Pride community marches on in Portland with flying rainbow colors

 Queen Quan, left, and Bunny Wonderland watch Portland’s annual Pride parade from Monument Square to Deering Oaks on Saturday. Streams of glistening bubbles floated through the air. The sound at a single spot on Congress Street shifted within minutes from the revving engines of the motorcycle club Dykes on Bikes, to the upbeat “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan, to the blare of a marching band’s celebratory trumpets. A Pride-themed L.L Bean Bootmobile towered conspicuously above the crowd on Park Avenue. Thousands lined the streets of Maine’s largest city to march or ride in the 2026 Pride Parade and Festival, or just to watch. Wrapped in Pride flags, decked out in tutus, face-painted in rainbow colors and even dressed as animals (known as “furries”), the crowd danced, sang and clapped for the LGBTQ+ community. [](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/20/portland-pride-2026-photos/) Related [Portland Pride 2026 | Photos](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/20/portland-pride-2026-photos/) “(Pride) means I can be myself. It means I can be free. It means I can be who I am. It’s amazing,” said 19-year-old Amber Smith. Gloria Poulin, 25, took time off work to celebrate at the parade this year. [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/43661285_20260620_Pride_01.jpg) Portland’s pride parade heads up Congress Street on their way to Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. Thousands of people came out for the annual event. [Purchase this image](https://dev.mainetodaymedia.com/smugmug/upload.php?data=%7B%22src%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pressherald.com%5C%2Fwp-content%5C%2Fuploads%5C%2Fsites%5C%2F4%5C%2F2026%5C%2F06%5C%2F43661285_20260620_Pride_01.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22Portland%5Cu2019s%20pride%20parade%20heads%20up%20Congress%20Street%20on%20their%20way%20to%20Deering%20Oaks%20Park%20on%20Saturday.%20Thousands%20of%20people%20came%20out%20for%20the%20annual%20event.%20%22%7D) “My boss asked me if I was going to support my gay brother,” she said, gesturing to Jonathan Poulin, 27, who stood beside her. “I had to explain that I’m gay, too!” “I don’t think anyone should be embarrassed to love,” Jonathan said. Advertisement Reverend Norman Allen and trustee Carl Capello of the Unitarian Universalist First Parish in Portland cheered the parade on with a group from the church. “This Pride is the embodiment of everything that liberal religions have stood for (in) the last 25 years. Its very success makes my heart sing,” Capello said. “One of our core values is interdependence, and another is pluralism, so it’s all about lots of different kinds of people coming together,” Allen added. [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/43661285_20260620_Pride_27.jpg) People march in Portland’s annual Pride parade from Monument Square to Deering Oaks on Saturday, June 20, 2026. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer) [Purchase this image](https://dev.mainetodaymedia.com/smugmug/upload.php?data=%7B%22src%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pressherald.com%5C%2Fwp-content%5C%2Fuploads%5C%2Fsites%5C%2F4%5C%2F2026%5C%2F06%5C%2F43661285_20260620_Pride_27.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22People%20march%20in%20Portland%5Cu2019s%20annual%20Pride%20parade%20from%20Monument%20Square%20to%20Deering%20Oaks%20on%20Saturday%2C%20June%2020%2C%202026.%20%28Brianna%20Soukup%5C%2FStaff%20Photographer%29%22%7D) While the day’s energy was mostly celebratory, Pride parades [often](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/06/21/this-year-portland-pride-is-jubilant-and-defiant/) simultaneously serve as protests against rollbacks of LGBTQ+ rights and rallies for aligned political causes, and this year’s parade was no different. Marchers carried flags condemning President Donald Trump, supporting the rights of transgender athletes and criticizing anti-immigration enforcement. “I think (the parade) is a wonderful act of both resistance and joy,” said Katie Anderson, 45. One group toted a banner in support of Hannah Pingree for governor, who attended the Pride celebration a day after being [confirmed](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/19/hannah-pingree-wins-ranked-choice-runoff-in-democratic-primary-for-governor/) as the winner of the Democratic primary early Friday morning — she will take on Republican Bobby Charles in November. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner also attended the parade, marching alongside his own banner. He is seeking to defeat incumbent Susan Collins in November. Advertisement Onlookers also wore shirts with messages such as “No Kings,” a common reference to what critics see as Trump’s executive overreach. [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/43661285_20260620_Pride_03.jpg) Thousands of people attend Portland’s annual pride parade on Saturday. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer) [Purchase this image](https://dev.mainetodaymedia.com/smugmug/upload.php?data=%7B%22src%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pressherald.com%5C%2Fwp-content%5C%2Fuploads%5C%2Fsites%5C%2F4%5C%2F2026%5C%2F06%5C%2F43661285_20260620_Pride_03.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22Thousands%20of%20people%20attend%20Portland%5Cu2019s%20annual%20pride%20parade%20on%20Saturday.%20%28Brianna%20Soukup%5C%2FStaff%20Photographer%29%22%7D) Will Elting wore a shirt reading “Abolish ICE, Keep Families Together” as he pushed his 6- and 3-year-old children in a wagon toward the splash pads in Deering Oaks, where several local vendors and organizations had set up booths at the parade’s finish point. “I think abolition should be the moderate position and should be pretty common sense to anyone who’s seen what’s gone on in this country over the past years and past six months,” he said, referring to the Trump administration’s recent immigration crackdown. “What does (your shirt) say?” his daughter called from the wagon. “It says ‘abolish ICE,’ remember?” Elting replied. Pride for many presented a chance to spend time with family and friends. “What’s exciting is the ability to be open and out with my husband,” said Kegan Smith, who sat on the edge of the parade on High Street alongside Melvin Whitehead. The couple came from Schenectady, New York, to visit friends in Portland and celebrate Pride. Mother Katie Porter, 90, and daughter Clara Porter, 60, wore matching sun hats and rested under a shade-providing tree near the parade’s end on Park Avenue. It was Katie’s first Pride parade. “I celebrate Pride because this is my community, and I love it when Portland turns out like this,” Clara said. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [Pride Month](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/pride-month/), [pride parade](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/pride-parade/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/madeleine-kaptein) [Madeleine KapteinStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/madeleine-kaptein) Madeleine is a community reporter for Gorham, Buxton and Standish. She started her journalism career in Vermont, where she reported for Seven Days and served as the editor-in-chief of Middlebury College's. [More by Madeleine Kaptein](https://www.pressherald.com/author/madeleine-kaptein)