The Abridged version:
- A full weekend of celebrations, dancing, drag performances and a mile-long parade are planned across the two-day Sacramento Pride festival.
- Festival organizers are looking to create space where people from all walks of life can feel joy and feel safe, despite the difficult political backdrop.
- The Pride March is honoring Alvin Prasad as the parade’s posthumous grand marshal. Prasad was a 58-year-old gay man who was killed in an alleged hate crime attack last year.
It’s a queer time for LGBTQ pride celebrations in the Sacramento region.
Locally, there are rainbow flags waving at multiple city halls, cozy pride gatherings planned at parks and bookstores and the two-day Sacramento Pride festival planned this weekend.
In the national backdrop, the LGBTQ community has been targeted by politicians through legislation. In Sacramento’s own backyard, concerns have been brewing since last fall over a possible uptick in hate crimes. Last Halloween, the region was shaken when Alvin Prasad, a 58-year-old gay man from Sacramento, was placed in a coma and later died after an alleged hate crime attack.
This year, Sacramento Pride is honoring Prasad by naming him a posthumous grand marshal for Sunday’s pride march. Prasad was an active presence at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, and the attack on him sent out a ripple of concerns about hate incidents against the local LGBTQ community.
“It was such a heavy hit on the community,” said Priya Kumar, spokesperson for the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. “We wanted to make sure that his legacy is continuing on. We are here to uplift our community, and we’re not going to back down in the face of hate.”
Family to honor Prasad during march
During the two months that Alvin Prasad was in the hospital, his daughter made a promise that she would relearn how to walk in high heels for him. Prasad passed away before that promise could be made, as he was taken off life support on Dec. 28, 2025.
When Prasad’s daughter, Andrea Prasad, and her mother ride in the grand marshal’s car at the Pride March, she said she is bringing a portrait of her father and donning a pair of bright pink platform boots to honor him.
“I know my dad is smiling big, seeing it all happen,” Prasad told Abridged.
Her father had a passion for pride festival season, Prasad said. Pride events were among the places her father “could be his true self without being judged,” she said, adding that he used to go to as many pride events as possible.
She added that injustices to the LGBTQ community and hate crimes remain top of mind for her. The criminal case against her father’s alleged attacker is still awaiting trial.
“Please, families, support your loved ones and show that support by going to the Pride events that they love,” she said. “It’s more than a simple event.”
Welcoming ‘all different walks of life’
Festival organizers are centering joy and remembrances alike during this year’s celebrations and are welcoming people from every corner of the LGBTQ community.
Kumar said that the current political environment can make it “hard to find time to celebrate” and has others asking themselves, “Can I feel joy?”
“We’re here to say, yeah, you can, in a place that’s safe,” Kumar said.
The festival is looking to welcome people from all corners of the LGBTQ community, she added.
“Sometimes it’s the first stop for people who may not have seen other people out of the closet,” Kumar said. “There’s adults, families, people in all different walks of life. … People can know there’s not anything wrong with them.”
The celebrations are set to take over Capitol Mall in Downtown Sacramento for most of the weekend. The party goes from 1-7 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets start at $24 for daily entry and $34 for a weekend pass.
The Pride March and parade are free to attend. The parade starts at the northeast corner of Southside Park at 11 a.m. Sunday and travels down 10th Street before reaching Capitol Mall.
Festival organizers are expecting up to 15,000 attendees through the weekend.
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ stars lined up
A few up-and-coming musical acts are on the lineup as well.
On Saturday, musical headliners include pop musicians Bentley Robles and ZEE MACHINE. Rapper Mama Duke, who was a finalist last year on “America’s Got Talent,” will also take the stage that day.
A drag queen showcase is planned for Sunday, including two performers who starred on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The queens include Willam, from the show’s fourth season, and Detox, who was a participant in the show’s fifth season and a season of “Ru Paul’s Drag Race All Stars.”
The pride festival will also showcase local performances from the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus, Escandalo! Cabaret and Burlesque, and Amy Winehouse tribute group The Winehouse Revival featuring Coco Lamarr.
Felicia Alvarez is a reporter at Abridged covering accountability. She’s called Sacramento home since 2015 and has reported on government, health care and breaking news topics for both local and national news outlets.