Springdale students lead the way at annual St. John's Pride Parade

It's been a wild year for the Springdale students who battled controversy and pushed their town to host its firstPride Week, and this weekend theycelebratedtheir accomplishmentsat the annual St. John's Pride Parade.

The students from Indian River High School's Gender-Sexuality Alliance arrived at city hall in style on Sunday, stepping out of a limousine and taking their place front and centre as grand marshals of the parade.

Many of them were dressed for the occasion, too, donning shirts with a rainbow crosswalk on them that proclaimed "Springdale is for Lovers" along with special rainbow eyeshadow.

"It's really amazing. I actually can't believe we're here. Something so small, in our small town, it got us all here leading the parade," said Maria Lawlor.

"It's nice to know that we've been recognized for something so important for us," added MeganPaddock.

Check out some of the other faces in the crowd at the parade below.