Broadway has its holes these days and some worry about the changing culture brought on by big development but on Saturday, the street filled with celebration — and booths dispensing everything from crafts to information and advice — for the second annual Capitol Hill Pride Festival. Broadway was closed between John Street and Roy Street for the all-day festival featuring music and dance performances, vendors, copious amounts of street food as well as sex positive education and family fun. The festival expanded three blocks and to longer hours from its first year in 2009.

Bend-It’s rubber ducks get paint job before racing in the Cal Anderson Park fountain

“Look at these streets, it’s fantastic,” said Michael Wells, interim director of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, gesturing to sidewalks crowded with vendors and festival goers strolling down the center of the streets, which were closed to traffic all day.

Men of Valor perform

Wells believes there is a need for Capitol Hill to have its own Pride Festival. From the number of people attending the festival again this year, you probably won’t find many to argue with him.

“People are hungry for ways to connect to the community,” Wells said.

While bands like Men of Valor and dance crew entertained the crowds of Broadway,  Bend-It hosted the Big Gay field Day games at Cal Anderson Park for kids and kids-at-heart. Games included bocce ball, jump roping and rubber-duck racing.

Sister Karma Ze Betch, a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (a non-profit organization that raises money for education and community development) called this year’s Pride weekend “a milestone,” noting the LGBT community’s success in erecting a rainbow flag on top of the Space Needle.

No word yet on final crowd estimates but organizers including the Museum of the Mysteries told the city they were expecting more than 7,000 people during the course of the day. The Museum, by the way, is moving off Broadway, we reported on Friday. Were you one of the thousands? What did you think of the longer, bigger fest? With great weather and Broadway brought to life, it seems more than likely there will be a third festival in 2011.

The “pregnant men” of Bakra Bata give birth to a Cabbage Patch doll

One of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence celebrates her pride

Update: This KING 5 TV news piece is surprisingly un-painful to watch (except for the commercial they make you sit through). And they talk to Purple Mark!