INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) Thousands of people ventured to Military Park in Indianapolis Saturday for the 2026 Indy Pride Festival, including members of the LGBTQ community and their allies.WATCH FULL STORY BELOW:John-Michael Riggs, o f Tennessee, travels to several pride festivals across the country each year. He said they are important because it gives people the confidence to be who they are, to show you can go out in public and still not be hated upon.Erika Holland-Lesch, who came to the festival with her wife, said, Pride means everything. It literally feels like Christmas for our community You feel supported, you feel accepted.Chris Bultman said its the sixth time hes attended the Indy Pride Fest.Its really important for me that my friends, my family, feel really valued in this city, he said. We show up for pride because pride matters to our city. For Rikki Wydra, it was her fifth Indy Pride Fest. She said this years festival seems bigger to her than in previous years, and she takes that as a sign that support for the LGBTQ community is growing in Indiana.Youll never get any free expression like this any other time of the year in Indiana, she said. The vibe is the best.The festival came as Indiana Governor Mike Braun proclaimed June as Nuclear Family Month, defining the family as a husband, a wife, and children, causing backlash in Indianas LGBTQ community.That is absolutely ridiculous, said Stefonya Shirhall. This month is fully for the gay community as a whole. We have went through so much to get here and it is amazing to celebrate it. Festival attendees proudly sported creative costumes, wore rainbow clothing, held rainbow flags, and even cooled down with rainbow fans, keeping vendors busy, like Freddy Reed, who has a business selling pride-themed merchandise.I do Pride every weekend in a different city, Reed said. Its amazing. Every town we go to, the people are so happy, they have fun. Theres never fights. Everyones nice.The positive, festive energy at Indy Pride Fest worked in tandem with the seriousness of the cause of standing up for LGBTQ rights.Its important for people, if part of the LGBTQ community, to attend these because of visibility, Riggs said. We need to be seen, we need to be recognized and we need to be celebrated. its also important for our allies to attend these events to uphold and uplift the community and to make us feel like a community at large ...read more read less