Philadelphia Pride March and Festival brings LGBTQ+ community together: "We're gonna hold each other up"

Thousands came together Sunday for the Philadelphia Pride March and Festival in Center City. 

Few entrances were more colorful than when the 1,000-foot Pride flag approached the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Sunday afternoon, near the site of the festival. 

"It just seemed so vibrant and so bright ... it's joyful," attendee Laila Page said. 

Maisey Kolpak was one of many mesmerized by the sight of the flag. 

"It just seemed to stretch on almost endlessly," said Kolpak, who came to the march and festival from York, Pennsylvania. 

The flag accompanied the march from its start at 13th and Locust streets to 21st Street and the Ben Franklin Parkway. 

Then, the Pride festival took over the afternoon. People stopped at tents like the one CBS Philadelphia had — along with grabbing a bite or a sip. 

"[I'm] just excited to explore and maybe meet new people and just have fun," Page said. 

This year was a little bit different than the previous ones because the event has grown. The festival moved to the Parkway from the Gayborhood and Old City. 

"Everybody's all together – no matter what you like," Chloe Jean-Louis, of Philadelphia, said. 

Attendees told CBS News Philadelphia that sense of unity is important for the LGBTQ+ community.

"I just hadn't been to a major city's Pride event yet," Kolpak said. "It's just a great time, seeing everyone dressing how they want, expressing themselves how they want." 

That huge flag wasn't just mesmerizing because of how it looked to Kolpak, but what it represents. 

"We keep going," Kolpak said. "We support each other, and we're gonna hold each other up."