SAN ANTONIO — Setup was underway Friday for this weekend's Pride "Bigger than Texas" Festival and Parade.
What began in 2004 as a two-block event has grown to one of the largest celebrations in the Alamo City.
This year, there's an even bigger reason to cheer. A special cultural designation is in the works for this district, regarded as a focal point for San Antonio's LGBTQIA+ community.
Leaders within Pride SA, the longest-running Pride organization in San Antonio which puts on the Pride Parade, wanted people to recognize the cultural significance of this neighborhood off North Main between Ashby and Euclid.
It's diverse with a long LGBTQIA+ history.
Leaders of Pride SA believes the area deserves official recognition that celebrates the contributions of the LGBTQIA+ community.
After more than 10 years of advocating for this designation, the city will officially start the process this weekend at the Pride Festival.
"Dallas, they have Oak Lawn. Houston has Montrose. They have gay, LGBT neighborhoods, but I don't know if they're actually culturally recognized. So I think that's something that's a feather in our cap," said James Poindexter, Pride SA's parade director and secretary on the Board of Directors.
Just in time for San Antonio's largest Pride event, new rainbow flags have been installed on North Main from Ashby to Euclid.
"We've strategically put them so when you look down the street, you see a wave or long row of nothing but rainbow flags that you can even see from downtown," said Poindexter. "We wanted the flags to be representative of the community so when you came down Main Avenue, you knew you were in an LGBTQ neighborhood."
The more than 40 flags will be mainstays. Pride SA Media Director Minda Tovar Castaneda created the design in honor of her late son, Gavyn Tovar Deveraux.
"Representing the community he was part of, the LGBT community," Tovar Castaneda explained. "I wanted [my son] to be proud and to feel safe in this neighborhood, see something he could identify with and be happy to see what wasn't available to our generation."
In 2011, Pride SA approached then-District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal advocating to designate the area of North Main as a Cultural Heritage District.
According to the San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation, a Cultural Heritage District honors the history, culture and living heritage of San Antonio. They raise awareness by celebrating communities' special traditions and places.
Last year, two council members, Dr. Sukh Kaur of District 1 and Jalen McKee Rodriguez of District 2, asked the city's Office of Historic Preservation to work with the community to make the Cultural Heritage District designation happen.
"Having the city here amplifying that concept of a Cultural District shows there's a lot of city leaders that are behind it," Poindexter explained, adding that six out of nine City Council districts will be represented at this year's parade—in addition to San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
Poindexter said this is part of a long-range plan.
"We ultimately envision seeing bus stops, street signs and other creative elements that bring to life the LGBT history of this community," said Poindexter.
In addition to the rainbow crosswalk off North Main and Evergreen, Pride SA hopes to add two more at the intersections of North Main and Ashby as well as North Main and Euclid.
Currently, San Antonio has three Cultural Heritage Districts: Jefferson Heights, Old Highway 90 and Hockley-Clay Cemetery. In a few months, Silk Road, the corridor of Wurzbach from Fredericksburg to Interstate 10, will be the fourth.
Over the next three months, the Office of Historic Preservation will host several listening sessions where you can share history about the North Main corridor. They'll kick things off with a booth at this weekend's Pride Festival. To learn more about how you can participate in the conversation about the Cultural Heritage District, visit saspeakup.com/pridedistrict.
Saturday's Pride Bigger than Texas Festival runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Crockett Park. The Pride Parade kicks off at 9 p.m.
The celebration is not just about having a party; it's about bringing services to the community. Along with multiple entertainers, vendors and food booths, there will be animal adoptions and free vaccinations for families.
The entertainment also includes a high heel race, championship wrestling and a mass wedding officiated by Judge Ron Rangel.