Pride Month kicks off with block party in St. Pete

St. Pete kicks off Pride Month

June marks Pride Month, with festivities underway in St. Pete including a block party on Sunday. FOX 13’s Jordan Bowen reports.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It's June, meaning Pride Month is officially underway in St. Pete.

What they're saying:

"This is like Christmas morning for us. We've been planning for over a year. We're incredibly excited," St. Pete Pride Board of Directors President Dr. Byron Green-Calisch said.

To celebrate the start, the St. Pete Pride organization held a block party on Central Ave. on Sunday night, closing down multiple blocks near 23rd St. South.

The St. Pete Pride organization held a block party on Central Ave. on Sunday night, closing down multiple blocks near 23rd St. South.

"Pride means freedom, pride means love, pride means authentic self. It means everything that you feel like you need to express. That month is the time to get it out," St. Pete Pride Festival & Entertainment Coordinator Immani Love said.

As part of the celebrations, multiple restaurants and bars along Central Ave. came together, each offering unique experiences from food to specialty cocktails.

The St. Pete Pride organization held a block party on Central Ave. on Sunday night, closing down multiple blocks near 23rd St. South.

Organizers say the support means everything, especially since it comes at a time when some large companies have pulled back on their support of the LGBTQ community and certain initiatives like DEI programs.

"Allies and people who are supporting this movement continue to do so and let this community know that we're here, we love you, we want you to be with us every day and it's not just June, it's all year long, and we just use this month as a huge platform to be like this, we love this community, we want to celebrate it," Grand Central District Coordinator Danielle Sheffey said.

The St. Pete Pride organization held a block party on Central Ave. on Sunday night, closing down multiple blocks near 23rd Street South.

The St. Pete Pride organization held a block party on Central Ave. on Sunday night, closing down multiple blocks near 23rd St. South.

New this year were flamethrowers and an outdoor dance party. There was also plenty of food and live music.

"This is the time where we need our allies to show up just as much as anybody else. That if you want to come, you want to meet new people, you want to get involved, there are so many opportunities to become involved civically out here, but also have a really great time and meet people that are different than you," Green-Calisch said.

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Jordan Bowen.

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