NORTHAMPTON — Hampshire Pride 2025 was a day of celebration in Northampton — and, according to director and founder Clay Pearson, a time to be “proud, unapologetic” and “united in our demand for justice, dignity, and liberty for all” in the wake of recent political attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.

This was the third year of Hampshire Pride; Pearson, along with Celina Almendarez and Kayla Abney, founded and organized the first Hampshire Pride in 2023 in just nine weeks, after the former NoHo Pride fizzled following the pandemic. The first gay pride march in Northampton was held in 1982.

This year’s Hampshire Pride was the biggest yet. The parade on Saturday included 98 contingents and nearly 2,000 participants, according to Pearson — up from about 1,800 participants in 2024 — ranging from school affinity groups to health care groups, recreation clubs and local businesses, who walked from Sheldon Field to Crafts Avenue. Some stood on floats, some played with brass bands, and many held signs as they marched.

“Seeing people come together, it’s just such a beautiful, heartfelt, nondiscriminatory experience,” said Morgan Trenholm of Northampton. “It’s a great way to get to know your community and feel loved and supported and reciprocate that same love and support toward other people.”

“I love it here,” said Nikoletta Strasser, who is originally from Europe and lives in Northampton now. “I think everyone can be just the way they are and everybody’s accepting and fine with it. I’ve never found a town where you can do that, so I just absolutely love the community here and the people. I want to stay here forever. ”

There were 20-30% more vendors this year in the fair behind the E. John Gare Parking Garage, Pearson said. Earlier in the week, there were projected to be 15,000-20,000 attendees, but Pearson estimated that dropped to 10,000-15,000 in town on the day of the event due to the weather.

This year also marked the first collaboration between Northampton Resists and Hampshire Pride. A rally held on the main festival stage featured several LGBTQ+ speakers.

“(Hampshire Pride is) a living, breathing force for equality ... and in this moment, as rights are being rolled back, as voices are being silenced, as hate is rising again, we rise louder,” Pearson said at the start of the rally.

“Today, we do not just celebrate who we are, we affirm who we are,” Pearson said. “We say loudly and clearly, ‘We exist, we resist, we will not be moved. We resist the erosion of our trans siblings’ rights. We resist the idea that any of us must be quiet to be accepted or be grateful just to be tolerated. We resist racism, misogyny, ableism, classism.’”

Northampton Resists co-founder Mary Wang-Boucher pointed out the political left’s tendency to “eat our own” and pursue the perfect at the expense of the good, leaving space for the political right to “steamroll right over us” and follow Trump’s orders in lockstep, “no matter how insane they are.”

“In Northampton Resists, it’s less about left versus right, and more about those who believe in common decency and those who don’t,” Wang-Boucher said. ” ... And we have more in common than we think. We love our children, we love our parents, friends and family, we want a better education, a place to live, safety, health insurance; all these things bring us together.”

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, who couldn’t attend Hampshire Pride in person, sent a video message to rally attendees and affirmed that “trans rights are human rights,” to cheers from the crowd.

“My father used to say: you can’t beg for your rights,” Markey continued. “You have to organize, and you have to take them.”

Markey and congresswoman Pramila Jayapal have introduced a Transgender Bill of Rights at the federal level that, if passed, would guarantee certain rights for transgender and nonbinary people. Markey committed to continuing to fight for those rights.

Other rally speakers included Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, Northampton Resists co-founder Carla Imperial, Parasol Patrol founder Ali Wicks-Lim, Tre’Andre Carmel Valentine, Robyn Ochs, Reggi Alkiewicz, Christina Royal, and Lorelei Ersis.

Alongside the seriousness of the current political climate and calls to action by rally speakers, many Pride attendees were joyous and celebratory, yelling “Happy Pride!” to other passersby. A second stage, set up in the alley between the parking garage and Thornes Marketplace, held performances like drag story time, and there was a craft station for kids and families.

Vendors handed out swag including necklaces, condoms and rainbow-adorned bags and bracelets. Many said they were happy to be in community, including Betsy Shally-Jensen, director of A Positive Place, which provides outreach services and comprehensive care for people with HIV and AIDS.

“It’s a happy, happy celebration of many of the people that come to us for support,” Shally-Jensen said. “We’re out of the closet, finally — we used to be in the closet because there was too much stigma attached to people living with HIV and AIDS.”

“We come out (to Pride) to keep our community having fun and staying safe,” she said.

Walking through the vendor fair after the rally, Pearson said they were glad the rain held off — a few Pride participants backed out last minute due to possible thunderstorms in the forecast, but overall, Pearson was appreciative of the community support.

“People have been really outspoken about there being a really great political rally going on, we’ve got the drag stage going up right now with a drag story time — so far, everything is coasting really well together,” Pearson said.

Elise Linscott is a writer living in Northampton. She can be reached at elise@eliselinscott.com.