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Longmont Pride Fills the City With Color

Hundreds of LGBTQ community members and their allies gathered outside the Out Boulder County office on Main Street yesterday for a visibility march through the heart of the city.

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Hundreds of LGBTQ community members and their allies gathered outside the Out Boulder County office on Main Street yesterday for a visibility march through the heart of the city. The diverse crowd decked out in all things rainbow made their way up Main Street to 6th and then back down again to end up at 4th and Kimbark for the Longmont Pride main event. The street celebration was a culmination of a week-long program of Longmont Pride activities.

Leah Cary and her pet snake taking part in the visibility march. Longmont Observer/Lizzy Rogers)

The visibility march was met by support from motorists honking their horns driving past and high fives from passers-by on the street. The group enthusiastically chanted "We've got pride, Longmont Pride" and "Love is Love" as they made their way down the street with banners, rainbow flags and even a pet snake. Once the group arrived at the main event there were speeches from Pride organizers and supporters including Mardi Moore, executive director of Out Boulder County, Brian Bagley, Mayor Pro Tem and Senator Matt Jones. All expressed their support for an inclusive and diverse community. The crowd were then treated to live music, food trucks, many information stands and activities including face painting, photo booths and a dunking stool.

Longmont leaders offered to be dunked in a dunk tank at the main Longmont Pride event. Mardi Moore, Brian Bagley, Councilwoman Polly Christensen, Colorado state Rep. Jonathan Singer, Randy Porter — who helped found Longmont Pride — and others all volunteered to be dunked.

This was the second Longmont Pride planned and conducted by Out Boulder County who were also celebrating the one-year anniversary of the opening of their office on Main Street. Out Boulder County say they aim to educate, advocate and provide services, programs and support to Boulder County's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The weeks planned activities included a rainbow story time at the Longmont library, a youth film night and an elders mixer to make sure all of the Longmont community could be involved no matter their age.

Crowds enjoying the information booths and activities at Longmont Pride (Longmont Observer/Lizzy Rogers)

Longmont Observer spoke to City Council member Joan Peck who took part in the visibility march, to find out why she believes the Pride event is vital for the city.

"I think it's important to stand up for everybody in our community, regardless of lifestyle, ethnicity, religious preference, ideology, everything. We're all in this together."

Longmont resident Abby Driscoll also took part in the march to support the LGBTQ community as an ally and explained why she felt she needed to be there.

"I love what Out Boulder County has been doing in Longmont and it's just so great to see so many people coming out to support the LGBTQ community today. I just think this is one of the things that makes Longmont great is the diversity. That's something that we need to celebrate so I'm super happy to be here to help support the community."

You can see more photos from the Longmont Pride festivities on our Facebook page.