Even before the city was clouded with dark, stormy skies Saturday afternoon, it was full of rainbows, as the Pride Worcester Festival, a celebration of Greater Worcester’s LGBTQ+ community, was in full force.
Electronic dance music blared from a stage at the end of Franklin Street as attendees danced and sang to their favorite songs. Vendors were lined up throughout the venue as patrons got henna tattoos and T-shirts.
Arlo Rosado, of Leicester, has been to several Pride Worcester festivals in the past but they keep coming back every year.
“There’s such a beautiful community here,” Rosado said. “All these cultures mesh together really nicely.”
The highlight of the festival was an organized march starting at the Femme Bar in the Canal District and ending downtown. At 2 p.m., the march arrived on Franklin Street, and the air suddenly erupted into cheers.
“Happy pride!” People shouted while applauding. The march featured appearances from Worcester Indivisible and the Worcester Public Library, among others, holding banners to show support for the LGBTQ+ community. The march also featured special performances from people who waved flags and flew sticks into the air in a choreographed sequence.
On the side of the street, Kori Hinkle was giving away what she called “free mom hugs.” Free Mom Hugs is an organization that supports the LGBTQ+ community, inspired by an Oklahoma mother who wore a button that read “free mom hugs,” giving them to anyone who made eye contact with her.
Hinkle said she had given more than 200 hugs to people at the festival that day.
“What Pride Worcester means to me is that every single person on Earth is a human and should be accepted,” Hinkle said.
This year’s pride was also an anniversary, as it marked 50 years since the first Gay Pride Week in Worcester, which took place in June 1975. More than 100 people marched in that parade, which traveled from city hall to University Park, according to Pride Worcester’s website.
Now, 50 years later, the community is on the march again.
As the day went on, the sky turned darker, with some people leaving at around 3:30 p.m., just as a severe thunderstorm warning was announced by the Worcester Police Department. The event was put on pause until 5:30 p.m., with people seeking shelter. A tornado warning was issued for Worcester County after 4 p.m.
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