June 15 – With thousands of rainbow flags flying, the Portland Pride Parade made its way through the streets of downtown – and participants danced, paraded, waved, rode motorcycles and even skated and unicycled through the crowd.
Saturday’s parade featured full sun, temperatures in the 70s and a light breeze. With ideal weather conditions, thousands of people packed the sidewalks so thickly that some parade watchers stood on tables behind the crowd to get a better view. The parade started at Monument Square, went down Congress Street, turned onto High Street and headed to Deering Oaks for the Pride festival.
“Welcome” and “Diverse” signs were on display as the parade celebrated LGBTQ+ civil rights and simply the idea of being accepted. Maine voters approved same-sex marriage in a 2012 ballot initiative, three years before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay nuptials nationwide.
Alexis Passuro, 24, of Portland, said she attended her first Pride parade on Saturday and found it inspiring and fun.
“This is fantastic,” Passuro said. “It’s like a big party. It’s nice for people to celebrate who they are.”
Portland’s Pride Parade began in 1987, but lost two years because of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. June is Pride Month and there are events celebrating Pride across much of the state.
Parade watcher Juniper Rhodes got into the spirit by wearing an entire rainbow flag as her cape. She said it feels good to be represented as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Despite Maine’s reputation for embracing diversity, Rhodes said there are still many misunderstandings, such as the false belief that the LGBTQ+ community is “indoctrinating” people.
“I’m just trying to live my life,” Rhodes said.
Protesters wore many different types of colorful costumes, from drag kings and queens to butterfly wings, anime characters and even a medieval knight.
The Maine Gay Men’s Chorus danced a routine, while members of the motorcycle group Dykes on Bikes revved their engines to start the parade. Other groups that marched included Maine Roller Derby, PortConMaine, Lewiston Strong, ACLU of Maine, Planned Parenthood, Queer Trades Maine and many others.
Cinnamon Brulee and Kristopher Kleva watched the parade together and both said they enjoyed the spirit of camaraderie and acceptance the parade represents.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Kleva said.
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