Cincinnati Pride Parade 2017: A day of joy and celebration

Thousands of people packed Downtown streets Saturday to celebrate Cincinnati's LGBT community and culture at the annual Cincinnati Pride Parade.

This year marked Cincinnati Pride's 44th year for the festival and parade. Stepping off from Seventh and Central Avenue, the parade showcased a spirit of togetherness and love along Vine Street and Freedom Way before ending at Sawyer Point/Yeatman's Cove for an all-day festival.

The parade was led by Pride Grand Marshal Chuck Beatty, director of the local OutReels Cincinnati Film Festival. Co grand-marshal Lea DeLaria from "Orange is the New Black" canceled her appearance on Friday. 

Cincinnati is an important city when it comes to the history of gay rights and same-sex marriage legalization.

Jim Obergefell, a resident of Over-The-Rhine, was the lead plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark case to legalize same-sex marriage. On June 26, 2015, the court ruled in a 5-4 vote that states cannot ban same-sex marriage. 

Cincinnati City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to grant Mercer Street the honorary name of "John Arthur & Jim Obergefell Way." John Arthur was Jim Obergefell's late husband. 

This year's parade brought together Cincinnati political candidates, supportive religious leaders, nonprofit organizations, businesses and socio-political groups. 

Recent pride parades have become more protest-oriented in cities such as Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Washington D.C. But Cincinnatians by and large stayed away from national political undertones, wanting to focus on a day of inclusivity and positive celebration. 

Freddie Wilhelm of Mason supported that choice.

"It's really nice to see the community coming together; I feel like a lot of protests and marches right now are just more like anti-Trump, just because of the political turmoil that's going on," Wilhelm said. "But this is people coming together for a greater cause, and it's a cause we want our president to know. That's the agenda behind it."

The parade wasn't completely protest-free however. A group of Black Lives Matter activists marched to voice their opposition to the Ray Tensing murder trial outcome. The case of a former University of Cincinnati police officer accused of murder in the July 19, 2015, shooting death of unarmed African-American motorist Sam DuBose ended with a hung jury – the second time that's occurred in the case over the past year. 

More:Seeing same fight, Pride Parade welcomes Black Lives Matters marchers

Lavonia Buck of South Cumminsville said she goes all over Ohio for pride parades; this year marked her eighth time attending Cincinnati Pride. 

"I don't really get into all that," when asked about parades incorporating more political activism. "I just participate and that's it."

Katherine Daria of Ludlow noted how many companies and nonprofits were participating in the parade.

"It's really cool to see all the different companies come out and support the parade, companies that you may not have realized support pride," remarked Daria who was attending her first Pride parade.