The annual St. Pete Pride weekend festival has kicked off.

  • Pulse victims to be remembered before Saturday's St. Pete Pride parade
  • St. Pete Pride organizers say weekend festival will show solidarity
  • Pulse shooting
  • St. Pete Pride

And with this month's tragic events in Orlando, this weekend's Pride celebration is taking on new meaning. And authorities in St. Petersburg are taking unprecendented security measures.

St. Pete Police have set up a command post ahead of the festival and Saturday's Pride parade. Officials said this is the first time they have opened a command post ahead of the Pride festival.

Organizers are expecting more than 250,000 people to attend the festival, already the largest gay pride celebration in Florida. Officials said they will use this weekend to express solidarity and honor the victims of the Pulse shooting.

In the early-morning hours of June 12, a gunman shot and killed 49 people and wounded another 53 at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.

On Saturday, 49 representatives from the Orlando Pride organization will honor those victims.

Those 49 representatives will lead Saturday evening's parade, each holding the name of one of the victims. There will be 10 seconds of silence to honor each of them before the parade kicks off, totaling 17 minutes.

Despite a somber, reflective start and an increased security presence, parade organizers said this weekend's events are still a celebration.

"What this person did in Orlando had a reverse effect," said Eric Skains, Executive Director of St. Pete Pride. "He wanted to disrupt our community, but instead he’s brought everyone together, so I think people are going to be coming out this year and coming out stronger.

"We’re still one and we are Orlando, even in St. Pete."