Rhythm Rebels Dance Collective celebrates at Portland’s Pride parade on Congress Street on Saturday. Sofia Aldinio/ Staff Photographer With thousands of rainbow flags flying, Portland’s Pride parade traversed the city’s downtown streets – and participants danced, strutted, waved, drove motorcycles, and even roller-skated and rode unicycles by the crowd. Saturday’s parade featured full sun, temperatures in the 70s and a light breeze.
With ideal weather conditions, thousands packed the sidewalks so densely that some parade watchers stood on tables behind the throng to get a better view. The parade started in Monument Square, went down Congress Street, turned down High Street and headed to Deering Oaks for the Pride festival. Signs of “Welcoming” and “Diverse” 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 was attending her first Pride parade on Saturday, and she found it inspiring and fun. Maribel Cataldo, 10, of Brunswick, shows her LGBTQ+ spirit at the Pride parade. Sofia Aldinio/ Staff Photographer “This is fantastic,” Passuro said.
“It’s like a big party. It’s good that people can celebrate who they are.” Portland’s Pride parade started in 1987 but missed two years because of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
