October is becoming a big month for gay pride celebrations across the state of Florida, nearly rivaling June. First, Jacksonville celebrated pride earlier this month, then Orlando. Now three more cities are having gay pride celebrations for their communities, and two of those are scheduled for the same day.
Sarasota Pride celebrates their 25th anniversary
Sarasota Pride’s event calendar is jam-packed. The day starts off at noon with introductions by emcee Lindsay Carlton, music by DJ Lucy Blu, and a vocal performance from the Suncoast’s gay chorus, Diversity: The Voices of Sarasota. At 12:20 there will be a live performance of excerpts from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, followed by the show DRAGtastic! at 12:40.
The opening ceremonies for Sarasota Pride start at 2 p.m., with local West Coast favorites Karmic Tattoo performing right afterwards, between 2:20 and 2:30. At 4 p.m., the headliner of the event, Dario, will take the stage. Dario, a Tucson, Arizona native, has released six studio albums and has toured with such recording acts as Destiny’s Child and K-Ci and JoJo. Sarasota Pride is one of the stops on the “Evolution Tour,” which promotes his current album. The six-member group Waking Giants will perform after Dario at 5 p.m.
In addition to the live entertainment, Sarasota Pride will feature over 70 tents manned by vendors, advocacy and service organizations, and others. There will also be food trucks, a Tiki Bar, and a “Family Zone” with games and attractions for children, sponsored by Church of the Trinity. Sponsors of Sarasota Pride include Macy’s, Wells Fargo, Tropicana, Hyatt Regency, Equality Florida, and Sarasota Ford.
Ocala Pride will feature a festival, with vendors, food and live entertainment, all happening at
The Ocala Pride after-party starts at 5 p.m. over at The Copa (2330 S. Pine Avenue, Ocala) and will be going on all night long. Chi Chi LaRue will be the guest DJ at the club this evening, and there will be a Pride-themed drag show featuring Constance Cummins, Rusti Fawcett, Brittani Michaels, Anita Waistline and special guest Juliana DeMarco.
Gainesville Pride starts partying the night before the main event. On Friday, October 24, there will be a Pride
On Saturday, October 25, there will be a pride parade and festival. The parade starts first, at noon, kicking off from the corner of 7th Street and West University Avenue, proceeding east on University Avenue to the intersection of University Avenue and Main Street. The parade will then turn right on South Main Street and taper off at SE 1st Avenue. The festival will start at 1 p.m. at Bo Diddley Community Plaza, and will feature dozens of vendors and many local entertainment acts. The City of Gainesville Department of Cultural Affairs is a co-sponsor of Gainesville Pride, along with the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida.
For more information on all three of these Pride celebrations, visit their websites: sarasotapride.org, ocalapridefest.org, and gainesvillepride.org.