On Saturday morning in Ogunquit, spectators of all ages gathered in Veteran’s Memorial Park grabbed onto the edges of the large rainbow-striped Pride flag laid out on the lawn, joining the Pride Parade as they marched it down the road to Dorothea Jacobs Grant Common.

“It’s a lengthy flag,” said Alice Pearce, executive director of the Ogunquit Chamber of Commerce, calling on audience members to hold onto a piece. “It’s gorgeous.”

The Pride Parade, the 23 LGBTQ+ vendors selling their products in the park, the tunes of the marching band Ideal Maine Band and the food trucks just outside the park’s entrance were only a fraction of the weekend’s high-spirited events in Ogunquit, which has been celebrating Pride for over 40 years. The beach town has long been known as a gay-friendly tourist destination and for its tumultuous history of fighting for LGBTQ+ rights. Drag shows, dance parties, karaoke, a family-friendly beach run, a gallery show and more populated the agenda for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Speakers at the annual raising of the Pride flag emphasized the importance of the unity, strength and hope that Pride Month and the flag represent.

“I know there’s probably a lot of young kids struggling with themselves and their parents not understanding,” Ogunquit Pride Committee Chair Ron Nassef said. “As one of those children when I was younger, it’s great to have that support.”

He called for a moment of silence to remember Barney Frank, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts who died last month. Frank was the first openly gay member of Congress and a pioneer for gay rights.

Several speakers went on to mention Frank. Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau recalled Frank advising him early in his career and warning him that being openly gay could be used against him politically.

“What Barney was telling me was not that my experience would be exactly like his. What he was saying was, my experience could be like his, if I and others who have taken up the mantle of serving our communities in public office let down our guard,” Fecteau said. He cited a recent poll showing that support for same-sex marriage in the U.S. has declined in recent years. “As we celebrate Pride Month, and we do so with this visibility that we see here in downtown Ogunquit, we are saying proudly and loudly to everyone who can see that we will not let progress be rolled back.”

Karenlee Gorman from Kennebunk Savings Bank, the parade’s title sponsor, read a message from Gov. Janet Mills.

“We recommit to defending the right of every person to be treated decently, and to live with dignity in our state and our nation. Discrimination violates our compassion and our conscience … There are dangerous efforts in Congress and the courts to further roll back the rights of LGBTQ+ people nationwide. I say to you now, we cannot, we will not allow that to happen,” Gorman read from Mills’s statement.

In Maine, petitioners, many from out of state, fought to add a question to the state’s November ballot on whether transgender students may participate in sports in a way that aligns with their gender identity, a measure opponents say is discriminatory and harmful.

State Rep. Gerry Runte spoke about the safety the Pride flag symbolizes for many.

“Rights are not abstractions,” Runte said. “They are lived ordinary moments at school and work, in a town meeting, on a beach, walking through the center of town.”

As the Pride flag was raised, entertainer and impersonator Chi Chi Rones sang “Over the Rainbow” in Judy Garland’s voice.

“Before we march, I want to close with a quick reminder that there’s a great quote from RuPaul, one of our (drag queens): ‘You can look at the darkness, but you don’t have to stare at it,'” said Blake Hayes from Maine’s Coast 93.1, who emceed the flag raising. “We’re living in a time that has a lot of darkness, but joy itself is a protest.”

For much of the crowd, Pride in Ogunquit is a chance to uphold tradition and reunite with people.

“It’s about meeting up with friends and family,” said Charlie Farrington as he marched through the parade, holding part of the Pride flag. He has spent the summer in Ogunquit for 40 years and lived there for six. “It’s a great celebration.”

Toni Unwin and her wife, Gail Monesson, are from New Mexico, but have traveled to Ogunquit for Pride for the past three years.

“We come for the ocean, and we come for the Pride,” Unwin said. The couple trailed the procession, waving their hand-held rainbow flags.