For 33 years now, nonprofit Jersey Pride has called Asbury Park home for its annual LGBTQ+ pride celebration.

"It was one of the places where we could actually be ourselves," said Jersey Pride President Laura Pople. "There was a big community. As the years have passed, New Jersey has gotten many more progressive laws on the books.“

Pople has been involved since the event's inception, around the time when the state's Law Against Discrimination was amended to stop discrimination based off one's sexual orientation.

“We felt – why are we going to pride events across the river to New York or across the river to Philadelphia when we have better protection than either of those two states do," said Pople. "So we decided to host our own pride event, and so it came out of a very political movement.”

More than 27,000 people came out last year to kick off Pride Month at New Jersey’s largest and oldest pride event.

“The 33rd year of this pride is probably one of our most important in light of the national administration starting to strip away rights from all of the LGBTQ, particularly our trans brothers and sisters," said Asbury Park Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Quinn said this is a chance to bring allies together.

"We want people all over New Jersey to feel comfortable and safe coming to Asbury Park as a whole, but particularly this day," said Quinn.

The city is a haven for the community 365 days a year, but today, Pride took over everything – from the streets to the fields.

The celebration featured a parade, live entertainment, festival grounds and a space for businesses and community groups to share information and resources.

"Now in this political climate, it is an essential event to demonstrate the community, to give that visibility to make sure we don't become invisible,” said Pople.

Gov. Phil Murphy marked the beginning of Pride Month by highlighting measures put in place over the years to protect the LGBTQ+ community.