Alaska PrideFest 2016 counts nearly 10,000 participants and visitors

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Cormac Gillis takes a selfie with Julian Anderson, wearing a unicorn mask, before the start of the Alaska Pride parade in downtown Anchorage on Saturday, Jun. 25, 2016. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News)

Nearly 10,000 people showed up for the 2016 Alaska PrideFest on the Delaney Park Strip, the largest turnout in its history. "It overreaches our expectations every year," said organizer JJ Harrier. "It shows that Anchorage is willing to support the LGBT community." This year's event had 44 parade entries, a few of them newlywed same-sex couples and their wedding parties, as well as 125 vendors. The event wasn't without conflict, however, when a small number of anti-gay protesters got into a shouting and shoving altercation with some PrideFest participants.