It was a party in downtown Hartford with Hartford Pride celebration happening Saturday. The annual event brought thousands to the area.
“Just let it out. Let it be free,” Tiffany Montgomery, of East Hartford, said.
There were many free and colorful spirits on Church Street in downtown Hartford. All of them coming out for Hartford Pride where there was plenty of music and joy for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I am one of the children of Pride. I go to this. This is what I like, and I get a lot of love out of this,” Aaron Wyner, of Hartford, said.
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Hartford Pride is a major event for the nonprofit Connecticut Latinos Achieving Rights and Opportunities, or CLARO. This is the 15th year of Hartford Pride and it has grown dramatically.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on in Hartford like the Yard Goats and when they close, they come here, and it just becomes a great party,” Charlie Ortiz, president of CLARO, said.
They say during the first year, there was around 100 people that showed up. That has now grown to more than 6,000 people.
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Ortiz said the choice to make Hartford Pride happen in September instead of June came from community feedback.
“People thought they wanted to have something in September and it's truly beautiful weather in September and it has never rained on our Pride, so we are so blessed,” Ortiz said.
With the weather still holding up this year, the mood remained cheerful. Ortiz said he hopes this event sends a message that Connecticut is a welcoming place.
“We live in a state that we feel protected. That we feel inclusive. That there’s less discrimination here than other places,” he said.
