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The plaza outside City Hall was festooned with rainbow flags, balloon arches, tinsel and garlands on Saturday as the community gathered to celebrate Mountain View’s inaugural citywide Pride celebration.
Mountain View has raised a Pride flag outside of City Hall in June since 2014, but this year marked the first time that the city has hosted a larger community celebration of Pride Month.
Saturday’s event, dubbed “Together in Pride,” spanned both Civic Center Plaza and Pioneer Park. It featured live performances, music, children’s games, art projects, resource booths and speeches from elected officials. The crowd was made up of people of all ages, including both older people and families with young kids.
Longtime Mountain View resident Deb Henigson was among the attendees and said that she was excited to see the city sponsor its own Pride event, adding that it’s important for Mountain View to be a place where everyone can feel welcome and included.
“By having an event like this, it’s not just joy and celebration, but it’s also broadcasting to all of the members of our community that this is a safe place,” Henigson said. “Mountain View is a safe place and we will stand up for each other.”
Stilt walker Tica Bonita poses for photos with community members. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
An audience gathers to listen to speeches and watch the raising of the Pride flag. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Bay Area drag queen Snaxx serves as master of ceremonies. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Community members paint sections of a quilt-themed art piece, an ode to the AIDS quilt. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Rob Ramirez, left, and Cardo Casas, right, dance and wave rainbow ribbon wands. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Ellen Miller is lifted up by the Cheer SF team for a photo. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
A kid slides down a colorful inflatable slide. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
A couple holds hands as they listen to speeches kicking off the celebration. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Leo Richards of Morgan Hill, left, and Isabella Wahab of Mountain View, right, look out over Pride festivities. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney.
Henigson recalled how back in 2014, when Mayor Chris Clark first proposed flying a rainbow flag outside City Hall, it prompted controversy and debate. Seeing the city’s evolution since then made Henigson proud.
Clark is now back on the City Council and was in attendance at Saturday’s celebration. He told the Voice that he never envisioned that the city would come this far in a decade.
“It’s hard to put into words how it makes me feel to go from begging just to fly a flag for half the month, not even the entire 30 days, … to being able to have a celebration like this,” Clark said.
Clark, who was Mountain View’s first openly gay mayor, recalled how back in 2014, not only did he have to overcome opposition to get the Pride flag flown, he actually donated his own flag to ensure that the city wasn’t spending taxpayer money on the initiative.
Saturday’s celebration didn’t involve debate among City Council members. In fact, it wasn’t an idea that came from the council members at all. Instead, city staff came up with the idea and planned the event without public controversy or the need for formal council approval. For Clark, that was a sign of how far Mountain View has come.
Clark was joined by three of his fellow council members on Saturday: Mayor Ellen Kamei, Emily Ann Ramos and Alison Hicks. Before the ceremonial flag raising, Kamei addressed the crowd, welcoming them to the event.
“Here we are at Together in Pride, an event that celebrates our diversity, inclusion and community,” Kamei said. “Today’s event also represents how Mountain View strives to be a community for all. Now more than ever, we want to show support for our LGBTQIA+ community.”
State Assemblymember Marc Berman, Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga and a representative from U.S. Representative Sam Liccardo’s office also spoke at the event.
One of the attendees, JD Dorsey, came from San Jose to attend Mountain View’s event, and said that it meant a lot to them that the city was hosting a Pride celebration at a time when the rights of the LGBT community are under threat at the federal level.
“Raising that flag is a more rebellious act than it’s been in a few years,” Dorsey said. “It really means a lot to have the support of the city. Things feel very unstable and kind of threatening right now, so to have the city and the mayor give their support and let us know they’re on our side really means a lot.”
Mountain View Assistant Community Services Director Kristine Crosby said that the Pride celebration was meant to support the “community for all” goal that the City Council has set as one of its strategic priorities and to create an inclusive space for residents to gather. However, she said that it was planned well in advance of the November election and that the current federal administration didn’t shape how the event came together.
City staff came to Crosby with the idea roughly a year and a half ago and got approval to add it to the city’s roster of events. Crosby called adding a Pride event a “no brainer.”
“Bringing it to fruition this year – there was no question, there was no hesitation,” Crosby said.
I am not comfortable with turning “Pride Day” into an event for children.
This event looks like so much fun!! I’m sad we missed it, but hope we can attend next year. Thank you Mountain View for hosting a Pride party!