Thousands of people marched and danced through the city’s streets Saturday for the 44th Boston Pride parade and festival, a colorful and upbeat celebration of the region’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities.
Organizers said a record 25,000 people in 200 groups marched in the annual parade, which was led by Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Martin J. Walsh and ended with a festival on City Hall Plaza.
Groups in the parade included bands, advocacy groups, university clubs, churches, and even corporations and political candidates — a sign of Pride’s shift from a fringe demonstration to a mainstream, family-oriented staple of Boston’s event calendar and marker of an ongoing sea change in public opinion on gay issues.