“Celebrating Pride is more than just the parade, and it’s more than just the events,” Kriseman said. Pete Pride Fest attracted an estimated 265,000 persons – it’s been the largest such happening in Florida since 2010, and it’s officially one of the biggest in the country. Sure, 2020 wasn’t much to talk about (there were no live events at all), but the 2019 St.
Pride, created to celebrate the community’s LBGTQ+ community, is usually centered around a massive parade, which – because of the ongoing pandemic – will not take place this year. “We have those dolphins on retainer,” Kriseman joked. In a cloudless sky, the occasional small plane buzzed overhead on its way to the Albert Whitted field. Tall white sailboats passed back and forth in the distance, between the park and the photogenic St. They stood at a podium in front of six colorful Pride flags, which undulated gently in the balmy bayfront breeze. Pete Pride, were taking turns behind a bevy of microphones announcing the city’s 19 th annual Pride Fest, a monthlong series of events that will kick off June 1. Whenever the dolphins surfaced, the dogs stopped and barked.Īt the same time, Mayor Rick Kriseman and Nathan Breummer, president of St. They were following a trio of dolphins swimming in formation not 10 feet from water’s edge.
Two small white dogs ran along the Vinoy Park seawall Monday afternoon, leashes trailing, stopping every so often to look into the water and bark happily in tandem.
