Pink Saturday

For those of you who don't live in San Francisco:

For the last fifteen years or so, the night before the Pride Parade in San Francisco has been referred to as "Pink Saturday."

In the early 1990's, "Pink Saturday" was the name of an official event sponsored by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The Sisters scheduled entertainment, local performers mostly, on two or three stages on or near Castro Street between Market and 19th, but otherwise it was just a huge crowd of people milling around and dancing in the street -- a lot like Halloween in the Castro, just with fewer people wearing costumes. After a year or two, it became more or less an open party without any organized activities or any scheduled stage shows -- just very, very loud sound systems booming out dance music.

The Sisters still charge $5 to get onto Castro Street, and the event is still known informally as "Pink Saturday."