Quezon City Pride Festival cut short by rain, but celebration still went on. Here's what happened

Fun booths and fashion 'fits

Pride events wouldn't be complete without the different booths offering fun and vibrant items that symbolize the colorful nature of the LGBTQ+ community

These include stickers showing witty quotes, tote bags with eye-catching illustrations, pins and crocheted keychains, cute friendship bracelets, and of course, you can't forget the rainbow-colored accessories, outfits, and flags.

But the booths aren't the only things that stood out during the affair as many queer individuals have taken this time to don stunning outfits that bring out the best of their creativity and individuality.

Powerful marches

Before Pride Month became a celebration, it began as a protest. It's no surprise then that many queer individuals marched through Quezon City's streets to voice their causes and spark change.

This Pride Month, Pride PH organized two marches: the LOVE march and the LABAN march.

The LOVE march began in Tomas Morato before going to Quezon Avenue and ending in the Quezon Memorial Circle. It was composed of the Quezon City contingent, sponsors of the event, workplace diversity cluster, inclusive businesses, and other attendees.

On the other hand, those who participated in the LABAN march came from Matalino Street and progressed on East Avenue before merging with the LOVE march group at the Circle.

The marchers included grassroots and human rights organizations, youth and students, elderly and persons with disabilities, health groups, rainbow families, and more.

Colorful performances

This year's Pride Festival was made even more vibrant thanks to the lively performances from various queer artists and celebrities.

The so-called Pride Night went off to a good start with performances from Janella Salvador, Nica del Rosario, Justine Peña, Matthew Chang, Cup of Joe, and Sandiwa as they belted out some of their hit songs and soulful covers.

The crowd went wilder when Maris Racal entered the stage with EJ Jallorina and Royce Cabrera to promote their LGBT comedy-thriller film Marupok AF (Where Is The Lie?).

There was also never a dull moment throughout as social media personalities Christian Antolin, Pipay, and Yani Villarosa slayed into their roles as hosts and entertained attendees with their wit and charm.

Unfortunately, the organizers later cut short the celebration due to the worsening weather, explaining, "Nais naming ipagbigay alam na nakompromiso ang electrical at sound system sa stage nang dahil sa malakas na ulan at posibleng makapinsala sa mga crew at mahal nating performers."

The likes of Vice Ganda, BINI, Marina Summers, Ben&Ben, Gloc-9, JK Labajo, and more were supposed to perform next.

Despite the program's abrupt end, Pride PH expressed excitement, having exceeded its target goal of 200,000 attendees. They also extended gratitude for the crowd's well-behaved nature.

"We are proud of our community along with the many allies that have joined us dahil ipinakita natin ang ating good behaviour and also our resolve," they stated.

"We will need more of this show of force and love letter to national leaders in the crucial six months na kakailanganin natin ang lakas at suporta ng isa't isa para sa SOGIE Equality Bill at para makamit ang pangarap nating lipunang may pag-ibig at pagkakapantay-pantay," they added.