As many as 300,000 people are expected Saturday at the 40th annual San Diego Pride Parade in Hillcrest and an associated music festival in Balboa Park.
The parade, one of the largest in the nation, is set to begin at 11 a.m., and will run west along University Avenue from Normal Street, then turn south along Sixth Avenue to Balboa Park.
Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, the first lesbian and first San Diegan to run the lower chamber of the state legislature, will serve as the grand marshal. Republican candidate for governor Neel Kashkari will be one of many other dignitaries expected to participate.
The two-day music festival at Marston Point, at Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street in Balboa Park, will begin at noon today and 11 a.m. Sunday. Weekend passes cost $20.
Festival organizer Stephen Whitburn said this week that tickets have been sold to people in 25 states and eight countries.
R&B singer-songwriter Deborah Cox will be the headline performer, taking the stage Sunday at 7:15 p.m.
Many streets in Hillcrest will be closed on Saturday and Sunday for the events.
