NEW HOPE, PA — The riverfront communities of Lambertville and New Hope beamed with pride on Saturday as New Hope Celebrates pulled out all the stops for this year’s Pride Parade.
All along the parade route, which stepped off in New Jersey and ended in Pennsylvania, thousands of parade watchers and participants waved rainbow flags and cheered as bursts of confetti and hundreds of bubbles filled the air.
Leading off this year's parade was newly crowned Miss New Hope Celebrates 2026, Athena Chanteuse. She was followed by this year's Parade Grand Marshals, Alex Frasier and Peter Maloney, both prominent figures in the cultural and architectural revitalization of New Hope.
Leading this year's parade is newly crowned Miss New Hope Celebrates 2026, Athena Chanteuse. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
Parade grand marshals Alex Frasier and Peter Maloney. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
The Rainbow Equity Flag fills the street in New Hope. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
New Hope Mayor Frank Deluca. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
Philly Elite Cheer on South Main Street. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
The Philadelphia Freedom Band. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
The Philadelphia Freedom Band. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
The energy level was off the charts as young people from the Rainbow Room carried a giant Rainbow Equality Flag through the streets of Lambertville and across the bridge to New Hope, filling the streets with a diversity of color.
Cheerleaders formed human pyramids on Main Street, prompting applause from the hundreds of onlookers filling the sidewalks, while the Philadelphia Freedom Band had everyone dancing in the streets and waving flags.
Local politicians joined the march, including State Senator Steve Santarsiero, State Rep. Tim Brennan, and Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, along with New Hope Mayor Frank DeLuca, members of the New Hope Borough Council and the Lambertville City Council and representatives from Solebury Township.
The parade was part of this year’s PrideFest whose theme “Pride In Full Color," an invitation to show up without apology - to speak openly, live vibrantly, and love without restraint. The theme's visual identity draws from the raw energy of street art: a brick wall layered with graffiti, paint splatters, and a dripping heart, symbolizing a community that is bold, expressive and impossible to erase.
"I am grateful for the history, the people and their stories that make New Hope and Lambertville a community where queer people are not just accepted, but celebrated,” said New Hope Celebrates President Melissa Patterson. “I am proud of the strength of our community, rich with so many LGBTQ+ friends and neighbors - and thrilled that we live and work in one of the great LGBTQ+ travel destinations in America. Pride IN FULL COLOR honors that legacy and shines a light on every shade of who we were, who we are and who we will continue to be.”
The Philadelphia Freedom Band. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
The new Ferry Market bus. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
The party float. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
New Hope Celebrates founder Dan Brooks. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
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