ABOVE: Tampa Pride attendees along Ybor’s 7th Ave. Watermark file photo by Maia Monet.
TAMPA | Tampa Pride’s next parade and festival has been postponed until May 22, 2021.
The postponement is the latest change for the annual celebration, which was projected to welcome 60,000 people to Tampa’s historic Ybor City in 2020. The festivities were ultimately cancelled due to COVID-19 and scheduled to return March 27, 2021.
Tampa Pride President Carrie West announced the change Nov. 25, citing direction from the City of Tampa. He advised that large-scale events scheduled in the first quarter of 2021 have been rescheduled as Florida continues to be impacted by the coronavirus.
That includes Tampa’s iconic Gasparilla. Organizers shared Nov. 23 that their 2021 pirate festival has been postponed from January until April and May.
According to Hillsborough County, the area has had 56,166 total confirmed COVID-19 cases with 897 fatalities as of Nov. 25. 637,173 tests have been conducted with 55,110 positive tests for a two-week average of 8.04%.
“Tampa Pride 2021, along with the City of Tampa, wants to make sure that the community is safe during this national COVID-19 pandemic crisis,” West says.
He adds that Tampa Pride’s 2021 celebration will feature the “same great events, sponsors, grand marshals, diversity parade and fun” once it’s safe to do so.
For more information about Tampa Pride, visit TampaPride.org.
