A year without Pride is absolutely unthinkable! Even COVID-19 can not stop the outpouring of love and celebration that Pride season brings out in us. Your favorite pride celebration may have been cancelled, but there are plenty of virtual events still planned for this Pride season.
Chances are, if there is an event you have always wanted to join, there is a virtual event that is in the planning stages by that organization. Look at the websites, social media pages or give that organization a call to find out what is in the works for a virtual event. If you are not able to attend an event but you want to support an organization, please consider donating funds.
Whatever you can contribute helps to support the long-term sustainability of organizations, making sure that they are able to continue their mission through this pandemic and afterwards.
GlobalPride2020 is an organization that was launched on April 1 st of this year in order to help ensure that everyone, everywhere gets to celebrate diversity and equality and take part in Pride events. The organization representing the U.S. is InterPride, a major force in increasing the visibility of the LGBTI+ community and awareness about pride. InterPride has maintained a living document of pride events since at least 2012, aptly named PrideRadar, available through their website.
Fresno Rainbow Pride will be having their Quarantine Edition pride event on Saturday, June 6th, from 12pm to 3pm, streamed live on Twitch.
New York City is commemorating its 50 th year of Pride marches, so you better believe they are going to have an over-the-top celebration that, thankfully, will be accessible to us in the central valley via technology.
Don’t give up hope on being able to attend a Pride event in person this year. Once the stay at home orders get released, there will be plenty to celebrate! Physical spaces may look different from years past, but the community connection and love that we share surpasses any mask, plastic barrier or social distance.
There are Pride events that were scheduled for this spring and early summer that have rescheduled to later this year and there are events that are regularly scheduled during the fall that are still considering going on as scheduled, albeit with precautions in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The first Pride of the Americas, celebrating Pride from all of the different cultures and communities in Alaska all the way down to Argentina, was scheduled to be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this April, but has been rescheduled to Fall 2020. Plans for this incredible inaugural international festival include a 5k run, beach parties, a runway fashion show, conferences, symposiums, an award banquet, and of course a parade and fireworks!
Provincetown, MA, holds their Family Week and Carnival in each August. The Las Vegas Pride Parade, which ends on Fremont Street, takes place each October. Closer to home, here in California, there are many, many Pride events that are held later in the year. Laguna Beach has a Pride parade in August. San Jose and Silicon Valley have Pride events in August.
Chula Vista, Los Angeles and Pasadena all have their own Pride events in September. Halloween is not that far away and there are fun Pride events then: West Hollywood and Los Angeles have Halloween Carnival on October 31 st . Out@Magic Mountain and Gay Days @Disneyland are also planned for the fall months. These are just some of the many great opportunities to connect with others and share your pride that are still tentatively planned to take place over the remainder of this year.
Remember: You are not alone! You are part of a community! Stay hopeful!
Connect! Be safe! And stay strong!
