The San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Celebration (formerly International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day, Gay Freedom Day, Christopher Street West), usually known as San Francisco Pride, is a parade and festival held at the end of June most years in San Francisco, California, to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their allies. The 49th annual parade in 2019 included 289 parade contingents, and is described on the official website as "the largest gathering of LGBT people and allies in the nation". Parade The San Francisco Pride parade is an LGBT pride parade that is held on a Sunday morning as part of a two-day Festival. The route is usually west along San Francisco's Market Street, from Steuart Street to 8th Street and it runs from 10:30 am until almost 4:00 pm. Participants line up off the parade route in advance of the start of the parade. Contingents The parade consists of hundreds of contingents from various groups and organizations. Some of the more well-known contingents are: Dykes on Bikes, formerly known as "Women's Motorcycle Contingent" for legal purposes, has several hundred motorcycle riders, almost all women-identified although they welcome all gender-variant people. Some of the women are topless, some wear leather or fanciful costumes. The sound of hundreds of motorcycle engines gives this contingent a big impact. They are traditionally the first contingent in the parade; one reason for this is that it is difficult for motorcycles to run reliably at the walking pace of the rest of the parade, so as the first contingent they can move at an easier pace. On November 13, 2006, they won a battle to trademark the name "Dykes on Bikes", having struggled since 2003 to persuade the United States Patent and Trademark Office that "dyke" was not an offensive word. Founding member and activist, Soni Wolf was selected to serve as a Community Grand Marshal at the San Francisco Pride parade in 2018. Wolf died in April 2018 before she was able to serve as Community Grand Marshal. Her close friends will represent her in the parade by carrying the custom-painted motorcycle tank from the bike she rode during the inaugural ride in 1976. Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), is usually one of the largest contingents, featuring several hundred people. These are typically the parents or family members of LGBT people, mostly