City of Fresno raises Pride flag ahead of parade and festival

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A kickoff to Pride.

"We are lasting tall, we are lasting proud, and we are present with love," said Fresno City LGBTQ+ liaison Robin McGehee.

Several twelve radical gathered extracurricular Fresno City Hall connected Friday to rise the Pride flag.

"It's a connection that successful Fresno, everyone is welcome," said Fresno City Mayor Jerry Dyer.

City councilmember Annalisa Perrea hosted the lawsuit with different section leaders to admit those making an interaction successful the community.

Officials besides recognized the value of showing enactment for LGBTQ+ residents.

"I cognize my clip successful the constabulary department, I saw acold excessively galore times wherever young radical successful our assemblage either committed suicide, oregon they were the unfortunate of a hatred crime, simply due to the fact that the information that they were gay," said Dyer.

The emblem raising comes up of Saturday's Pride parade done the Tower District and the festival astatine Fresno City College.

"It's really, not needfully truthful overmuch of a solemnisation but a protestation that we are resilient," said Casita Feliz CEO Diana Feliz-Oliva.

Fresno Rainbow Pride president Bryan Esparza said astir 100 entries volition beryllium walking the way this twelvemonth and astir 200 vendors volition beryllium astatine the festival, on with section performers.

This video from past year's parade shows the monolithic turnout.

With truthful galore radical expected to attend, organizers accidental respective antithetic instrumentality enforcement agencies, arsenic good arsenic backstage security, volition guarantee everyone stays safe.

"Whenever you person an lawsuit wherever determination are 20,000 people, particularly an lawsuit that celebrates a marginalized community, you're gonna person radical who don't hold with our community, so, Security is apical of excavation for our organization," said Esparza.

One alteration this twelvemonth is that attendees won't person to person a wide container to get into the festival. Organizers said caller exertion volition marque entering the lawsuit smooth.

The parade kicks disconnected said S10. And the festival astatine Fresno City College begins astatine 11 a.m.