After the parade, contingents and spectators alike were told to proceed directly to the rally site. There, they were greeted with the sight of 289 Styrofoam crosses, stars, and hearts decorated with black ribbons and purple orchids surrounding the front of the stage. At the rally, the crowd was told that these symbols represented the 289 San Diegans who had died of AIDS. Speakers at the rally, including Rick Anderson, Nicole Murray and Gloria Johnson attacked the city of San Diego for the lack of funding for AIDS programs. The speakers rallied the crowd to take up the symbols of those who had lost the fight against AIDS and to march downtown and lay them on the steps of City Hall. Nicole Murray (now Murray-Ramirez) recalls giving a particularly moving speech. Many believed that the people at the rally would be unwilling to march downtown after already marching in a parade and lose out on the fun to be had at the festival. The naysayers were proven wrong as 3,000 people joined Anderson, Johnson, and Murray in a 17-block march on City Hall. The marchers carried a banner which simply read, “We have waited too long, we have lost too many.” The symbols of the AIDS victims were laid on the steps of City Hall and more speeches were made demanding that the city address the problem. Tears were abundant as people remembered lost loved ones. It was an emotional and visible display by a community which had “lost too many” and was demanding action and funding from the city.

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