ATLANTA — With an overcast sky and a chill in the air, the Atlanta Pride Festival brought a pageantry of rainbows to the streets of Midtown as thousands turned out for the city’s largest parade.
The festival, celebrating the LGBTQ-plus community, scrubbed all events Saturday because of Hurricane Isaias, but it cheered, danced and sang
“This is like my happiest day of the year,” Ronda Hand of Asheville, N.C., who attended the parade and festival with friends, told Channel 2’s Bryan Mims. “This is a day filled with love and acceptance and joy and no hate. I think it’s just a great experience for everyone.”
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The parade began at noon Sunday near the Civic Center MARTA station and proceeded north on Peachtree Street, east on Tenth Street, and ended at Piedmont Park.
That’s where musical acts entertained the crowd all afternoon, culminating with the headline performer, rapper JT. Everything is free, making the Atlanta Pride Festival the largest free pride celebration in the country.
“I think it’s beautiful,” Stephanie Di Prima told Channel 2 Action News. “Everyone comes together as a community. Everyone feels loved. Nobody feels like they have to worry about anything, so I really enjoy it.”
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About 100,000 spectators typically attend the parade and about 350,000 show up the weekend-long festival. Jason Feldman, a spokesperson for Atlanta Pride, said he expected an even higher parade attendance this year because the festival had to compress its events into one day.
Among those featured in the parade were Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Police Chief Darin Schierbaum.
Jordan Wilson, who serves as executive director of Colage, an organization for LGBTQ-plus parents, travels from Providence, R.I., every year for the Atlanta Pride Festival.
“Atlanta is the gay mecca of the South,” he said. “I’m really thrilled to be here. I think it’s wonderful that ll the weather cleared up. It’s amazing seeing everyone’s thrilled and happy faces.”
Representative Everton Blair Jr. served as honorary grand marshal in the parade. He recently won a special election to complete the late the Representative David Scott’s term in the 13th Congressional District. Blair is Georgia’s first openly LGBTQ-plus member in Congress.
“Every year I come because it’s positivity, it’s queer community. It’s a place where we can be out loud and proud. And there’s no replacing that for Atlanta. This is the day,” Asha Leong, a Decatur resident who has been attending the festival since the 90s, said.
The theme for this year’s festival is “Louder and Prouder.” The festival’s history dates back to 1971 when about 125 gay rights supporters protested and marched on Peachtree Street to Piedmont Park.
It has evolved into the largest LGBTQ-plus festivals in the South. Everything is free, with entertainers including not only JT, but Shea Coulee, Zee Machine, Starlight Cabaret and A Chaka Moment … In The Park.
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