The 6th annual Santa Maria Pride took place on Sunday and it's the second year it has taken place at the Santa Maria Fairpark.
“I want my kid to grow up loving all walks of life and being a good human and ally,” Cassie Bondi, an Arroyo Grande resident said.
Bondi brought her whole family to the pride event. She feels it's important for her kids to grow up in this community.
“To normalize inclusion and diversity because when you're not exposed to it then you feel like something is wrong with it,” Bondi said.
It was a free event for all community members and members of the LGBTQIA+ community and it means something different for everyone.
“Pride month is a great moment of reflection for us. It's a moment where we get to understand it started as a riot and there's still so much work that we as a community and a city have to do,” Grace Towers, one of the performers at the event said.
Santa Maria Pride was hosted by the House of Pride and Equality and they had resource vendors, performers, and entertainers.
“It allows you to meet people who are like-minded and it shows this is a community you wanna live in," said Cary Berner, a Santa Maria resident. "Everyone is welcome and everyone is valued."
This year the Santa Maria Pride theme was "Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges."
“The inclusion we are making in our community is super important to me as an LGBTQ woman it's super important to have visibility,” said Anais Diaz, vice president of the House of Pride and Equality.
