The best photos in June by Philadelphia Inquirer staff photographers

Between a handful of smokey days sandwiched between a handful of rainy days, it wasn’t clear how bright the start of summer would be.

But June has come and gone and there were plenty of things to celebrate, from Pride Month to the start of festival season.

» READ MORE: See the best photos in May by Inquirer staff photographers

Perhaps the biggest story of the season as of last month was the Interstate 95 collapse, that required travelers and commuters to take a detour for 12 days until a temporary fix was completed.

Here are the best photographs from June made by Philadelphia Inquirer staff photographers.

Follow Inquirer photographers’ work online and on Instagram.

Kara DeLucia, of Center City, shows off the pride flag at Philadelphia’s Pride March and Festival on June 5.

Vice President Kamala Harris appeared during a moderated conversation with the international executive board for SEIU, the service employees union in Philadelphia on June 6.

A tugboat goes down the Delaware River against the haze of the Philadelphia skyline on June 7. Smoke from Canadian wildfires shrouded much of the Northeast last month, causing Pennsylvania and New Jersey to issue air-quality alerts advising people with respiratory or heart conditions to exercise caution.

A mother dolphin and her calf swim at the Jersey Shore next to the ThunderCat Dolphin Watch boat in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Wildwood and Wildwood Crest on June 14.

Cleanup continued at the site of the Interstate 95 bridge collapse in Northeast Philadelphia on June 14. The bridge collapsed after a tanker truck carrying gasoline burst into flames beneath it. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro says it will take months to repair the roadway.

Greg and Kasey Watson with their children Blake, Mason, and Brooke, in Collegeville on June 15.

Welders work on a monopile foundation at EEW American Offshore Structures in Paulsboro, N.J., on June 6. The massive support structures for offshore wind turbines are manufactured there.

President Joe Biden kicked off his reelection campaign at the AFL-CIO convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on June 17.

Kids play in the fairy tale tree display at the Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival in Franklin Square on June 20. The festival is a celebration of light and culture that features steel-framed and silk-wrapped giant lighted sculptures, created by hand. The festival runs through August 13.

Paulsboro native Seth Lundy after learning he was drafted in the second round and 46th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2023 NBA Draft at the Empire Sports Bar in Brooklawn, N.J., on June 22.

South Philadelphia teacher Audrey Nock wheels her teaching materials past the Parts Per Million mural by Benjamin Volta on June 23.

Phillies Bryce Harper reacts after flying out against the New York Mets on June 25.

A firefighter carries a water hose at a two-alarm fire near 2600 North American Street in Philadelphia on June 26.

A Pennsylvania Air National Guardsman flies an an EC-130J during a refueling mission on June 27. Pennsylvania’s Air National Guard has been performing air refueling missions for 100 years.

Cynthia Everett makes her own shady spot as she keeps an eye on all of her party’s - two adults and five kids - hoagie goodie bags during Wawa’s Hoagie Day on Independence Mall on June 28. The annual free event featured tributes to local heroes and 7-tons of free hoagies. Wawa stores in the region also built and donated more than 30,000 hoagies to local first responders and community heroes serving their neighborhoods.

Eagles Jason Kelce pours a fireball for Abby Davidson, of Kennett Square, while working the Patty’s Green bar at O’Donnell’s Pour House in Sea Isle City, N.J., on June 28. The event was a fundraiser to benefit the Eagles Autism Foundation.