Sarasota Pride goes on despite DeSantis and cancellations

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Pride Month in Sarasota will offer events all month long. Project Pride had their “Grand Carnival: Diamonds Are Forever” ball on Saturday at the Sarasota Circus Arts Conservatory.

Project Pride has events all month long including a pride walk in St. Petersburg. This is not the case for areas like Tampa that cancelled their pride parade.

“We have miss Ada Vox that will be here tonight who was on American Idol and on this season of America’s Got Talent, we have Z Machine a queer band out of L.A. that’s here to rock the house down. So, get ready, bring your sparkles, feathers, glitter and let’s have fun,” says Project Pride President Jason Champion.

The cancellations came after Governor Ron DeSantis signed bills impacting the LGBTQ+ community’s rights. DeSantis said the bills are about keeping kids safe.

“We’re going to protect kids when its popular. We’ll protect kids even when you take some incoming as a result of maybe offending some agendas or ideologies out there but that’s fine. We’re happy to do that because this is important,” says DeSantis.

The City of Sarasota has a rainbow flag flown above City Hall and also has the Ringling Bridge lit up with pride colors.

Champion said pride will continue to go on and encourages everyone to participate.

“Pride is more important than ever... [it’s] the perfect exposure in the community to show that we are a group of people that people love, care and want to be with,” says Champion.

For a list of upcoming events, you can visit Project Pride’s website.