Love, acceptance and bubbles: Thousands celebrate at Indy Pride Parade on Mass Ave

Lutrisia Andrews and Cameshia Atwater are used to people photographing their elaborate, rainbow-colored outfits during Indy Pride.

Atwater had vibrant braids that went down to her ankles, while Andrews had dangly lego earrings and a multi-hued screw through her earlobe.

They’ve been together for 11 years and attending Indy Pride for 10. Even when the festival was postponed during the pandemic, they celebrated on their own.

“I’m just glad everyone’s out and we can breathe again,” Andrews said. “Not on each other though.”

Andrews and Atwater were among tens of thousands of people lining Mass Avenue to watch the parade celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, which was followed by a festival at Military Park. Bars and restaurants had their doors propped open to accompany the crowd. DJs set up on the sidewalk competed with the pop music blasting from parade floats. The air was filled with bubbles and confetti.

Most of Mass Avenue was completely packed, but people skirted the Digs Garden Center Float because it was spraying everyone within 15 feet with water guns.

The parade began at 10 a.m. at 748 Mass Ave. and continued down the street before turning North on Delaware Avenue and finishing at Michigan Street.

Maicei Queen, 16, and their friend Scott Gibbs, 19, were also dressed to the nines in pride-flag colors. Gibbs said he’d been up since five in the morning creating his bold, rainbow makeup look.

When asked what pride meant to him, Gibbs, who is originally from Georgia, said, “Not being murdered in the streets for being myself.”

Ash Patel, known by their drag name as “Firefly,” said pride is a chance to celebrate and speak out about things that are important, like the continued support of gay and Palestinian people.

“My hope for Pride is that it continues to be about and for queer people,” Patel said. “As much as I love big corporations participating in Pride, as much as I love the funding, they don’t necessarily extend that support to their employees.”

Many people brought young children to the festival, including Hannah Hurst, who was watching her 2- and 3-year-old sons. Her father, 65-year-old Kreighton Hurst, was wearing a “Free Dad Hugs” shirt. By chance, Mae Archer, 49, was standing nearby wearing a “Free Mom Hugs” shirt.

The two of them stood next to each other and waved excitedly at passersby, shouting, “We just met each other!”

Hannah explained that her father was a pastor and she grew up in a religious household, but they always accepted her sexuality.

“I think there’s always going to be people who don't understand,” Kreighton said. “If Jesus were alive today, this is where he’d be, because he was always accused of being around people outside of the church.”

“I’m not going to stop loving people just because they live a different lifestyle than I do.”

Jesus was present, in fact, or at least a man dressed like him was. He said he hoped to heal the parade goers' religious trauma, but asked to remain anonymous.

The parade was led by a group of motorcycles who were rewarded with deafening cheers every time they revved their engines. Drag queens in tall crowns waved at the crowd from the Indy Pride Float. American Veterans for Equal rights carried a massive American flag. The Tactive float was bubble-bath themed, complete with dancers in ducky pool inflatables and towels around their heads.

The Fever and Pacers mascots were on rollerskates, high-fiving kids as they passed.

Barb and Tom Strack, 71 and 72, were attending Pride for the first time to support their intersex friend who was walking in the parade. The three of them had met through The Human Library, an organization that educates by connecting people with minorities.

Barb said she and her husband have always been supportive of the LGBTQ+ community, but their children taught them a lot. They met trans and genderqueer people through The Human Library.

“As an ally, it’s a chance to show support for people who are looked down on by society,” Barb said. “Show them we care about them.”

One of the most lively sections of the parade was at the turn on Delaware Street. A tiny group of protesters were stationed behind the crowd waving anti-LGBTQ+ signs. A crowd had formed around them, purposely blocking their signs by sitting on each other’s shoulders.

At one point, two women stepped out of the parade, stopped and kissed each other. The crowd’s resulting cheers drowned out the protestors’ megaphones.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: People celebrate at Indy Pride Parade 2024