Party with Pride 2011 this Saturday at Capitol Mall. More than 20 performers will entertain festivalgoers with dancing, drag queens, cheerleaders and more at this annual event to raise money for the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center. Guy Farris, Emmy award-winning anchor of “Sacramento & Co” will lead the parade as this year’s Grand Marshall. Don Geronimo, host of Sports 1140 KHTK, and LaRoy, a gay radio correspondent, will emcee. Club queen singer Luciana Caporaso and Sacramento native Raquela bring raucous disco while Miss Coco Peru does her unique brand of storytelling in a day of non-stop entertainment. “We were extremely lucky to book Luciana, Raquela and Miss Coco for the festival,”

Saturday’s Sacramento Pride Festival kicked off with the 2010 Pride Parade starting from Southside Park (its previous destination). The parade moved from the park up 7th Street and ended up at 7th and Capitol. Attendance was estimated at 10,000 for the day. As with most other festivals food, merchandise, informational, and services booths were set up all around Capitol Mall from 3rd to 7th street. A children’s play area was set up in front of the Wells Fargo Offices. There were several stages set up for entertainment and announcements. Sacramento Mayor Johnson and other elected officials gave opening statements and the festival officially started after 11:00 a.m. The event seemed well org

With an iconic new location--Sacramento's scenic Capitol Mall, expanded marketing efforts and a growing roster of prestigious corporate sponsors and exhibitors, the 26-year-old Sacramento Pride Festival is expected to break attendance records on Saturday. The June 19 Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., attracting an estimated 10,000 visitors and bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of economic benefit to Sacramento’s downtown area. Festival admission is $10. After a number of years at South Side Park, the Festival will move to Capitol Mall in 2010, where a street-festival layout sandwiched between the Tower Bridge and the State Capitol dome is expected to add novelty

Sunday, the giant Midtown block party known as the Rainbow Festival, came to its celebratory end. The three-day event held to raise money and awareness for local lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) charities in Sacramento as well as celebrate community pride has raised over 500,000 since its inception according to the 2009 website. Vendors lined 20th and K Streets, offering everything from jewelry to T-shirts to rainbow-hued paraphernalia. Local LGBTQI institutions such as the Lavender Library and Sacramento's Gay Man's Chorus hosted booths, handing out fliers and pamphlets with information on events, clubs and volunteer opportunities. Sacramento State's Qu