ATLANTA — Tens of thousands of people took part in the largest free Pride celebration in the country at Atlanta’s Piedmont Park on Saturday.
This weekend marks the 55th annual Atlanta Pride Festival and parade.
People come from across the south to attend the festival. More than 200 vendors are set up in the park.
Rapper Flo Milli is headlining the festival. This year’s theme is “Rooted in Resistance,” honoring the courage of those who fought for LGBTQ rights and acceptance.
In the beginning, there were no colorful canopies. There were no vendors, no big-name sponsors. And it wasn’t a bright, brisk day in October, but a June day in 1971.
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Instead of a parade, there was a protest because Atlanta, like much of America, didn’t embrace gay pride.
Steven Igarashi is a spokesperson for Atlanta Pride. He wasn’t born when 125 protesters marched up Peachtree Street to Piedmont Park.
“They couldn’t even get permits to do the march. They had to stop at every stop sign so they wouldn’t get arrested for jaywalking,” Igarashi said.
Around 350,000 people attend the festival every year. Among those with a booth is a nonprofit called Free Mom Hugs.
Its mission is sweetly simple: To show LGBTQ people that they are loved.
“That’s what we love to do. That’s why my feet hit the ground every morning when I get out of bed is to love on the LGBTQ people and let them know they are supported and to hopefully inspire other people in the world to do the same,” Paula Ward with Free Mom Hugs said.
Atlanta and America have come a long way since 1971. But festival organizers told Channel 2’s Bryan Mims that they still have work to do to advocate for LGBTQ rights.
The highlight of the festival is the parade on Sunday at noon, which draws more than 100,000 people.
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