See how Bellingham celebrated its annual Pride festival

Thousands of people lined Cornwall Avenue in downtown Bellingham for the annual Bellingham Pride parade and festival on Sunday.

Bellingham Pride began in 1999 to celebrate equality for “LGBTQ-plus folks,” which includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and “questioning” people, organizers said. They said it’s now the second-largest Pride event in Washington state.

This year’s grand marshal was Deputy Chief Flo Simon of the Bellingham Police Department and participants included the city’s police officers, firefighters and librarians. Bellingham Public Schools participated, as did many local businesses, churches and community organizations.

Crowd members cheered the Rainbow City Band of Seattle, and umbrella drill team, the Roller Betties roller derby team and dozens more.

This story was originally published July 9, 2017 at 5:00 PM with the headline "See how Bellingham celebrated its annual Pride festival."