ABOVE: Manatee Pride 2022. Photo by Ryan Williams-Jent.
BRADENTON, Fla. | Manatee Pride will return for its eighth outing March 11 from 12-5 p.m. at the Bradenton Riverwalk, a free and family friendly event benefiting ALSO Youth’s work in the region.
The celebration will mark the organization’s second year as presenter and beneficiary. ALSO Youth Secretary Craig Kaplan says more than 2,000 people attended their first.
“We were able to speak with many parents of LGBTQ children who were not fully aware of our services and were happy to find the resources we provided,” he explains. “Manatee Pride has always been a family and ally friendly environment, so we want pride to be for everyone, to include all families and all ages.”
ALSO Youth has worked to create inclusive communities in and around Sarasota for 30 years. They merged with Manatee Pride’s former beneficiary Prism Youth in 2020, expanding into Manatee County to serve more youth than ever before.
ALSO’s programming is provided via drop-in centers and other services. Recent events include the organization’s annual LGBTQ Youth Prom, which welcomed nearly 200 youth from throughout the region to Sarasota Municipal Auditorium last month.
Organizers hope to make Manatee Pride 2023 bigger than ever with an impressive list of sponsors and vendors. This year festivities will be emceed by Tyler Butler, the host of “Out & About Sarasota” and other web-based shows, with entertainment from Hovercar, Brittany Zeff & Crew, Momma Ashley Rose, Grace Cespedes, Diversity: Voices of Sarasota and Sandi Grecco.
“The proceeds from Manatee Pride will benefit ALSO Youth and our hope is the money raised will help provide a great opportunity to expand the depth of services and outreach to the youth in Manatee County,” Kaplan explains. Read more below:
“It’s more important than ever than LGBTQ youth in Sarasota and Manatee counties have an event like Manatee Pride to attend,” Kaplan concludes. “Being able to go out and celebrate who you are at an event like Pride, it’s really important that we show them that. It’s also really important that we show them adults who made it through adulthood and are healthy and happy.”
The 8th Manatee Pride will be held March 11 from 12-5 p.m. at the Bradenton Riverwalk, located at 452 3rd Avenue W. in Bradenton. For more information, visit ALSOYouth.org.
