The raising of the pride flag at Windsor city hall kicks off this weekend’s Windsor-Essex Pride Fest.

Over 22 years, Windsor Pride president David Lenz says the event has grown from just a few hundred people at Charles Clark Square, to an event that attracted more than 5,200 participants at the Riverfront Festival Plaza last year.

He says extra care is made to make many of the events family friendly and the festival, August 8th to the 10th, is open to everyone. “To use an example, there were some people last year that just showed up, didn’t know anything about it, but they came and thought ‘Oh my God; this is great. I’m going to be back again next year,” says Lenz. “Sometimes in the media world, they get to see the stereotypical LGBT festival and you know what, we’re just like any other festival.”

The annual parade down Ouellette Ave. starts Sunday, August 10th at 11am and features 30 floats, some from World Pride Day in Toronto.