Roc Pride week kicked off this past weekend and runs through next Sunday with a series of events celebrating LGBTQ+ life and culture.
Monday marks the opening ceremonies at City Hall with performances and remarks from area lawmakers like Mayor Lovely Warren and Assembly Member Harry Bronson. The Pride flag will be officially unfurled at the building as well.
There are pride events every night this week, including a "Gayme" night at Swillburger, and an exhibit of Rochester drag culture Equal Grounds Coffee house, both taking place Monday night.
Rowan Collins is the Communications Director at the Out Alliance and says a week’s worth of events just makes Pride more inclusive.
"There are folks in our community that are like, I’m not a crowd person, I don't want to be in a parade, there’s too many people, it's really loud, it's not my scene. So making sure that everyone feels like there’s at least something they can go to that’s right for them."
The South Wedge celebrates on Thursday with an open mic for the trans and gender-expansive community.
Rochester’s Pride Parade will step of at 1pm Saturday afternoon at Park Ave. and Alexander St.
Pride fest continues into Sunday, it’s the first time there will be a youth section available as well, for kids under 16 years old.
Pride Month nationally is celebrated in June, but an Out Alliance fundraising picnic that started in the 70's took place in July and was a staple in the community. When that grew to include a parade and more events, Collins says they just kept the date.
He says this also means more people can come to Rochester to celebrate as well
All events and times are posted at rocpridefest.org.