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Dancing and cheering filled Center City on Saturday as Philadelphia welcomed the inaugural OURfest parade, billed as the country’s first parade held in honor of National Coming Out Day.
Hundreds gathered in the late afternoon to watch dozens of floats, troupes, and clubs march proudly up Market Street from Independence Mall to City Hall.
Themed floats included Out in Sports, Out in Community, Out in Culture, Out in Youth, and Out in Career, surrounded by the Philadelphia Freedom Band, Free Mom Hugs, Cheer Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Choir, and more.
Also present: the huge, longest-in-the-world rainbow flag. More than 10 volunteers successfully wrangled the 200-foot symbol of LGBTQ+ pride, carrying it through the windy weather.
Produced by Pride 365: A Program of Galaei, the parade and accompanying festival is named with an acronym: OUR stands for “Our Uniting Resilience.” OURfest replaces OutFest, an autumn event held annually for nearly three decades until the collapse of the organization that hosted it.
The parade in total lasted an hour, and festivities continue Sunday with a block party and resource fair taking over the Gayborhood from 12 to 7 p.m.
Scroll down for more pics from the city’s — and nation’s — first-ever parade of its kind.