SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Thousands marched in the pride parade Saturday, and many of those same people ended up in Stearns Square for the 2nd annual Springfield Pride Block Party which felt like one big happy party.
These festivities began at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and ran all the way through 9 p.m. For Springfield Pride parade founder Taurean Bathea, it’s an event that shows what love is all about.
He told 22News, “It’s a great day… it’s a day filled with love, it’s a day filled with inclusion and diversity. I love it!”
DJ Kenneth Kyrell and Hostess Ruby Monroe set the stage with a headliner performance by rapper Trina.
And with all of this fun and music and sense of togetherness, people told 22News they were happy to be here and celebrating pride.
“It’s so heartwarming, us coming together as a community and it’s just great to see everybody happy,” said Shanita Ringgold of Springfield. “… Everybody showing what they’re capable of, what they love, who they are, what became of them, you know. You are who you are and you be who you be.”