Thanks to former Hurricane Dolores, San Diego received more than 1.5 inches of rain this past weekend to mark the first time a San Diego Pride event has been so consistently poured on! The rainfall, which set all-time records for the month of July and was described by one National Weather Service meteorologist as “super historic,” did not dampen the enthusiasm of San Diegans who lined the route of the Pride parade and made their way to the Music Festival.
Despite the record-breaking rainfall San Diego LGBT Pride Executive Director Stephen Whitburn spoke enthusiastically about the weekend. “Tens of thousands of people came together to celebrate who they are and celebrate each other,” Whitburn told San Diego LGBT Weekly as he reflected on the weekend. “We work for an entire year to set the stage for that celebration, and it made me very happy to see it happen even in the rain.”
July has historically been San Diego’s driest month, which was the reason our Pride was moved from June. The last time it rained at Pride was when it was held in June.
As the weekend rains fell Pride teams deployed to allay festival goers fears that the whole event would be cancelled. “We had social media and photography teams at the festival site to answer questions and post photos,” said Whitburn. “During the rain, many people were asking whether the festival was still going on. We were able to quickly respond to everyone that the festival was indeed happening and share pictures of all the people having fun. That brought many people out who otherwise might not have come.”
The mood on the streets during the parade was upbeat and Whitburn confirmed that people were determined to have a good time. “People were smiling and enthusiastic. I walked the parade route myself, and it was obvious people were out to have a good time, rain or shine.”
According to Whitburn Pride organizers briefly halted performances on a couple of the stages at one point during the Music Festival, but overall the reaction from performers was positive describing the audiences as “large and enthusiastic.”
Saturday evening the rain let up and merchants at the festival were busy. “The merchants were very good sports about the rain,” said Whitburn.
With the wettest San Diego LGBT Pride now behind us Whitburn reflected on the historic weekend, “San Diego LGBT Pride 2015 will never be forgotten. It showed the tremendous heart of our community. I’m grateful to the thousands of people who endured Hurricane Dolores with good humor and high spirits, marching and dancing through the streets of Hillcrest and rallying and rejoicing in Balboa Park. I’ll always remember the smiles in the rain and how proud it made me feel of our community and allies.”
