Sonoma Gay Pride Continues Fundraising with Several Upcoming Events

The week of events that make up the rapidly growing annual Sonoma Gay Pride celebration isn’t for another three months, but several Pride fundraising events and parties have already been announced

GLBT couples enjoying wine tasting at Paradise Ridge. Photo by Rick Martin

for April – and these are great opportunities to help a good cause fill its coffers while also meeting members of the region’s GLBT community. These include a “Pride Give Back and Open House” at 6 pm on Tuesday, April 13, at Guerneville’s rollicking Rainbow Cattle Company; a “Poker Fun-Raiser Night” from 6 until 10 pm on Saturday, April 17, at  downtown Petaluma’s esteemed Pelican Art Gallery; and a “Pride Open House” from 5 until 8 pm on Saturday, April 24, at one of Guerneville’s most fascinating shops, the Sonoma Nesting Company. The array is cool decorative arts, home furnishings, and garden accoutrements in this expansive emporium is pretty amazing – it’s well worth stopping by here, even if you can’t make the Pride event.

Gay Pride week takes place June 6 through June 13 – the festivities commence in the Russian River community of Guerneville, with the Sonoma County Gay Pride Parade, which proceeds right through the heart of downtown. The parade ends at the lovely Guerneville Lodge, site of the Sonoma County Pride Celebration, a free party that live music, dancing, beer and wine, kids entertainment, and a space where you can meet representatives from local organizations and businesses that support Sonoma’s GLBT community. Additional parties and events will take place throughout the week, culminating on the night of June 12 with the 16th Annual Pride Comedy Night (headlined by Daniel Leary and Vickie Shaw), held at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa. There will also be a Pride Interfaith Service held on Sunday, June 13 – details will be posted on the Sonoma County Pride website as they become available.