LANCASTER, Pa. — June is Pride Month, and here in Central Pennsylvania, there's no shortage of events to mark the occasion.
Saturday afternoon in Lancaster, people will fill the Lancaster County Convention Center and the streets for the 16th Annual Pride Festival.
This year's theme is "Our Streets Are Open to All," as Lancaster Pride plans to expand the activities outdoors and into the streets along Vine and Queen--with the intention to bring more visibility to the LGBTQ+ community.
Lancaster Pride president, Tiffany Shirley, emphasized a message that, "We want everybody to know the streets are everybody's, and everybody is welcome."
The event will host over 300 vendors/sponsors, and they'll have Aquaria, the winner of "Rupaul’s Drag Race" Season 10, headlining this year’s festival.
"Sometimes pride festivals are the only time an individual can be their authentic self, they feel safe, but we want people to feel safe all of the time, we want them to be their authentic self always, but [Saturday] is just an extra special day to be yourself," Shirley said.
Safety is of top priority at the festival, and Shirley shared they have an extensive security plan in place.
"We've had extra trainings for all of our staff, and we're also asking people to not bring bags--if they do bring bags, to bring clear bags, " Shirley said. "Medical necessities, diaper bags, those are acceptable, but they will be subject to search."
The event begins at noon on Saturday and goes until 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.