The 44th Boston Pride Parade and Festival drew a record 25,000 people. Two hundred groups marched in the annual parade, which was led by Gov. Deval Patrick and Mayor Martin J. Walsh and ended with a festival on City Hall Plaza.  

“There’s been a huge evolution in the kind of folks attending,” Boston Pride president Sylvain Bruni told The Boston Globe. “There are more families, more babies, more couples, more youth, more straight people — it’s much more diverse than it’s ever been.”

Photos included here are courtesy of Marilyn Humphries and Merina Zeller via Boston Pride.

Vertical diversity.

Careful. There is a wild animal right there!

Intergalactic diversity is welcomed.

Hey, ladies.

It's about time we opened the doors to folks from other solar systems.

Women working the festival.

Volunteering at your local Pride parade or festival is a great way to be of service and meet new people.

A  lot of folks put in a lot of hard work for a great day for all.

Hold that pose, kids.

Jeannie Tracy and Alex Newell perform.

The girls and boys of Babson College.

The ribbon-cutting came at the start of the parade at the corner of Boylston and Clarendon Streets, at the rainbow crosswalk that was painted especially for Boston Pride. From left to right: Sylvain Bruni (Boston Pride president), Lorrie Higgins (girlfriend of Mayor Walsh), Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Gov, Deval L. Patrick, his wife, Diane Patrick, and Linda DeMarco (Boston Pride vice president,)

Guarding the rainbow and a freelance lesbian hugger.

Boston boogies.