The exuberant crowd numbered in the thousands, and it filled the streets around the perimeter of Christopher Park. Everywhere you looked, there were bright colors, dyed hair, painted faces, body piercings, midriff tops and high heels.

The crowd outside the Stonewall included Chris Conzen, 42, of Roxbury, N.J., and his daughter, Sara, 10, who had come to Manhattan to see a Broadway show. Mr. Conzen said he wanted to give Sara the “basics” about Pride, so they stopped in Greenwich Village.

“I wanted her to know about the Stonewall, the harassment that happened 50 years ago and how a community finally started to fight back,” he said.

Adam Daicy, 33, and his partner of 15 years, Joey Figueiredo, 32, flew in from Kansas City, Mo., for the weekend’s festivities. Mr. Daicy’s hair was dyed purple and he wore glittery rainbow eye shadow; Mr. Figueiredo wore sunglasses and had a bright-pink beard.

“I wanted to be here to celebrate the biggest time in history,” Mr. Figueiredo said.

Near the stage, the crowd was thickest. There were spirited cheers and shrieks as speaker after speaker stepped up. Throughout the rally, there was barely room to clap. It was impossible to move without jostling other attendees.