About a million people turned out to watch and take part in Saturday's Boston Pride for the People Parade and Festival, an event Mayor Michelle Wu called one of the biggest and best weekends of the year.
More than 300 groups made up of over 10,000 participants marched in the parade.
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The 1.7-mile route took a winding path, starting on Clarendon Street in Copley Square, turning left on Tremont Street, left onto Berkeley Street and right on Boylston before taking Charles toward the Boston Common.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters temporarily blocked the pride parade route and clashed with police in their continued calls for a ceasefire.
Protesters brought the parade to a dead stop for several minutes before police broke it up, making multiple arrests. The parade went on, and so did the protest.
On the Boston Common, an all-ages festival was held after the parade, with entertainers, vendors and community organizations. A second event for the over-21 crowd was held at City Hall Plaza, with beer, wine, DJs, drag queens, drag kings, other royalty, pole dancers and more.
Organizers said this year’s theme is a “celebration of the extraordinary resilience of queer people everywhere.” They also called for a ceasefire in Gaza and release of hostages there, while welcoming protestors into their space.
Photos from Saturday's Boston Pride for the People Parade
“We really invite people come and observe Pride in a way that aligns for them. Pride started as a protest, we welcome people having their voices heard and we want everyone to know they can observe pride in their own way in our space. We’re committed to creating a space where our community is able to observe with us.” said Adrianna Boulin, president of Boston Pride for the People.
Saturday’s parade was Boston’s second Pride parade since 2019. A hiatus began with COVID-19 but extended through 2022 because the organization that used to run the event, Boston Pride, dissolved in 2021 under criticism that it excluded racial minorities and transgender people.
Boston Pride for the People, the new group formed to plan Boston’s parade, came together in 2022 to create a more inclusive, less corporate festival, according to planners.
The parade is one of the oldest Pride events in the country.
