The Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival is coming back to downtown Annapolis for a fourth year this on Saturday. Fashion designer and “Project Runway” winner Christian Siriano will return to his hometown as the parade’s grand marshal and keynote speaker. “I am so excited and honored to be asked and be a part of it,” Siriano, 38, told The Baltimore Sun in an email .
“I really hope I’ll be able to be a voice for a new generation and for people to feel really welcomed and comfortable in Annapolis, which is always my goal when doing anything with Pride.” The theme of this year’s event is “Anchored with Pride,” a nod to the Chesapeake Bay and its importance to the area, as well as “the feeling that you get when you can proudly stand in your pride, anchored by your community, your chosen family, and as unapologetically you,” said Joe Toolan, board chair of Annapolis Pride. “We want to be sure that every member of the LGBTQIA+ community in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County feels welcomed, loved, accepted, and appreciated,” Toolan said in a news release.
“That’s why this year’s theme is so important to us.” Festivities kick off at noon Saturday with the Pride Parade, which will take a new route this year. Beginning at City Dock, the colorful parade will head up Main and West streets before ending on Amos Garrett Boulevard.
Nearly 100 groups are expected to march. A section of the parade route near the intersection of West Street and Amos Garrett .
