Thousands descend on Downtown Pittsburgh for Pittsburgh Pride festival
Sunday marked the biggest and boldest day of the Pittsburgh Pride festival, as thousands gathered Downtown to celebrate the start of Pride Month.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple painted the Steel City.
"It's fun! I love having fun. It's a fun time for me and my friends," said Faith Muse.
"I'm excited to show that I'm gay in these trying times, and Pride is always fun," said Sage Wolf.
This year's theme, "Youniting Diversity," is a call to come together and make space for everyone under the rainbow.
With more than 300 vendors, live performances, artists, and community groups, it wasn't just a party, it was a platform for inclusion.
"Right now, currently, the erasure of our people, and historically, what we've been doing since the beginning is standing our ground and saying, 'No, we're not going to allow this,'" said organizer Dena Stanley.
Nationally, Pride events began in 1970, a year after the Stonewall Riots in New York City ushered in the modern gay rights movement.
For some, it was their very first Pride event.
"I'm excited to see everyone in the parade and watch everyone and see all the cool outfits and see everyone do what they like to do," said Dylan Garlande.
For others, Pride is a tradition they look forward to every year.
"I attended Pride two years ago, and there's this awesome event where you can pick up a free Pride flag, a gigantic flag, and hold it at the beginning of the parade. That's one of my best memories," said Sean O'Rourke.
"It's a big community type of thing, like all of the queer people and folks coming together and doing something that's fun in celebration of who we are," said JoJo.
"Me and my boyfriend have been together five and a half years, and we're both part of the community. So, I'm here to celebrate him, celebrate everyone," said Layla Young.
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