Loud and Proud, Silicon Valley Style
The streets of Downtown San Jose light up this year with the colors, names and faces of the Silicon Valley Pride Parade
SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As a sponsor for the Silicon Valley Pride Parade & Festival, the Meriwest Credit Union team was out in full force along with Laurie Free, Mix 106.5 and Jonah Denz-Hamilton, 94.5 Bay FM, to support our LGBTQ+ Bay Area community.
Last weekend, in a landmark year for the LGBTQ+ community, the 40th Silicon Valley Pride Parade & Festival took place and included a single-day street party through downtown San Jose. The festivities began with the raising of a rainbow flag at City Hall by San Jose City Councilmembers, Pam Foley and Dev David, followed by the Black and Pink Dance Party, Pride in the Penthouse and Out at the Ballpark events.
By Sunday, hundreds of people dressed in Pride-inspired colors flocked to a transformed Cesar Chavez Plaza where they were greeted by live performances from local artists to celebrate a day of LGBTQ+ pride. Community Relations Manager, Helen Grays-Jones, remarked, “Participating in this event affirmed our commitment to assuring equity among all those within our community and we had a great time celebrating with our partners including the Rainbow Chamber of Commerce.”
This year’s theme was “Standing for Love and Liberation” and featured headliner Estelle, known from the hit song ‘American Boy’, as well as live visual art exhibitions, DJs, food trucks and other vendors.
The annual parade was canceled last year because of COVID-19, but Silicon Valley’s LGBTQ+ members and volunteers worked hard to prepare the parade and festival for this year.
Saldy Suriben, Chief Marketing Officer for Silicon Valley Pride, stated, “Our parade is a celebration for being who we are – being our 100% authentic self without hiding – and there’s always a celebration when we can celebrate Pride.”
As we continue to navigate through the pandemic, the 40th annual Silicon Valley Pride Parade & Festival went off without a hitch and was a huge success, and we are excited to see what 2022 and Silicon Valley will bring.
About Meriwest Credit Union
Founded in San Jose, California on May 5, 1961, Meriwest Credit Union, one of Silicon Valley’s largest and most established financial institutions, provides proactive, personal, convenient, and innovative financial services to over 80,000 businesses and families throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Tucson, Arizona. Meriwest has assets in excess of $1.9 billion, making it one of the top-200 largest credit unions in the United States, and offers a wide array of personal banking, business banking, and wealth advisory products and services to members. In 2020 & 2021, the credit union was voted ‘Best Place’s to Work’ by the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal and was included in The Mercury News 20th Annual ‘Best in Silicon Valley Reader’s Choice Awards’ in 2021. More information can be found at www.meriwest.com.
Contact:
Helen Grays-Jones
Meriwest Credit Union
Community Relations Manager
Direct Line: 408-365-6328
[email protected]
