SAN JOSE — Nobody would compare Silicon Valley’s rainbow-flavored festivities with the raucous and wildly popular event in San Francisco — it could very well be the humblest pride parade around.

Its late summer date puts it out of step with other events nationwide, which usually happen in June during Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month, commemorating the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City that served as a tipping point for the gay rights movement.

But for participants in the four-block creep down Market Street — who appeared to outnumber spectators — the message is just as poignant even if the turnout can be somewhat lackluster.

“I know, we’re different here in San Jose,” said Gail Chandler, owner of Mac’s Club on Post Street downtown. “But if we did it in June we’d be competing with Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Palm Springs. We think it’s OK to be different.”

Chandler said the popularity of the Silicon Valley Pride parade waxes and wanes over the years, and many participants said last year’s event was larger and more exuberant. The 2015 event was the return of the parade after a seven-year hiatus and arrived in the wake of a blockbuster U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of gay marriage.

This year’s event featured a host of local politicians, including Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, the county’s first openly gay elected official, and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.

There was no grand marshal this year, although Yeager, the 2015 emcee, said, “I’d be happy to step in and do it if they want me to.”

The June 12 shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub that left 49 people dead and more than 50 injured remains fresh and painful in people’s psyches. Lavon Grey, who carried a sign displaying the names of all of the victims in the tragedy, said it’s something that should always be remembered.

Grey said her 32-year-old son had reservations about going out to gay pride events in the aftermath of the shooting, but she told him he needed to go more than ever before. He wound up attending the San Francisco parade as well as his hometown celebration on Sunday.

“It’s so important to go and still show support,” she said. “Even though it might seem dangerous, that’s the time when you have to go out and say, ‘This is who we are.'”

Carey Rasmus, of Mountain View, said she wanted to go to the San Francisco parade to show support after Orlando but thought the suffocating crowds wouldn’t be an ideal place to bring her son, 6, and daughter, 4.

“It’s always a crush of people, and there’s always a lot of weed going around,” Rasmus said. “I figured we’ll do San Jose this year. And it was relatively low-key, but still a lot of fun.”

Last year’s event was bolstered by an outpouring of corporate parade entries. This year saw fewer companies send a contingent but some of the usual suspects, with gay bars and nightclubs mixed in with local support groups such as the Billy DeFrank LGBT Center, Bill Wilson Center and a number of churches.

In a play off the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church’s notoriously hateful placards, members of San Jose’s United Methodist Church carried signs reading “God Hates No One (especially not you)” and “Hey U Look Nice Today.” They were followed by a balloon-bedecked contingent from the Splash Bar bearing signs that said “Born This Way,” a Lady Gaga hit song and pride anthem.

Mayor Liccardo, riding beneath a big rainbow balloon arch at the fore of the parade, said that it was a good chance to celebrate “how far we’ve come” in terms of equality.

“I’m very proud of the community here,” he said. “We may not have the marketing savvy and numbers you’ll see in San Francisco but we’ve got a wonderful and diverse community here in San Jose, too.”

Contact Eric Kurhi at 408-920-5852. Follow him at Twitter.com/erickurhi.