St. Petersburg, Fla. — Instead of hosting one of the country’s largest pride parades, St. Petersburg is opting for dozens of smaller events spread throughout the month.
What You Need To Know
- St. Pete Pride Fest celebrated in smaller events spread throughout the month
- The large pride parade is cancelled due to safety concerns
- This year, St. Pete Pride has opted for four different themed weeks
- See the themed weeks below:
Organizers have dubbed St. Pete Pride as Florida’s largest pride celebration and the 12th largest in the county, just behind Atlanta. Traditionally, St. Pete Pride is celebrated the last week of June with the parade taking place on the final weekend, but the 2021 parade was canceled due to COVID concerns.
“When you’re talking about a few hundred thousand people on fences to enjoy the parade during a public health pandemic that continues, that’s a health and safety concern for us based on our scale,” said Nathan Bruemmer with St. Pete Pride.
The organization’s governing board decided to cancel the parade back in February and took into account the wants and needs of the city, their volunteers, and the current state of the pandemic at that time.
This year, St. Pete Pride has opted for four different themed weeks each culminating in a festival.
The weeks are designed as follows:
Week 1: Outdoor Adventure Week. This includes a waterfront festival, 5K at Vinoy Park, and Diva Dash. The week kicks off with the annual pride flag raising above St. Pete City Hall.
Week 2: Family Week. This including a family-driven event at North Straub Park and activities catered towards LGBTQ families.
Week 3: Arts & Music Week. The Warehouse Arts District is centerstage as many local organizations and musicians showcase their work this week.
Week 4: Taste of PrideFest Week. The most action-packed week will culminate in a fireworks display and parts at North Straub Park. Restaurants specials will be taking place all week long.
Each event has a limited capacity as designated by the city.