From topless girls with pasties to drag queens and super heroes, the 2019 Pride Festival Parade packed a colorful punch. Buffalo photographer Paul Fanara (Living in the Buff) managed to capture some of the heartfelt and eccentric moments of the Parade, as it made its way down Elmwood Avenue. Thankfully, Mother Nature didn’t mess around with the Pride Festival too much – if there was any day that justified a rainbow, it was Sunday.
“I love the Pride Parade. It is by far the most energetic, and fun parade anywhere in the region,” said Fanara, who has been photographing the event for years. “It’s a celebration of people; individuality, love, and humanity. The things that make us all who we are, no matter what that is, and it is something we need to celebrate more often, and never lose sight of.”
I asked Paul to share with us, some of the elements that made the 2019 Pride Festival special, and this is what he had to say:
“It gets larger every year. Much of it due to the growing numbers of corporate sponsors, and businesses wanting to be involved with supporting the LGBTQ community. But still, the people who have built this celebration, and the people who come out to celebrate the community, the people they love, and even their own individual spirit, they’re the ones that make this day so special.
“Buffalo is an amazing city when it comes to celebrations such as this. A colleague in town from Ireland commented on how large the celebration is, and how well secured the city keeps it. But I always note, Buffalo tends to do these things the right way. People come out for the love of it, and the fun of it, and rarely do I ever see issues arising before, during, or after the event.
Lead image: Liz Tufte – spin instructor/manager at Bikeorbar on Elmwood Avenue
