People dressed in raincoats and rainbows packed Center Street on Saturday to celebrate the first-ever Rutland County Pride Festival.
Hosted by Rutland County Pride, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the well-being of the local LGBTQIA+ community, the all-day event featured some 60 vendors as well as live musical, spoken word, drag and dance performances throughout the day.
RCP Executive Director William Fourney-Mills said Monday morning that it was difficult to put into words how incredible it felt to see such a spectacular turnout, adding that he has already been hearing excitement for next year’s event.
“We were going into it with high hopes and expectations, but the weather made us nervous. At the end of the day though, the adage, ‘It takes a little rain to have some rainbows’ (was true),” Fourney-Mills said. “The outpouring of support we’re getting from people sending emails and Facebook messages about how it touched their hearts is amazing. Even though we were celebrating Pride, everyone felt welcome at our event.”
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