Tuesday night's ceremonial lighting of the newly electrified pink triangle on Twin Peaks was — sort of predictably — inundated by Karla the Fog. But it was attended by activists and dignitaries alike, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and everyone shivered their way through the speeches and watched the LEDs pop on.
Behold: It was a windy, chilly, fog-filled evening as the ceremony began around 8 p.m., with Mayor London Breed, state Senator Scott Wiener, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, and the Great Pelosi on hand. One of the Dykes on Bikes rolled up with the pink torch in hand, symbolically handing it off to trigger the lighting of the triangle itself. (It's the second year that the triangle has been done with LED nodes, thanks to Illuminate SF, but the first year they did the full procession with the torch all the way from Oakland.)
The San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Freedom Band was there too, with singer Leanne Borghesi doing her renditions of "San Francisco," "If My Friends Could See Me Now," and other tunes, but the weather had a way of making things look sort of funereal, despite the upbeat festivity.
Happy Pride Month, San Francisco! I may not have been officially invited, but I never like to miss an event like this! #Pride2021 https://t.co/0hAJFS722Z
— KarlaTheFog (@fog_karla) June 2, 2021
It wouldn’t be a true San Francisco celebration if @KarlTheFog wasn’t there #PinkTriangle #PinkTriangleProject #PinkTorch #Pride #Pride2021 pic.twitter.com/nKxfIec99b
— ILLUMINATE the Arts (@IlluminatedArts) June 2, 2021
It wouldn’t be a true San Francisco celebration if @KarlTheFog wasn’t there #PinkTriangle #PinkTriangleProject #PinkTorch #Pride #Pride2021 pic.twitter.com/nKxfIec99b
— ILLUMINATE the Arts (@IlluminatedArts) June 2, 2021
I’m a bit lost for words— this was the most amazing first day of #PRIDE that I’ve ever experienced, so far. Thank you @IlluminatedArts, @SpeakerPelosi, @LondonBreed, @Scott_Wiener, and so many others for your inspiring contributions to society and the world. #PinkTriangle 🔻💕 pic.twitter.com/VZMncw0YJ9
— Shane Krpata (he/her/they) 🏳️🌈✨ (@ShaneKrpata) June 2, 2021
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joins Mayor Breed and Senator Wiener at the pink triangle lighting ceremony @KPIXtv #PRIDE #Pride2021 pic.twitter.com/5wgqygl8bN
— Betty Yu (@BettyKPIX) June 2, 2021
Referring to Hitler's use of the pink triangle as a mark of otherness and a death sentence for homosexuals in Nazi Germany, which was later coopted by the LGBTQ civil rights movement, Mayor London Breed said, "The history is that of negativity, but the hope that it inspires is standing out here in the freezing cold today. Nothing is stopping us from lighting up the pink triangle in San Francisco tonight."
Pelosi touted the Equality Act, which was introduced and passed by House Democrats. And she expressed solidarity between the LGBTQ community and House Democrats, saying that they very much lived by the ethos of "We will not be silenced."
"We remember those who have been victims, we work for those who still can be victimized by all of this, we take pride and we will end the discriminatory legislation that we see rearing its head in certain parts of our own country," Pelosi said in her remarks.
The triangle will remain lit up at night on the hillside overlooking the Castro for all of Pride Month this year — typically in its last 25 years it would only appear for Pride Weekend itself. Hopefully that means there will be some clearer nights in which to enjoy its glow and the dynamic LED light show, sans Karla.
As KPIX reports, also on Tuesday night, the palm trees outside Oracle Park got relit with rainbow lights ahead of the two Pride Movie Nights happening there next week.
Previously: Pride Month Kicks Off With Pink Torch Procession From Oakland, Pink Triangle Lighting On Twin Peaks
Photo: Shane Krpata/Twitter