In the welcoming shade of downtown Reno’s casino buildings, participants of the Northern Nevada Pride Parade gathered in record-setting heat on Saturday to show their support for the LBGTQ community.

The parade and festival that followed were put on by the nonprofit organization Our Center Reno.

Standing in front of a Washoe County Library van covered in rainbow streamers, Jeff Scott, the library’s director, said his favorite part about Northern Nevada Pride was the party atmosphere.

“I mean, you have a lot of parades,” he said, “but having that kind of energy where everyone is walking around and they're smiling — it's just fun.”

When asked how the library has responded to threats related to events such as Drag Queen Story Hour, Scott said it’s unfortunate but the staff remains undeterred. He said it is important for the library to show up for every community and “do the work” of honoring diversity, equity and inclusion.

“This is just one of the many communities we serve. So we’re going to keep doing this no matter what,” he said.

In the staging area, a man held a sign with Bible verses on it and shouted condemnations at the parade participants through a megaphone. Standing next to him was Cameron Howard, a 29-year-old engineer from Reno wearing a rainbow umbrella hat, who tried to drown out the megaphone by shouting “Jesus was gay.”

“I’m just trying to stop his hate by giving a little humor to it,” said Howard.

Celebrating Pride in Reno for the first time with her wife was Adylene Fèlix, who is part of the Latino Arte and Culture Collective of Reno as well as the Latinx Social Club, a club for queer Latinos in Northern Nevada.

“Pride to me means, freedom, equality — it means I can be whoever I want,” said Fèlix.

Dressed as Valentino, her male alter ego, Fèlix said she was taking part in the parade to represent her Chicano culture alongside her queer identity. She helped assemble the giant sombrero that is the centerpiece of the Latino Arte float.

Where the parade ended, the festival began. Food trucks, stages for music and booths showcasing everything from handmade art to information on community organizations filled Wingfield Park on the Truckee River in downtown Reno.

Ward 4 Reno City Councilwoman Meghan Ebert, who hosted a booth at the festival, said she attended because she wanted to show support for the LGBTQ community.

"I think that culture comes from the top down," she said. "And part of the way we're doing that is by our hiring practices and how we treat our city staff, and, from there, it bleeds out to the rest of the city."

Brian Jensen, co-director of the festival who helped found Northern Nevada Pride 10 years ago, said the budget when they began was just $10,000 and about 2,500 people attended. Now, they bring in around $180,000 from local businesses and community groups and host around 15,000 people. He attributes that growth to the Reno area becoming more accepting.

“Twenty years ago it wasn’t the same,” said Jensen.

Jensen said that for him the most important part of the event is showing children who might not feel accepted or feel scared of the world because of what they may see on the news, that they are welcome.

“I think this gives them a place to feel happy and be themselves,” he said.

Photographer Trevor Bexon captured the event for The Nevada Independent.