San Diego Pride’s weekend kickoff, the Spirit of Stonewall Rally, will look a little different this year.
The difference is mainly in the surroundings. It will take place on the other side of Hillcrest, near the Brass Rail, because the long-awaited Pride Plaza and Normal Street Promenade is under construction.
But the core of the event, taking place at 6 p.m. Friday, July 17 at 535 Robinson Ave., remains the same, even without raising the Pride Flag on the giant pole along Normal Street at the conclusion of the rally.
The rally, with keynote speakers and Stonewall awards handed out to leaders and organizations in the LGBTQ+ community, has a more activist bent than some of the more party-heavy Pride events.
Don’t worry though, the annual Pride block party will still take place at the same location as soon as the all-ages rally ends. This year’s ARKO Park party, for those over age 21, is free to enter.
Before the party begins, Hailie Sahar will deliver the rally’s keynote address. Sahar rose to fame as one of the five transgender lead actresses on the FX series “Pose” and has since used her platform to speak on issues like HIV/AIDS, domestic violence and transgender rights.
Plus, J’nyka Faulkner will deliver a land acknowledgement, Voice of San Diego journalist Bella Ross will speak on the importance of a free press and Ana Hernandez will discuss immigrant rights during the ceremony.
In addition to these addresses, San Diego Pride will honor several activists and organizations for their efforts to protect and advance the LGBTQ+ community.
Coordinated attacks intended to harm LGBTQ+ people — particularly trans and nonbinary youth — are taking place nationally, and San Diego is not immune to such efforts. In January, Rady Children’s Hospital announced the closure of its gender-affirming care clinic, rocking trans youth and their families.
Many of this year’s award winners are involved in the activist response to that announcement, whether by photographing protests outside the hospital, leading the archive that preserves a the protest’s history, arguing against the closure in court, continuing to treat and fight for trans patients, or providing therapy for the trans community.
In other areas, this year’s awards went to organizations that nurture the health, creativity and spirituality of LGBTQ+ people in safe spaces, whether in pews or recovery groups.
To read a profile about each of the award winners, click on their names below.
2026 Spirit of Stonewall honorees
- Champion of Pride: photographer Jackie Han
- Community Grand Marshal: LGBTQIA+ civil rights defenders, including ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, Impact Fund, National Center for LGBT Rights, Tom Homann LGBTQ+ Law Association, Transgender Rights Project, and Western Center on Law and Poverty
- Community Service Award: Lambda Archives board chair Joe Fejeran
- Julia Legaspi Trans Leadership Award: therapist Pamuela Halliwell
- Inspirational Relationship Award: Dr. Eric Rafla-Yuan and Dr. Sean Kenmore
- Stonewall Service Award: Stepping Stone of San Diego
- Larry T. Baza Arts & Culture Award: Songwriter Sanctuary San Diego
- Light of Pride Award: Santee United Methodist Church
