Downtown Bangor was packed Saturday afternoon when the annual Bangor Pride Festival drew throngs of people into the city’s center to celebrate diversity and Maine’s LGBTQ+ community.
Supporters, allies and community members lined Main Street late Saturday morning to cheer, wave and generally have fun while viewing the parade.
They then gathered in West Market Square and along Merchants Plaza to enjoy food, listen to speakers and browse through vendor stalls in the afternoon. Drag performers and a dance party also were part of the festival entertainment.
Mallory Liepold and Sarah Wallace were among the participants in the parade, marching with a group from The Lace Theater Company. Liepold handed out heart stickers to people watching the parade while Wallace carried a sign that said “You Matter.”
“To spread love,” Liepold said when asked why they wanted to march in the parade.
“To spread theater. To spread a little whimsy,” Wallace chimed in.
In addition to the theater group, organizations such as Northern Light Health, Hannaford, local churches, Food AND Medicine and area businesses had floats or groups in the parade.
A festival attendee who identified themselves as “Q” was in Bangor to support a friend who was selling jewelry and art at the event. Q, from Saco, said it was the first time they had attended Bangor Pride.
“I am very much enjoying it!” Q said.
An estimate for how many people were at the festival was not available Saturday afternoon, but a few attendees said there seemed to be a bigger crowd than in 2023. F estival organizers have said 2023’s was “the largest turnout we have ever seen.”
The 2024 event drew more vendors than last year, according to organizers. Last year’s festival had more than 75 businesses and organizations that registered to set up booths, while this year there were more than 140, organizers said.
The festival has been held every year since 1992 as part of Pride events nationwide each June. Since 2017, the Bangor parade and festival has been organized by Health Equity Alliance, a local group whose roots go back to the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.
