This year’s Rochester Pride festivities drew thousands, with a parade along Park Avenue followed by a festival in Cobb’s Hill Park.
For Elizabeth Decosse, this year felt more important than ever to show up and experience Pride for herself.
“This is my first Pride Parade, and I'm just excited to be here and just come out and see what it's all about,” she said. “It always just seems like such a celebration that I wanted to be part of.”
On Saturday, Decosse — along with thousands of others — lined up along Park Avenue, cheering wildly as nearly 200 vendors marched, rollerbladed, drove, bicycled, or were carried past them, their rainbow flags billowing.
The mood was celebratory, but there was nonetheless a concern among at least some that those opposing the LGBTQ community might create a negative atmosphere to what is supposed to be a joyous celebration.
For Justina Dehaan, who attends Pride annually, this made it especially important to show up this year. When asked if they thought this year’s festivities might differ from previous ones, they said they hoped for more of a sense of unity and strength.
“More community this year than it's been because of, you know, recent events that have been partaking,” Dehaan said.
Dehaan is referring to at least two Pittsfield Drag Storytime events that occurred earlier this year, drawing protests from people — many of whom had traveled in from other areas — who opposed kids attending activities featuring drag performers.
The naysayers called the events — in which dressed-up drag performers read kids' books to children — overly sexualized and inappropriate.
But far more counter-protestors celebrated the drag performers, even forming a protective human barrier between protestors and the path to enter the building.
At Pride Saturday, those protests seemed like a distant memory for Krista Hudson, a Chili resident who felt that there’s no place in the Rochester area where discrimination should be tolerated. She was pleased that concerns about opposition putting a damper on the party didn’t seem to materialize in any substantial way.
Hudson came to the parade with her family. Above all, she wanted the parade experience to affirm for her children that they should accept and embrace one another’s differences.
“To just learn that it doesn't matter who you love, just be open and support and love everybody,” Hudson said. “My son made a pride flag.”
Though Hudson, Decosse, and Dehaan each arrived at the Pride celebrations from very different circumstances, there is one thing they felt strongly about.
Rochesterians, they said, should be fostering a safe, inclusive space for the queer community. To them, that is what the rainbow signifies.
