"Out in Oakland" Photos

Hundreds came out to "celebrate LGBT Pride on the Eve of National Coming Out Day" at the "Out in Oakland" festival held today in the Lake Merritt Parkway District. Live music highlight's included national touring acts BETTY, Momma's Boyz, Deep Dickollective, Julia Serano, Linda Tillery and Mark Weigle.

A recent study found that Oakland has the second highest concentration of same-sex couple households within a large metro area. With "Out in Oakland", the City of Oakland and local business interests see an opportunity to capitalize on this. The presumably now annual event is sponsored by the City of Oakland in association with SBC, PG&E, and a host committee made up of actual community organizations. Many people, including Oakland City Council member Danny Wan, hope to create "East Bay Castro district" at the Southeast end of Lake Merritt.