Rochester Pride Day: Loud, proud and what a crowd!

Colorful and exuberant Pride Day crowds made Hanson Street their playground on Saturday. (Rochester Voice photos)

ROCHESTER - Sarah Bennert of Laconia wants a Pride Day like Rochester's in her city. She says the LGBTQ community needs more of them to show those who seek to marginalize them that they will not be silenced.

"This is not just a celebration of who we are but a protest against those who oppress us," she said standing next to her wife, Jenifer Bennert. They married in 2011 and renewed their vows last fall.

Sarah Bennert said the couple had been to Pride Days in Portsmouth and Concord, but Rochester's was extremely impressive.

Sarah Bennert, left, and her wife, Jenifer Bennert said they were overwhelmed by Rochester's Pride Day and wished there were more like it in the state.

Matt Wyatt, who organized the event for Rochester's Museum of Fine Arts and Rochester Main Street, said he was ecstatic at the crowds he saw sauntering through the downtown and dancing to separate bands set up on Parson Main Square and Hanson Street.

Dozens of vendors on Hanson could be seen selling everything from jewelry to artwork to clothing to burgers and dogs while others had booths offering advocacy for LGBTQ causes and concerns.

Wyatt said crowds were way up from Rochester's first Pride Day last year, with more than 3,000 at the event this year, more than triple last year's attendance.

"We said we'd make it gayer, and we did," Wyatt said beaming at the exuberant and diverse crowd, a sentiment not lost on Jenifer Bennert.

The Leftist Marching Band shows its got the right stuff as it belts out a festive tune Saturday afternoon during Rochester's Pride Day festivities.

"It's just a nice show of diversity," she said. "We have law, fire and ESM all here. I mean we come from all walks of life. We could be your doctors, your neighbors, your family."

Summing up the importance of such outreach events like this, she said, "It's just realizing we're no different than anyone who's straight."

This event was made possible by Rochester Main Street supported in part by a grant from the New Hampshire State Council On The Arts ​and the National Endowment for the Arts.