Brevard County Celebrates Space Coast Pride

Eau Gallie Arts District, Melbourne

September 25-27

Just east of Orlando, the Brevard County LGBT community will be showing their pride at the upcoming Space Coast Pride celebrations. The events will take place between September 25 and 27, and an estimated 2,500 people will make it out for at least some portion of the events.

The weekend kicks off on Friday, September 25 with a VIP reception at the Derek Gores Gallery, followed by a kick-off party at 7 p.m. at Squid Lips Overwater Bar & Grill in Melbourne’s Eau Gallie Arts District. The $5 admission cost includes a drink ticket and appetizers. To purchase your ticket, visit spacecoastpride.org.

On Saturday, September 26, the first-ever Pride parade and festival will take place in the Eau Gallie Arts District of Melbourne. There will be indoor and outdoor areas for merchants, live entertainment, food vendors, and a kid-friendly area. The festival will begin at noon and will go on until 6 p.m. The parade begins at 4 p.m. and will take a path along Highland Avenue. Parade participants will get a chance to walk with a 100-foot section of the famous “sea-to-sea” LGBT pride flag used during Key West Pride.

There are four special grand marshals for the Space Coast Pride Parade; the first is Barney Frank, the first openly gay man to serve in Congress. The other grand marshals are Mary Meeks, one of the attorneys instrumental in bringing marriage equality to Florida; documentary filmmaker Vicki Nantz; and Sabrina Taraboletti, a transgender rights activist who testified before Congress regarding the discrimination the transgender community still faces in America today.

After the parade and festival, there will be a pride after-party at The Cold Keg nightclub. The $5 cover will be donated to Space Coast Pride. Feel free to book a room at the host hotel, the Crowne Plaza Melbourne Beach, and enjoy a Pride brunch at 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 27.

“This year is an amazing year of many ‘firsts’ for Space Coast Pride,” said Lexi Wright, President of Space Coast Pride, Inc. “2015 is the first year we will party in the street during the LGBT Pride parade and street festival, host indoor and outdoor spaces for entertainment and vendors, and offer free admission [to the festival] for all.”

Space Coast Pride, Inc. is the LGBT community organization for Brevard County, Florida and a non-profit 501(c)3 charitable organization. For more information, visit www.spacecoastpride.org.