Nicole Galliac’s philosophy of “you get what you give” had rarely been so validated than on Saturday, when she stood on a corner of Berkeley Street hurling positivity at each group walking in the Boston Pride parade.
“Yes! You look great — happy pride!” she shouted at yet another passerby. A woman slapped a sticker on her arm, and someone else on stilts came over and gave her a high-five.
“It’s so easy to be gay and nice,” said Galliac, 23, of Marlborough, who had introduced herself by saying “First and foremost, I’m gay.”
With rainbow flags flying, the pride parade brings out the best in people, she said.
“We’re just out here being respectful and positive and coming at all this in good faith, so I don’t know how people can hate, if they really think about it,” Galliac said.
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Boston’s Pride parade, a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, stepped off in joy and sunshine Saturday morning, passing cheering crowds through Back Bay before ending on Boston Common for an afternoon festival.
While several people alluded to concerns around the “political climate” amid threats to LGBTQ+ rights, attendees said they were having a great day and were, most of all, proud.
Other global concerns were also on people’s minds. There were a small number of pro-Palestinian protesters waving Palestinian flags and wearing kaffiyeh scarves as they demonstrated against Israel’s actions in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Boston police said three of the protesters were arrested, two female and one male, shortly after noon near Boylston Street after someone threw a water bottle at a police officer. No one was injured, police said.
But over the course of about three hours, boisterous crowds celebrated as the parade meandered its way from Copley Square down into the South End before circling back up to the Common and City Hall Plaza.
A wide gamut of politicians and public officials made sure to attend, from Mayor Michelle Wu to US Senator Edward Markey to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden.
Governor Maura Healey, the state’s first openly gay governor, walked in the parade with a group of state employees. Or, to be more accurate, she jogged, dashing up and down the crowds of spectators, shaking hands, giving high-fives, and taking pictures.
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“Happy pride, everybody!” she yelled as she hurtled by.
More than 300 groups, comprising more than 10,000 participants, took part in New England’s largest pride parade, the theme of which was “Still Here: In Living Color.”
Gay neighborhood groups followed drag performers, with industry groups of LGBTQ professionals in the likes of biotech and health care also marching along. And the musical accompaniments swung from Dua Lipa to disco, Rihanna to reggaeton.
Two queer motorcycle clubs — Moving Violations, which is geared toward lesbians, and Riders Motorcycle Group of Boston, led the way. Ross Harpestad of Berlin, Mass., said the biker club is liberating, both in terms of the romance of the open road and as a community.
“I just like it,” he said. “Just to have that freedom, and along the way I don’t have to worry about being who I am.”
A few blocks down the route, Sean Downing and Siobhan Gartland of Boston said the parade is great for folks like them: a couple of friends who both identify as part of the queer community.
“The groups I’m happy to see are young kids and old people,” Downing said.
Another block down, 13-year-old Saoirse Olson, clad in a rainbow T-shirt and face paint, was at the parade with a friend and her mother.
“It’s really colorful and everyone’s really nice,” she said of attending her first pride parade.
Rainbow flags, shirts, and tie-dye abounded. And so did an spectrum of puns: One guy held a picture of a koala and a rainbow that said “Ekoalaty.”
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Aiden Wells, of Lowell, was holding a large rainbow flag and wearing a shirt that said, “Sounds gay — I’m in.” He said he identifies as bisexual, and paraphrased the old line: “We’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going anywhere, so I guess people have to deal with it.”
He added that he was pleased he hadn’t seen any “haters.”
“Seems like it would be difficult here, though,” he said, noting the big crowds of supporters.
Wells and others mentioned what they see as a troubling national political landscape in which conservatives have focused on bills targeting LGBTQ+ and trans issues.
“It’s a tough time in the world,” said Ronny Desjadon, 34. He was there with his partner, Dan Pagliarulo, both of Danvers, and said they’ve come to pride parades around the area for close to two decades because “it’s important for everyone to be able to be themselves.”
How does this parade stack up? “It’s fantastic,” he said, furrowed brow giving way to a grin.
Nearby, on the sidewalk at the Public Garden, 20-year-old Alyssa Fournier was hawking pride jewelry. She said her business is called Slangin Rockz., The Boston resident was selling rainbow earrings and bracelets she’d made.
She said she didn’t grow up with people who were very accepting of her bisexuality, but now she’s flourishing.
“It’s very nice to be able to have this,” she said. “Everyone should just feel able to be themselves.”
Sean Cotter can be reached at sean.cotter@globe.com. Follow him @cotterreporter.