GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — Greenwood Indiana Pride Inc., a nonprofit aimed at promoting visibility for all members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the city, hosted its annual Pride festival on Saturday.

The free event kicked off the start of Pride Month, and featured six hours of live entertainment, 175 vendors, 23 drag artists, bounce houses, face painting, and a host of food options.

Greenwood Pride Executive Director Suzanne Fortenberry said there was a spot for every one of the thousands of people that came out for the event, especially with their drag queen story time.

The story time was hosted by drag queens Lola Palooza and Halle Pino.

The event also sought to offer access to mental health resources to any person in the Queer community.

“We focused heavily on mental health issues this year, there’s an epidemic going, and we have Narcan booths that help out,” Fortenberry said. “We also have different suicide prevention booths that we let in free because it’s an important issue that we all need to work together to try and end.”

Hosting an event with tangible resources is a task close to the organizers’ hearts.

Greenwood Pride Assistant Director John Michael Jones wished the event had always been around in Greenwood.

“I grew up in Greenwood. I’ve lived here my whole life, and if I would have had something like this as a kid, it would have been life-changing,” Jones said.

As planners seek to make the event an annual tradition for all, they’ve already started planning for next year’s parade. The parade typically falls on the first Saturday in June each year.