Bridgewater hosted the first ever South Shore Pride parade on Sunday, seen here are town staff that participated in the parade. Photo: Town of Bridgewater.

The South Shore hosted its first-ever Pride parade on Sunday in Bridgewater and the organizers have been blown away by it’s success.

Lunenburg Pride Chair Steve Ellis said, “It exceeded our expectations there were hundreds if not over a thousand in attendance and we had 43 floats in the parade which was far more than we expected when we originally set out.”

Ellis says they wanted to have a Pride parade this year after multiple incidents of hate were perpetrated around the South Shore to show members of the LGBTQ+ community that they are supported around the South Shore. “It was long overdue and thanks to the success we hope this is just the start of what we hope to make an annual event.

There were no issues reported at the parade and by all accounts, everything ran as smoothly as expected, with the weather even cooperating for the parade, despite it being otherwise a mostly wet and gray weekend.

Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell walked in the parade with other town staff and also was pleased to see the community get out and show their support.

Without question the event was a huge success and Lunenburg Pride should be thrilled with the parade and the turnout and support.  It was emotional and powerful to have this in Bridgewater.  The vibe was incredible and the joy and celebration of it, you could feel it.  There’s still a lot of pain in this country and a lot of hate directed at the 2SLGBTQ2+ community but I feel the parade, being the success that it was is a clear message that as a community, everyone is welcome, respected and safe here.  I am already looking forward to next year’s event!

-Mayor David Mitchell

The parade was just the start of Pride week and events will be going on around the South Shore throughout the week, details on which can be found on the Luneburg County Pride webpage.

As for future parades, Ellis says this year’s parade being such a success has them already thinking about next year, and he says they are considering trying to rotate the parade annually to different towns around the South Shore.