Hundreds of people attended Northern Nevada Pride's parade and festival at a new location and time of year.
The organization says the event was originally held during July as part of Artown, but 100-degree weather in back-to-back years convinced them to move the event to later in the year. Construction at Wingfield Park forced them to move to Midtown.
There's also one more change: paid admission.
"We do charge a $5 requested entry fee as a donation," says Yevonne Allen, who handles media and marketing for the group. "It is a closed event. That's why we were able to have a very safe, very inclusive environment for our community."
The festivities kicked off at 10 a.m. with a parade down California Avenue followed by the festival on South Virginia Street that started at noon.
Given the current political climate, a couple of attendees say this year's pride is more important than ever.
"Our current administration is setting up a lot of challenges and obstacles for anybody who's gay or queer to exist," one attendee says, "especially for my trans family."
"This is America," says Jos Madsen. "We came here for freedom. This is freedom. being who we are is freedom. [Pansexual flag], freedom. American flag, freedom."
A handful of local businesses and community organizations came out to show their support.
Allen says the festival is a reminder that the community won't go away quietly.
"We're all just here. We're here, we're queer, and we're not going anywhere," she says.
if you want to learn more about Norhthern Nevada Pride, click here.
