Lancaster Pride held its 16th annual Pride Festival on Saturday, and it was the largest to date, with crowds thronging the Lancaster County Convention Center and the festival's outdoor fair on Vine Street.
Nearly 8,000 people attended, Lancaster Pride spokesperson Brian Nguyen said, up from around 6,000 last year. Greeting them were 350+ vendors and dozens of performers on three stages.
The headliner was Aquaria, a drag performer originally from West Chester who won Season 10 of RuPaul's Drag Race.
The outdoor portion of the festivities was interrupted for about an hour mid-afternoon when a suspicious package was found along South Queen Street. That street and Vine Street were cleared as a precaution while city police investigated. Once they determined the item was benign, the streets were reopened.
Lancaster Pride President Tiffany Shirley described the day as "super-awesome."
"We’re excited to be back opening the streets to the community," she said.
In a statement afterward, Lancaster Pride said, "The colors, the laughter, the music, and the sense of community were beyond amazing" and thanked the community for making the festival "a celebration of love, diversity, and unity."
Photos
(Photos by Brian Nguyen | Lancaster Pride except where noted. For more photos, visit Lancaster Pride's 16th Annual Lancaster Pride Festival photo album on Facebook.)
