A CLIP FROM A 1973 EDITION OF THE PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE SHOWS MARCHERS DURING THE CITY’S FIRST PRIDE DEMONSTRATION. | PHOTO VIA CLIO

The first Pittsburgh Pride Parade was advertised in the June 1973 issue of Pittsburgh Gay News with the slogan, “Gay Pittsburgh is Coming Out.”

The event, held on Sunday, June 17, 1973, was held to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots and create a space for the LGBTQ+ community in Pittsburgh to feel empowered and unified. It was the final event of Gay Pride Week sponsored by Gay Alternates Pittsburgh.

The week consisted of a symposium at the University of Pittsburgh, a coffeehouse social in the Pitt Student Union, a lesbian/feminist night, a gay cabaret and even a gay trolley party, which was decked out in signs, banners and balloons to celebrate Gay Pride Week. The week concluded with the parade on Sunday that started with about 50 participants and grew to about 150.

Related: The History of Pittsburgh’s Gay Pride Parade Spans Decades

“And when we march on that Sunday in June the size of our crowd doesn’t matter,” wrote Fred Gormley in an editorial titled “Why Gay Pride Week” for Pittsburgh Gay News. “If ten people march, it’s 10 more people than ever marched in this city proclaiming their gayness before…and each of those 10 marches for 100 more who can’t or won’t show.”

The group started to congregate at noon that day in Market Square. They began their trek at 1 p.m. and marched along Forbes Avenue to Bigelow Boulevard in Oakland, ending at Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park for a short rally. The speakers called the march “their beginning,” a writer from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported. Following the rally, there was a picnic in North Park.

In a 2003 Tribune Review article, Randy Forrester, co-founder of Persad Center, a counseling center for the LGBTQ+ community, recalled being frightened at the first parade because he didn’t know how the public would react. In the end, Forrester said the parade moved through their 4-mile trek with no problems besides the sweltering heat.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette covered the 1973 march, reporting that “a few cars stopped to heckle marchers,” but overall the parade remained a safe and welcoming place for the gay community of Pittsburgh.

Since then, Pittsburgh Pride has grown into a month of festivities. Pittsburgh held its 51st Pride festival this year from May 31-June 2. More than 260,000 people were in attendance, according to officials, creating a record-breaking turnout. First Lady Jill Biden even made a last-minute appearance and addressed the crowd with a speech.