Augusta Pride celebrations bringing more than a good time to the CSRA

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Hundreds of people cheered on numerous floats and participants at the 14th annual Augusta Pride Parade.

The parade was held downtown on Saturday.

The parade started at the James Brown Arena and it was followed by the pride festival.

The streets were filled with kids throwing candy, an array of decorations, colors and people out having a good time dancing to music.

Caleb Hawkins said Saturday’s Augusta Pride Parade and festival marked five years for him.

He said every year encourages him more.

“Every year the parade gets bigger. Last night was amazing. The parade this year has been amazing, versus my first year where it was kind of like, you know, pride, but this year, it’s like, everybody’s coming out. You know, it’s not just the LGBTQ+ community. It’s also allies, which I really love that,” said Hawkins.

It was Megan Barlow’s first pride event and she said she could feel all the heart from the community and people who traveled to this event.

“All of the love and support like people just handed out so many things like we got so many stickers and pins and just just a surreal feeling of just just how happy and pleasant everybody was, ” said Barlow.

Organizers like James Mintz said it’s really about representing the LGBTQ+ community and remaining visible to our peers.

“We’re part of your community where your neighbors, your friends, family members, friends, colleagues, and we just want to be a visible part of the community. Because if they believe that you don’t exist, they’ll try and take away your rights,” said Mintz.

Hawkins hopes for more community engagement where these events can continue to flourish, but in the meantime, he said he likes where things are so far.

“I always think that there can be more representation, you know, with our community. But when it comes down to it, like I said, I feel supported, I feel I trust my community to you know, have my back,” said Hawkins.

After the parade, people gathered at the Augusta Common to continue the celebration for the festival.

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