Savannah hosts 18th annual Pride Festival

The theme was “go big or go home” on Saturday as people packed Ellis Square for the 18th annual Savannah Pride Festival.

And with a headliner like singer and actress Estelle, it’s pretty easy to carry out that motto. By 3 p.m., Ellis Square was a rainbow-covered concert floor inundated with people dancing to Estelle’s collaborative hit with Janelle Monae “Do My Thing.”

Saturday was day two of Savannah’s three-day Pride celebration. Pride Week is typically celebrated in late June for the Stonewall Riots, but Savannah’s tradition has always included a late October jubilee to escape the heat.

Attendees enjoyed sunshine and a high of 78 degrees on Saturday.

“We are so excited,” said Regan Drake, executive director of Savannah Pride. “This year has be one of many firsts for us, and we are so happy to see everyone out here enjoying themselves.”

The festival was previously held in Forsyth Park but was moved downtown this year as an effort to make the event “more inclusive,” according to Drake.

“This is the first year in Ellis Square,” he said. “Here, we are available to everyone and right in the heart of the city. We have the support of the city and our business partners, and it’s been great. And everyone is of course welcome to pride.”

The outdoor event, which ran from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., also featured a host of community and awareness groups as well as vendors including Savannah’s only LGBT center, which opened in July.

Resources like the LGBT Center are crucial for the community, Drake said.

“It’s a space that people can feel safe and welcome and that is incredibly important,” he said.

Organizers raised about $50,000 during a gala Friday night benefiting the LGBT Center, Drake said.

Although organizers couldn’t give an official head count, they said they wouldn’t be surprised if Saturday’s event was the largest on record. Last year’s Savannah Pride attracted 8,000 to 9,000 people, both locally and from out of state.

And this year was no different.

Haley Werner, a first-time attendee from West Virginia who toted an extra large rainbow flag, said this year was the first time “she could let her freak flag fly.”

“I’m having so much fun,” she said. “This is the first time that I can be me. My parents don’t really approve it at home so I just came here to let loose.”

And a larger crowd could be a sign of times changing in Savannah, according to Tyrell Scarborough, Pride director of entertainment outreach.

“Pride has definitely grown in Savannah, and we’re seeing more community support.”