Houstonians mark Pride Houston Week with parade

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- It's that time of year again. Gay Pride parades are set to step off around the world, in cities large and small -- including Houston.

Mayor Annise Parker was part of the 35th Annual Pride Houston Parade Saturday, and more than a hundred organizations and businesses also participated. The festival had more than 200 vendors and groups for entertainment throughout the day.

Pride Houston Week ends tonight at South Beach Night Club.

Across the U.S., cities from coast to coast, including New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, as well as many smaller cities, are celebrating. Festivals also were held Saturday in France, Spain, Mexico and Peru.

New York marchers will commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots, which are credited with launching the modern gay rights movement in 1969. San Francisco's event is in its 44th year.

The U.S. festivities come amid an eventful year since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the statute that denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages and cleared the way for gay couples to wed legally in California. Since then, seven more states legalized same-sex marriage, boosting the total to 19, plus Washington, D.C.