(Photo from Space Coast Pride’s Facebook)
In a statement post to its Facebook page, Space Coast Pride announced Aug. 2 that it would be cancelling its 2021 Pride festival scheduled for Sept. 25.
“It saddens us to have to make this decision but are doing so with the safety of our community in mind,” the statement reads. “We weighed different options and discussed possibilities with those outside of the Board and even community prior to making this difficult decision. We thank the community, performers and sponsors for their ongoing support and dedication and look forward to having future events as soon as the community can safely come together.”
Space Coast Pride went on to say that while the festival is being cancelled, the organization still planned to move forward with a parade, but in a different format, and that the annual 5k run would not be cancelled, only postponed.
“We are only planning to postpone the Rainbow Run 5k at this time, likely until November, but will share details as soon as we have confirmed a location and other details. Additionally, our hope is to have the Parade but in a different format, one which will allow for people to socially distance but still show their Pride and have a great time doing it!” the statement reads.
Space Coast Pride will be scheduling a virtual town hall to discuss ideas with the community about how best to celebrate Pride in the fall.
The decision comes as Florida has had some of the highest numbers of positive COVID-19 cases during the pandemic. The high numbers are being blamed on the number of individuals who have not yet been vaccinated as well as the new Delta variant of the virus which is far more contagious than previous strains.
