in Sonoma County.
Osvaldo Jimenez – Mayor, City of Healdsburg
Osvaldo Jimenez was appointed to Healdsburg City Council in 2019 and currently serves as the City’s Mayor in 2021. Ozzy has called Sonoma County home for the last 35 years. Read More
Osvaldo Jimenez – Mayor, City of Healdsburg
Osvaldo Jimenez was appointed to Healdsburg City Council in 2019 and currently serves as the City’s Mayor in 2021.

Ozzy has called Sonoma County home for the last 35 years. His family comes from a long line of agriculture workers, farmers, and ranchers from Jalisco Mexico. He is a graduate of Piner High School and is an alumni of Santa Rosa Junior College. Ozzy has deep roots in Sonoma County & Healdsburg. He is multi-lingual and has extensive lived in experience in different marginalized communities specifically as Latine, LGBTQIA+, and having lived as an undocumented person in his youth.

In the middle of his college years, Ozzy had an opportunity to co-found his first business within the historic Healdsburg Plaza. Noble Folk Inc. has operated nearly a decade and has been honored as one of the Top LGBTQIA+ businesses in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times.

Over the years, Ozzy continued to break through barriers in entrepreneurship, nonprofit work, and now civic engagement. He is an alumni of the Stanford Latinx Entrepreneurship Initiative and alumni of the Next Gen Leaders Initiative at the Victory Institute in Washington DC.

Ozzy has served since 2016 as a board member of Healdsburg Forever, a committee-advised fund and an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Sonoma County. He has served his community continually through consulting work and hands on assistance to first responders along with community partners during the Tubbs, Kincaid, and Walbridge fires.

 

Raised in Santa Rosa, California, Ozzy has a firm understanding of the many challenges our community faces. He lives in Healdsburg with his partner of 13 years.

parade route

judges

Lisa Green
Lisa and her wife, Rachel, moved to Sonoma County in 2007. Lisa has worked for PG&E for 22 years; she is currently Gas Field Service & Corrosion Area Manager. They Read More
Lisa Green

Lisa and her wife, Rachel, moved to Sonoma County in 2007. Lisa has worked for PG&E for 22 years; she is currently Gas Field Service & Corrosion Area Manager. They currently live in Windsor with their children – Ajax a 6-year-old Siamese and Shelby a 3-year-old Pitbull-Husky.

Lolita Hernandez
Lolita has been performing off and on for about 12 years in Santa Rosa, San Francisco, and Guerneville. She definitely loves to be on stage twirling for the kids, adults, Read More
Lolita Hernandez

Lolita has been performing off and on for about 12 years in Santa Rosa, San Francisco, and Guerneville. She definitely loves to be on stage twirling for the kids, adults, and anyone in between. She is a show-stopper at heart for sure. You will mainly find Lolita in the grocery store trying to buy the cheapest bottle of tequila and a bag of rice, while dressed up in leopard or anything cheap. She has to look good just going grocery shopping. Lolita has evolved over time and still has a lot of growing to do. She took on many kids, watched them flourish, and now it is her journey to do the same….so keep your eyes open or “legs” for what is next with Lolita Hernandez!

Mary Allison
Mary Allison grew up in Sacramento.  She has lived in Santa Rosa for 16 years.  She is a proud United States Air Force Veteran, a former attorney, and a retired Read More
Mary Allison
Mary Allison grew up in Sacramento.  She has lived in Santa Rosa for 16 years.  She is a proud United States Air Force Veteran, a former attorney, and a retired Human Resources Director.  When Mary isn’t working in her beautiful garden you will find her playing golf, a true passion of hers, playing with her two cute dogs, Cora and Roo, or devoting time to a good cause, such as
Sonoma County Pride.

Judging Criteria and Awards

  • Judges will be selected from the community by the Parade committee.
  • Each unit will be judged on its overall presentation and the judges’ decision will be final.
  • Awards will be granted to three places in each judging category.
  • Performances in the parade are only allowed at the Judge’s stand (On Fourth Street at E Street) with a limit of one (1) minute. Stopping the parade to perform in other areas of the parade may result in being pulled from the parade lineup without a refund.
  • The awards will be presented on the Festival Stage at 2:00 pm, June 4, 2022. If the winner is not present the award will be held by the parade committee and the winner contacted to receive their award.

Judging Categories:

  1. Best Use of Pride Theme: We Are Family
  2. Most Creative / Original Design
  3. Best Overall

parade contingents

travel information

We've tried to make planing your visit to Sonoma County Pride easy. Here is some local hotel, travel details you might find helpful.

Ground Transport

By Bus, By Smart Train or By Car

Accommodation

Where to stay is always important when planning a trip.

Cafe & Restaurant

As for any trip, you need to know where to eat!

Ground
Accommodations
Restaurants

FAQs

The Sonoma County Pride planning committee is working hard to finalize details for this year’s Pride events. Once we have finalized the details we will publish FAQs and answers in this location. Thank you for your patience.

What should I wear? – Be festive! Wear lots of color! Don’t be afraid to show your pride and wear rainbows and tons of color! Be sure to dress comfortable, and remember it could be warm so be sure to wear sunscreen!

Are Dogs Allowed? – dogs are allowed so long as they are on a leash and well behaved. Owners are responsible for cleaning up after them. Please take into consideration that we expect a very large crowd and there will be music and controlled chaos.. Some animals might be stressed.

Stay Updated!





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