ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Not even Saturday's rain could keep people away from ROAR nightclub. The club held a Pride-themed outdoor festival, complete with live music and performances. 

Once it became clear that the organization that used to host Pride celebrations wasn’t having one, the co-owner of ROAR took matters into his own hands.

"Rochester is a really diverse community,” said club co-owner David Chappius. “It has a really active LGBTQ community. And it makes Rochester a really great place to live.”

During the pandemic, ROAR nightclub opened its doors as a safe space for the LGBTQ community. The Pride festival was a chance for everyone to have some fun after a tough year.

"Obviously the weather is a damper, but we expect people to come throughout the day,” Chappius said. “We’re not going to melt, we’re going to have a good time.”

The Pride festival featured live music, dancers and drag shows.

Every performer came from Rochester, something that was important to organizers.

“We didn’t bring in any outside artists,” Chappius said. “We wanted to focus on the dynamic performers we have in Rochester.”

The ROAR-Pride Outdoor Party was made possible with the support and collaboration from neighboring businesses like Sticky Soul, Photo City Music Hall and Heroes Brewing.