Graphic via City of Clearwater.
CLEARWATER, Fla. | The City of Clearwater will officially celebrate Pride this June during “Living the Culture,” its inaugural event series designed to “celebrate the beauty of cultural diversity and promote the value of embracing living together in harmony.”
“Living the Culture: Clearwater Celebrates Pride” will begin June 1 with at least three additional events on June 3, 7 and 29. “We are looking forward to our Pride series as another opportunity to lift our voices to raise awareness and celebrate diversity that is representative of our great city,” City Manager Jennifer Poirrier says.
Officials enlisted Clearwater Pride Community Committee Chair Trevor James to help organize the effort. Currently the president of PFLAG Tampa, the LGBTQ+ activist also served as vice president of Tampa Pride during its 2021 celebration.
“The City of Clearwater came up with the idea on their own and approached me to help make this event look like the rest of the community,” James explains. “They wanted to involve the rest of the community in its planning and execution and were looking for people to get involved.”
James notes that the celebration was a natural fit for “Living the Culture.” According to the city’s website, its goal “is to celebrate the vast array of cultures and heritages represented in Clearwater through art, food, and performances, and to bring awareness, education and fun for all ages to Downtown Clearwater.”
“That means involving minority groups, that means involving the groups that built the city up,” he says. “A lot of that work is in part due to the queer and BIPOC communities, so ‘Living the Culture’ has quite the opportunity to pay homage and respect to these groups that have led Clearwater to become the diverse place it is today.”
“Clearwater Celebrates Pride” will begin June 1 from 10 a.m.-noon at Clearwater’s Municipal Service Building, located at 100 S. Myrtle Ave. The event will feature giveaways, music and more.
Clearwater’s Glow Party will follow June 3 from 10 p.m.-midnight along the 400 Block of Cleveland St. The evening will include music and glow activities.
“We’ll have a headlining DJ, someone within our amazingly beautiful and diverse community,” James teases. “The underlying feature of all of these programs that we’re putting on that they’re led by the community but also benefiting the community. We’re really trying to highlight the community with this event.”
Pride Yoga will be held June 7 from 6:15-8:15 p.m. at Station Square Park, located at 612 Cleveland St. A Yoga Village, which has served Clearwater since 2007, will lead three sessions ahead of a Silent Disco Ecstatic Dance Experience.
“They have a really interesting, unique yoga approach,” James says. “I’m excited that they’re partnering with us on this.”
Also announced is Clearwater’s Night Cap event, scheduled on June 29 from 10 p.m. to midnight at Pro Shop Pub. Located at 840 Cleveland St., the LGBTQ+ bar is one of Downtown Clearwater’s oldest businesses. Established in 1976, it celebrated its 48-year anniversary April 21.
“We wanted to honor them with a benefit from the event,” James says. “We really are hoping to drive folks over to experience Pro Shop — they’ll be putting on a really cool show and have some great drink specials. It’s another moment to highlight a queer-owned business in the area that has supported our community for so long. We need to bolster the folks that are sticking around for us right now.”
The “Living the Culture” series is only the beginning of the city’s community outreach. Officials will open Clearwater’s Coachman Park June 28 after completing an $84 million renovation, the proximity of which could allow for additional events during “Clearwater Celebrates Pride.”
“After 11 years of analysis, public engagement, design and construction, we are at the point of re-opening Clearwater’s signature Coachman Park,” Assistant City Manager Michael Delk says. “Triple the size of the old park, this new facility puts an entirely new face on Downtown Clearwater and our status as a waterfront destination. The citizens of Clearwater will have a truly spectacular public space to enjoy 365 days a year.”
As for June, Clearwater’s LGBTQ+ community will have its chance to celebrate Pride locally. James notes that “this is the first time that a local city government has footed the bill for a celebration like this, so we really need to get behind them.”
“Even if you can’t attend, send positive notes to the city council members or the Community Redevelopment Agency,” he stresses. “Whatever we can do as a community to let them know that we appreciate this is important. We need these spaces and it could set an example for other cities to really get behind their Pride organizations to bolster the work that they are doing.”
For more information about “Living the Culture: Clearwater Celebrates Pride,” visit MyClearwater.com/LivingTheCulture.
