El Desfile del Orgullo de Woodland Celebra a la Comunidad LGBTQ+ con una Fiesta Callejera Festiva y Actuaciones Drag ● UPDATING

Hundreds of community members lined the streets of downtown Woodland on Saturday morning for the 6th annual Woodland Pride Parade & Party, an event honoring LGBTQ+ residents and their allies. Hosted by CommuniCare+OLE, the parade kicked off at 10 a.m.

and was followed by a block party outside Woodland United Methodist Church at 212 Second Street, lasting until 1 p.m.

Numerous organizations marched in the parade, including CommuniCare+OLE, Davis Pride/Davis Phoenix Coalition, Woodland United Methodist Church, and Laura Brubaker for School Board. After the parade, attendees gathered at the church for an ice cream social, browsed vendor booths, and enjoyed food trucks.

The block party featured live entertainment, including a DJ and local drag queens, creating a spirited and positive atmosphere to commemorate LGBTQ+ history in Woodland and Yolo County.

The event traces its roots to the Stonewall uprising, a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ+ rights movement. On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, sparking six days of protests that ignited a national movement for equality and civil rights.

The first Pride marches were held the following year in cities across the United States to commemorate the anniversary. California’s first Pride celebration took place in San Francisco on June 27, 1970.

Locally, Yolo County’s first Pride event was the Yolo County Lesbian and Gay Picnic Day, which ran from 1996 to 2006, organized by community advocates Shelly Bailes and Ellen Pontac. After a hiatus, Pride celebrations returned in 2015 as Davis Pride, organized by the Davis Phoenix Coalition.

Woodland’s Pride tradition is newer but has grown steadily; the city’s first LGBTQ+ Pride Parade was organized in 2021 by a group of local high school students, with more than 200 participants marching from Pioneer High School to Woodland Community College. Attendance has increased each year, drawing several hundred participants and reflecting growing visibility and support.

Today, Woodland joins thousands of communities nationwide in recognizing the contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals and celebrating diversity in local neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and civic life.