Pride by the Beach

Pride by the Beach is a free, family-friendly Pride festival in downtown Oceanside run by the North County LGBTQ Resource Center. It celebrated 19 years in 2026 and is tied to the center's youth leadership program.

Pride by the Beach is a program of the North County LGBTQ Resource Center, whose mission is to serve, empower and advocate for the LGBTQI+ community of San Diego North County. The center's reach covers more than 13 cities in the region as well as Camp Pendleton, and it offers mental health resources, support groups for transgender people, HIV prevention and care, and transitional housing for young people at risk of homelessness. It says it never closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and expanded its services in that time.

The free festival is held on the second Saturday in June, from midday into the early evening, in the heart of downtown Oceanside. Alongside the festival, the program builds visibility through its Youth Leadership program and community leadership opportunities, and the organizing committee recruits new members each year for the next festival.

The center's executive director, Max Dispoti, has emphasized that every person deserves dignity and respect. The festival website also shares a guide to common LGBTQ terms, with a reminder that identity and attraction are personal and that it is best to ask people which terms they prefer.

Pride events celebrate LGBTQ+ people and mark the Stonewall uprising of June 1969. Most combine a parade or march with a festival of performers, community groups, vendors and food.

Pride by the Beach has included festival and youth events.

The organizer has not announced dates for 2027 yet. In 2026 it was held June 6, 2026. It usually falls early June.