Photos: St. Louis brought the love to PrideFest despite heat, politics

Rainbow-colored flags waved, folding fans clacked and onlookers dripped with sweat as St. Louis’ annual parade celebrating Pride made its way down Market Street on Sunday as a week-long heat wave set in on St. Louis.

“It’s a little hot, but we’re no bacon,” said Jordan Braxton, Pride St. Louis’ director. “We’re a resilient community — we’re gonna celebrate the joy of who we are, whether in the rain, the heat, or the sun.”

The PrideFest parade marked Pride St. Louis’ 46th year of celebrating and recognizing the city’s LGBTQ community and the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising, a series of protests and demonstrations in New York City that transformed the LGBTQ rights movement.

This year’s Pride also comes amid President Donald Trump’s rollback of some transgender rights in the U.S. and diversity, equity and inclusion policies at the federal level.

Charlotte Keene

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St. Louis Public Radio

Charlotte Keene

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St. Louis Public Radio

Charlotte Keene

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St. Louis Public Radio

Braxton said “hateful” legislation won’t stop the LGBTQ community from coming together and showing up to celebrate.

“It’s important to show everybody — you can do whatever you want — we’re still going to celebrate being queer, being trans,” she said. “It’s our lives, it’s who we are.”

Braxton, wielding a microphone, counted down the start of the parade at noon and could be heard directing the parade from its starting line at Market and10th streets.

What appeared to be thousands gathered on Sunday, with hundreds lining up along Market Street to watch the colorful parade crawl by. Companies like Bayer, BJC and others had floats or marchers walking the route. Parade participants threw rainbow-colored beads, flags and more to onlookers.

Band Together, an LGBTQ concert band, helped lead the front of the parade. The group has marched with the parade for 29 years. Bandmember Emily Hughes said it was critical to be out celebrating this year.

“It’s really important to come out and support each other in times like this and just show that we are here,” she said. “We are here in solidarity with each other.”

Charlotte Keene

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St. Louis Public Radio

Charlotte Keene

/

St. Louis Public Radio

Charlotte Keene

/

St. Louis Public Radio

Charlotte Keene

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St. Louis Public Radio

Further down the way, in one of the busiest patches of the parade route, Becky Schiff and Blane Johnson tried to stay cool under a tree as the parade rolled on. Johnson said St. Louis’ Pride celebration is also a time for building community.

“There’s a difference between finding a movement you relate to and actually finding people,” they said. “I feel like a place like this is how you find the people that you actually need to keep going — because people help people to get through trying times.”

Near the end of the parade route, couple LaDonna Pace and Jessica Williams, sat in the shade after marching with their infant daughter, Luna, and friends. It marked their daughter’s first of many Prides, they said.

“It’s a celebration of our family and who we are,” Pace said.

“And that we can be comfortable, and just express who we are to everyone else in a safe way,” Williams added.

St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, who walked at the front of the parade in a rainbow dress, lauded St. Louis’ LGBTQ community for showing up even as the heat bore down on St. Louis.

Charlotte Keene

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St. Louis Public Radio

Charlotte Keene

/

St. Louis Public Radio

Charlotte Keene

/

St. Louis Public Radio

“It’s obviously a little warmer than we hoped, but that doesn’t stop anything,” Spencer said. “In fact, it makes it a little more fun. You can see people sweating, really just being themselves.”

She described the turnout as “phenomenal.”

Earlier this week, Spencer apologized after her office sent out a statement saying Grove bar owners had agreed to close at midnight over the weekend during Price celebrations as a safety precaution. The announcement left some bars and restaurants owners confused and upset. 

It culminated in a press conference Friday announcing collaboration with Grove bar owners, city workers and city police to make the last weekend of Pride a success.

Last year, two individuals shot each other and several others were arrested during a fight near the neighborhood. As a result, city officials said heightened security measures were needed this year.

As of Sunday afternoon, no similar violence had broken out during the Pride celebrations.

Charlotte Keene

/

St. Louis Public Radio

Charlotte Keene

/

St. Louis Public Radio

Charlotte Keene

/

St. Louis Public Radio