NORTHAMPTON — Even if there is rain and gray skies this weekend, downtown Northampton will come alive in colors of the rainbow.

Northampton’s 35th annual Pride celebration, organized by the nonprofit Noho Pride Inc., kicks off Friday with a pre-Pride dance party with DJ Nicki Nell in the Union Station grand ballroom at 10 p.m., and continues into Saturday with a parade, drag performances and celebratory speakers.

“There’s something in it for everyone,” said core event organizer and justice of the peace wedding officiant J.M. Sorrell.

The parade starts at noon Saturday, departing from the staging area on Hampton Avenue, turning right on Old South Street, right on Main Street and continuing down Bridge Street, where it veers into the Three County Fairgrounds for music and talks that continue through 5 p.m.

Events at the fairgrounds begin at 1:30 p.m.

“I’ve been involved for the past 34 years,” said Sorrell. “The biggest change is that there are enough people that it takes that long to get to the fairgrounds.”

During the event themed “Love. Strength. Progress.,” the lines between paraders and spectators will blur as roughly 20,000 LGBT people and allies fill Main Street.

“It used to be hard to find allies to march with us, and now I’d say it’s equally proportional (between) LGBT and allies,” Sorrell said. “I’m always amazed at how many more school groups and church groups and people from those communities join us.”

The event, said Sorrell, costs between $30,000 and $40,000 to host and is completely volunteer-driven. Sorrell said organizers ask attendees to donate what they can for future years.

“I think it’s important that whoever participates contributes whatever they can,” she said.

Comedian Cindy Foster will emcee post-parade proceedings at the fairgrounds, which will feature acts including electro grrrl band Solo Sexxx, poet-storyteller Ayisha Knight Shaw and River Valley Co-op’s Queen Mary Band.

Sorrell said the event began in the early 1980s as a protest, but because the area now is generally supportive of LGBT rights, it has become more celebratory.

“We’ve had marriage equality here almost 12 years, so a lot of the social norms had already shifted,” said Sorrell, in reference to last year’s Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage nationwide. “We have the luxury of that not being a controversial topic, as it still is in many parts of the country.”

Sorrell said the court decision has fortunately resulted in a drop in her wedding business.

“I had people clamoring to come from other states before this,” said Sorrell. “That’s changed significantly because people are getting married where they wanna be, and that’s how it should be.”

Amanda Drane can be reached at adrane@gazettenet.com.