Immediately upon nearing Miami Beach on April 8th, you could tell that it wasn’t just any ordinary Sunday. A huge array of people clad in rainbows, glitter, and their identifying flags poured onto the streets to showcase their pride.

Giant kites of scuba divers moved with the wind above the under-the-sea-themed dance floor and countless tents selling food, drinks, and pride-themed merchandise populated Lummus Park. People of all shapes, sizes, colors, sexualities, and genders, gathered between 5th and 15th street to witness the 10th annual Pride parade.

Miami Gay Pride has been a tradition since 2009 when the first parade took place. It was estimated that 15,000 people showed up to the first parade and now, a whopping 135,000 people attended in 2017.

Among the many Miami residents that attended the parade, were South Broward students.

“Everyone there was so kind and accepting,” said an anonymous closeted student who attends South Broward and was at the parade on the eighth. “I’ve never been with so many people at once who didn’t care what I identified as or who I was. They all accepted me for me, and I didn’t even know them!”

The parade began with a group of motorcyclists riding in to rev up the audience. Their motorcycles were adorned with rainbow flags and beaded necklaces hanging from their handlebars. People blew whistles and yelled in support of them as they rode down the street, and the rest of the parade followed suit.

“It’s so fun and it’s such a great place to meet people like me,” said Gabriel Moran, a freshman at South Broward that has been openly gay since 2016.

Many members of South Broward’s very own Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) were also in attendance. Another anonymous student, a junior at SBHS, attended the parade with his boyfriend. “The overall environment and energy of it was very lively and everyone was just there to have fun and celebrate themselves,” said the student, “it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.”