Cloudy skies can’t dim joy as thousands fill nation's capital for World Pride parade

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gray skies and drizzle gave way to sunshine, multicolored flags and celebrations as the nation’s capital held the World Pride parade Saturday.

Tens of thousands of people participated in parades and other festivities, in defiance of what activists say is an unprecedented assault on the LGBTQ+ community that challenges the rights many have fought for over the years.

A rainbow flag the length of three football fields flowed through the streets, carried by 500 members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., to kick off the parade. Behind them, people waved Pride flags and flags representing the transgender, asexual and bisexual communities from atop a bus.

Singer-songwriter and actor Reneé Rapp laughed and blew kisses from the back of a pickup truck draped with a transgender flag while Laverne Cox, a transgender actress and activist known for her role in Netflix's “Orange is the New Black,” waved from an open convertible.

“Pride means us looking out for each other no matter what,” she declared to the crowd as the convertible rolled to a stop. “We know how to be there for each other.”

Many LGBTQ+ travelers have expressed concerns or decided to skip World Pride due to anxieties about safety, border policies and a hostile political climate that they say hearkens back to another time. But that did not keep international travelers and other participants away, with groups visible from Iran, Namibia, Kenya and Russia.

Along the parade route, hundreds gathered outside the National City Christian Church as rainbow flags and balloons lined its steps and columns. A child with rainbow face paint blew bubbles at the base of the steps while Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” blared from loudspeakers.

“D.C. is already one of the biggest cities in the country for celebrating Pride,” said Cheo White, 33, from Annapolis, Maryland. “But we are all collectively more united and turning out more because of what’s happening in the White House.”

Many have said the gathering has taken on a new meaning amid the Trump administration’s aggressive policies against protections for transgender Americans and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

White’s partner, Nick Kerver, 26, who was visiting from Toledo, Ohio, said Pride has “always been a political tool” but has taken on more importance this year amid mounting threats to the LGBTQ+ community, especially transgender and nonbinary Americans.“

“It feels more important than ever,” Kerver said while wearing a rainbow hat, sunglasses and a T-shirt. “But we also have to get involved in our local communities, too.“

David Begler, a 58-year-old gay man from Philadelphia, expressed disappointment that many international travelers felt unsafe visiting the District of Columbia for World Pride but said he appreciates its presence in the city during this political climate.

“It’s the perfect time to have World Pride in D.C.,” Begler said. “We need it right now. I want us to send a message to the White House to focus on uplifting each other instead of dividing.“

Stay DeRoux, 36, usually plans a day trip to D.C. Pride from her home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. But this year, she and her wife, Deenie DeRoux, planned a full weekend. “This is a really big year,” Stay DeRoux said. “There’s been a lot of turmoil. So it’s an amazing thing to be among allies, among people who love because we’ve experienced so much hate on a daily basis.”

For the day, the idea of threats and opposition took a backseat to the celebration. Streets were closed, but filled with floats, and impromptu parties broke out with music and food in streets adjoining the parade route.

Johnny Cervantes Jr., dressed in a black suit and top hat, headed to a grandstand at a church themed float to marry his partner of 28 years, Freddie Lutz, owner of Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant in Arlington, Virginia.

Events culminate Sunday with a rally and protest march and a giant street party and concert covering a multi-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue.

“This is World Pride in the best city in the world,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared as she walked the parade hand-in-hand with her daughter, Miranda.

Late Saturday, the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department reported on its X site, formerly Twitter, that two juveniles were stabbed and a man was shot near Dupont Circle, one of the areas of celebration during Pride. A police spokeswoman said it was two incidents. The stabbings occurred during a fight between groups of juveniles. The juvenile victims were transported to area hospitals and both were conscious, police said. Less than an hour later, after police cleared Dupont Circle Park a male victim was shot in the foot just south of the park.

It was not known if either the incident was related to the celebration.

Michael Williams, security at the Madhatter Restaurant, said he heard a loud pop that sounded like a gun shot then saw dozens of people running away from Dupont Circle along Connecticut Avenue, one of the city's main north-to-south thoroughfares. He said police were following behind. “I just stepped out of people's way. And it looked like police had it under control.”

Despite the police presence in the area afterwards, revelers continued flooding nightspots.

Participants march during the World Pride parade, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Participants dance on a float during the World Pride parade, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A child watches the World Pride parade, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Participants around the World of Hyatt float march during the World Pride parade, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Members of Nordic for Equality march during the World Pride parade, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Members of Batalá Washington D.C. perform during the World Pride parade, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A person marches during the World Pride parade, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A person wearing rainbow heart sunglasses watches the World Pride parade, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.

In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace. It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.

Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C., where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their highest priority is connecting with people along the way.

“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every stop.

Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka — have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.

At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.

“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate peace.”

Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19 monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.

Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.

This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means divine light in Sanskrit.

Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he feels like giving up.

“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,” Pannakara said.

The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks, nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.

Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.

“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,” Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we believe.”

In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.

He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up, creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi, he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.

“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus, whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who showed up.”

After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed there.

“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.

Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as a national holiday.

“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.

But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong.

The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.

Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to convert people to Buddhism.

Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in his country.

“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”

On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda. Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents.

“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”

Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed.

“Today is my peaceful day.”

Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," get lunch Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Aloka rests with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

A sign is seen greeting the Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Supporters pray with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Supporters watch Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

A Buddhist monk ties a prayer bracelet around the wrist of Josey Lee, 2-months-old, during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara leads other buddhist monks in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Audrie Pearce greets Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," arrive in Saluda, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," are seen with their dog, Aloka, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)