Walnut Creek to Host Month Long Pride Celebration

The City of Walnut Creek has announced will host a month long Pride Celebration with activities and events for all ages.

The city invites you to show off your Pride throughout Walnut Creek all month long at this festive series of events celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community and allies. With activities and events for all ages, come out and join us for a month of fun. Be creative—be active—be entertained—be you!

Join the Walnut Creek City Council on Friday, May 31, at 1:00 p.m. outside City Hall to raise the Pride Flag and kick off Pride Month! They will gather at the flagpole on North Main near Civic Drive. This kicks off a month-long celebration of our LGBTQIA+ community and people of all orientations, gender identities, and allies

Here is a rundown of their events:

June 1 – Yoga in the Park: Kick off Pride month with a vibrant, 90-minute Pride Yoga event in partnership with Raga Yoga, a community-based studio dedicated to holistic well-being. Led by Hatha Yoga instructor Wes Linch, this session all-level Vinyasa promises to be both invigorating and enlightening, leading you on a path to inner-Pride. Suitable for everyone from novices to advanced practitioners, come be a part of this wonderful opportunity to unite, breathe, and move together in Prideful celebration and support! 9:00 am to 10:30 am at 1375 Civic Drive at Broadway (Civic Park Gazebo)

June 1 – Drag Queen Storytime + Crafts: Glamour, imagination, creativity and positivity come to sparkling life as celebrated Drag Queen Miss Rahni NothingMore brings an extra dash of fabulous to storytime. Followed by a craft-making event, Drag Queen Storytime is geared towards pre-school-aged children, however, all ages are welcomed. Registration is required for children only; adult must accompany child.  Civic Park Community Center – Assembly Hall at 1375 Civic Drive

June 7 – Family Pride Pool Party: $7 for adults, $2 for all youth. Pre-registration suggested.  Come out for this splashy and festive pool party for the entire family at Larkey Park Swim Center. Open to families of all ages, guests should pre-register to reserve their spots in the sun. Bring your own picnic or stay tuned for confirmation of food trucks on-site. Larkey Park
Buena Vista Ave at First Ave from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

June 12 – Pride Night at Cabaret: Willkommen, bienvenue, and welcome to Center REP‘s Pride Night at the Tony Award-winning musical masterpiece Cabaret. In addition to the performance, your ticket gets you entrance to an exciting post-performance party with the cast, a drink ticket, hosted desserts, and a groovy set-list of today’s hottest tunes. You must enter coupon code PRIDE24 when ordering to secure your party entrance! Tickets required! Enter coupon code PRIDE24 when ordering to secure your space at the post-show party. From 7:30 pm to 11:30 at  1601 Civic Drive. 

Jun 15 – Pet Pride Parade: Dogs of all breeds (and their families!) will strut their stuff around Heather Farm Park with Pride as we celebrate the unconditional love of our family pets. Stop by the photo booth for a Prideful Pet Portrait opportunity. Bandana giveaways will be available for a limited time.

• 9:00 AM – Meet up at the Heather Farm Dog Park
• 10:00 AM – Parade your pet’s proudest outfits around the ballfields!
• Pre-registration, click here

June 15 – Printmaking, Block Stamping and Flag Making: Explore your inner artist at this special Pride-filled crafts-making day at Bedford Gallery. Choose between ribbon flag-making, and poster block-stamping, or bring your own t-shirts or tote bags for prideful printmaking! Craft stations will include artistic prompts to help infuse your original works with designs to reflect “What fills you with pride?” Every thirty minutes participants are invited to show off their finished projects in a mini parade around the plaza.  Event is being held at the Bedford Gallery at 1601 Civic Drive — more info

Background:

According to Betsy Burkhart,  Communications and Outreach Manager, the City Council sets its priorities every two years in advance of the budget planning so that staff work reflects the top initiatives of the City. For the past two cycles, the Council has made DEI one of its 5 priorities.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION (DEI). Keep building on the progress made to further establish Walnut Creek as an inclusive community that welcomes diversity. Implement top DEI priorities through policies and practices, representation on City committees and commissions, training, events, outreach to under-represented communities, and partnerships with not-for-profit organizations. Monitor internal and external progress against clear, measurable goals.

“With that in mind, City staff members work on projects, programs, events, etc., that reflect the DEI priority, as well as the other four. After the City Council initially raised the Pride Flag at City Hall, starting in 2019, the Arts + Rec department successfully hosted Pride programming that was well received by the community last year in 2023.  And many of our police officers will wear Pride themed patches during June.

We have a variety of events that generally give everyone something they appreciate—more than 300 people, for example, attended our Memorial Day ceremony on Monday. We acknowledge the diversity of opinions within our community and emphasize that attending our events is optional. Fostering inclusivity and embracing diversity within Walnut Creek is essential to our mission and central to our values.”

For more upcoming events around Contra Costa County, visit our events calendar.