Hundreds of women and men gathered at the Bayfront Convention Center for the Women's Freedom Rally.
The event hosted by the Democratic Party featured speeches promoting women's rights and encouraging people to vote on November 5.
Cheers and applause filled the Bayfront Convention Center as people rallied for the freedom, rights, and equality of women.
"You see all kinds of people here and we have really been encouraging that from the start. We obviously want to rally with women of course but we wanted to make a space for our allies as well", said Raven Clark-Steves, the Co-chair of the event.
The event was open to everyone and the keynote speaker, the Allegheny County Executive, Sara Innamorato, said inclusion is what the Democratic Party is all about, "People of all backgrounds and circumstances and ethnicity and races and ages and genders and say 'hey we are the party that looks out for one another'".
Attendees agree, even if people don't see eye to eye on big issues, respect is key. As Catherine O'Neill, an Erie resident said, "We respect everyone but the bottom line is individual women need to be able to make their own decisions about their health care."
Women's health care, social justice and working women were some of the topics covered during the afternoon event. Women in office was another popular discussion that resonated for Innamorato, the first female County Executive of Allegheny County, "The great part about being the first is that you know you aren't going to be the last, so this is going to be about using my platform so other women see themselves in positions of power and elected office."
Clark-Steves said they hope this event encourages people to make their voices heard and get out to vote, "There's a big election coming up so we are really excited and want to get more people out to vote."
The Erie Democratic Party helped coordinate the event that brought hundreds of people out to the rally.