TOWANDA -- Dozens came out for the first LGBTQ pride rally in Towanda outside the Bradford County Courthouse.
"I think this means a lot for this county because it's never been done before," said organizer Jay Cory, who runs the Benjamin Franklin craft store on Main Street. He was inspired to set up this rally after the shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando last June, knowing that he would be facing some hurdles.
"We're a very rural county and sometimes it's hard for LGBTQ communities to be so accepted," Cory added.
"I think it's very important to bring people in the town and united as one," said Tom Sachs of Essential Healing & Wellness. "I think it's a very good positive cause for the town itself."
Even though dozens of people and several vendors came out to this first-time event in Bradford County, it wasn't all smooth sailing getting to this point.
" I put up 10 signs (advertising this event) because we didn't have much of a budget," Cory added. "And out of the 10 signs I put up, seven of them vanished."
Lainey Pierson is passing by with her two dogs and hopes that others will be more welcoming to events like this in the area in the future.
"I think it's important because this is a small rural community and there's a lot of people who are not really familiar with gay rights and this gives them an opportunity to learn something that they're just as wonderful as non-gay people," Pierson added.
Organizers hope to make this rally into an annual tradition.