Chinatown Pride returns to San Francisco despite funding cuts
SAN FRANCISCO — Memorial Day weekend is filled with events around the Bay Area. But in San Francisco's Chinatown, a fairly new event will look to bring together community and culture.
The second annual Chinatown Pride celebration will take place Saturday night.
YY Zhu and the team at the Chinese Culture Center (CCC) are hard at work getting ready for Chinatown Pride 2025.
"It's a powerful event that transforms San Francisco's Chinatown neighborhood," said Zhu.
With the theme "We are Immortal," the event looks to highlight the LGBTQIA+ community through music, arts, and education. With drag queens leading tours. detailing the queer legacy in Chinatown.
"This really important celebration also recognizes this urgent need to continue to support and empower our increasingly marginalized queer and trans community and immigrant community," said Zhu.
This comes at a time when CCC San Francisco is dealing with funding cuts, citing how some of the organization's programs are not aligned with the priorities of the current administration. Thirty percent of the organization's funding comes from federal sources, including the National Endowment for Arts and Humanities.
"CCC, like any other nonprofit nationwide, has been heavily impacted by the funding cuts throughout different kind of levels," she said. "State, citywide, federal wide. So, you know, as you can see,e we're being very creative to explore different revenue-generating ideas."
Members of CCC are individually making merchandise to sell at the event. There's also a silent disco fundraiser to cap off the night. Even the Demons Yearbook will be on sale. A project that came to life thanks to students from the Bay Area.
"It was a challenge for the students to basically talk the struggles they are facing internally and to think of a way of using art as a form of storytelling and dealing with their internal struggles like mental health and identity," said Indigo Hua with CCC San Francisco.
How much they raise will dictate whether Chinatown can hold another Pride event in 2026. But for now, the focus is on making this year the best celebration ever.
"This event, it's by the community for the community," said Zhu. "It's super inclusive, it's for all. So, we hope people show up to celebrate with each other and show up for solidarity in this beautiful day in San Francisco Chinatown."
