WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) -- Visitors to downtown Wichita witnessed a celebration of Pride on Saturday. The annual Pride parade took to the streets shortly before noon, and there was also a large festival inside Century II. This year's theme is YOUnited with Pride. Some of the people celebrating said the events are a great place to meet a supportive community. "I think it's important just because we don't have a lot of this regularly, you know," Sophia Vest said. "It's nice to be able to meet up with the community to see everybody, to meet everybody, just to be able to connect, you know, to show that we are not alone and we do matter." Tanganyika Wildlife Park becoming all-inclusive, changing cost Inside Century II, The Wichita Pride Festival featured performances and vendors with booths offering goods and services. One vendor was Brea Rice, the host of the podcast "Kueen Talk." She started the show this year in Wichita. It features real stories and experiences from people in the LGBTQ+ community. "'Kueen Talk' was created because we need representation," Rice said. "I feel like the representation doesn't get seen often. I grew up in a small town. I didn't see people that looked like me, Black people, let alone queer Black people, so I felt like I needed to start a platform." She is producing a new podcast each week. "I wanted to see that representation, there's a lot of us out here like I said. But, as you walk around you will see that there's not a lot of people that look like me walking around or that have a booth itself," Rice said. Another vendor was Wichita Pride, a local non-profit. The president says the LGBTQ+ community has come a long way in the last few decades. "We've made a lot of advances in terms of acceptance just by evidence of all these people that are here, all the vendors that are here," Wichita Pride president Jim Hall said. Hall also mentions what's most important to the group during pride month. "It's always somebody's first time, it's always someone's first time to experience that sense of community, that sense of belonging, and that sense of being in a safe space and that is so incredibly important particularly in this community," Hall added. The Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas was also a vendor at the festival, trying to spread the word about mental health awareness among people who identify as LGBTQ+. "It's very important because not only are you fighting everybody's opinion and that can take a toll on your mental health so here at MHA that's why we're here. Come see us, we'll accept you, we want you to have that mental health we want you to have the support," case manager Jordan Schmidt said. Best fireworks shows in Kansas 2024 The Pride events moved to Naftzger Park on Saturday night, with Pride in the Park After Dark, which runs until 11 p.m.