Pittsburgh Pride Revolution March parades through Downtown

A rainbow-colored sea of humanity flooded parts of Downtown Pittsburgh as hundreds upon hundreds of people from nearby states joined in the Pittsburgh Pride Revolution March on Saturday afternoon.

Participants made their way from the City-County Building along Grant Street, down Sixth and Seventh avenues and across the Andy Warhol Bridge to East Commons and Allegheny Center with intermittent chants of “Gay Pride” and “Taste the Rainbow.”

Many waved flags or wore them as cloaks.

Julia Benedetto, 17, and her friend Mik Mortimer, 18, both of Chippewa, Beaver County, had rainbow fans to help keep cool as temperatures pushed into the upper 80s. They watched as people marched along Seventh Avenue.

“It gives me goosebumps,” Benedetto said. “It’s just amazing. It’s very welcoming and it’s nice to know that there are still people out there who support us through all of this rough time.”

Mortimer said they could hardly hold in their excitement being back in the Steel City for the event after last year’s in-person parade was canceled due to covid.

“It’s kind of hard to explain it, but it fills my heart with so much joy to see how many people are out here and supporting (the LGBTQ community). Especially through all the rough times it’s been. It’s really nice to get out here and see all the love and support.

“We went in 2019. Especially with the vaccine coming out and everything, it’s finally nice to see that things can start to slowly turn back to normal.”

Brian Royea, 19, of Austintown, Ohio, marched with a group of friends.

He had on a black t-shirt with a rainbow heart and used a portable fan to blow bubbles along the route.

“I felt really good about Pride Month and I just felt like it was really worth it to come out and see the community,” Royea said. “It makes me feel really good about myself. I know my friends are really good about themselves. It’s just a great day. It’s wonderful. It’s a lot of like-minded individuals. People just like us. It really makes me feel less alone. It’s just a great sense of community here.”

Pittsburgh police assisted with traffic control. The march lasted less than two hours.

The Rev. Chad Bogdewic, associate pastor of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Allison Park, marched with his wife, Patricia, and their two children, Eliyana, 9, and Jonathan, 7.

“We want to make sure that everybody knows that no matter what, they are loved,” Bogdewic said. “We believe that God is love, and that any expression of that love between two people is sacred in the eyes of God.”

They carried signs with messages of “God is Love,” “Love is a terrible reason to Hate” and “You R 2 (Lovely) 2 H8.”

It was the first year the family participated in the parade.

Eliyana said she had a great time and hopes to march again next year.

“It’s making me feel happier because I really care about people,” she said.

The event was hosted by Pittsburgh Pride Group.

Dalen Michael, of Bellevue, one of the organizers, said earlier this year that its goal was to promote wellness, equity and justice for LGBTQ+ people in communities across Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“We wanted to put on events that are divers and inclusive in places that people will feel safe and can be themselves,” Michael said. “We wanted to touch every demographic.”

Gwen Johnson of Weston, W.Va., said that mission was accomplished as she and her friends all said they loved their time in Pittsburgh, including Kurtis Dennison, who wore a shirt with the message “Fat is Fabulous.”

He said it was to promote body positivity.

Festivities continued on the North Side with a mini festival.

There was a minor verbal altercation along Seventh Street and Penn Avenue in the Cultural District after the parade between some visitors and a religious group talking about Jesus and the Bible. Pittsburgh police were able to maintain the peace.