PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Portland's annual celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is ready to descend on the city's largest public park.
Pride Portland! will begin with a parade from Monument Square to Deering Oaks Park at noon on Saturday. The festival in Deering Oaks will follow from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Lineup time for the parade begins at 10 a.m.
Festival organizers are promising "an epic parade of pride across Portland."
Mary Bonauto, the Portland lawyer who successfully argued for same-sex marriage before the U.S. Supreme Court last year, will serve as one of the parade's marshals.
The festival includes a main stage with music, a beer garden, food trucks and a vendor marketplace.
In light of the recent mass shooting that targeted a gay nightclub, city officials addressed security concerns surrounding Saturday's events.
"The City of Portland continues to be a safe place to live, work, and raise a family but the harsh reality of life in 2016 is that we are forced to maintain a high level of vigilance during any and all public events, including the Pride Portland events," Chief Michael Sauschuck said in a statement.
Mayor Ethan Strimling said that police have been coordinating with event organizers for a while now, and they always do a good job protecting the public. He added that while recent attacks like the mass shooting in Orlando are very scary, he hopes it won't stop people from coming out to celebrate.
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