Studer Community Institute

PensacolaPRIDE starts with festival in Seville Square

June 18, 2015
/ Louis Cooper
/ video

A week of activities celebrating the LGBT community and recognizing the ongoing struggle for civil rights will kick off with the PensacolaPRIDE Festival in the Park. “Gay pride means making sure that the next generation has an easier time in school than we did, and has families more accepting of their sexual orientation and gender identity than our families were,” said Doug Landreth, president of Gay Grassroots of Northwest Florida, the organization that hosts PensacolaPRIDE. “Gay pride means changing laws so that same gender couples receive the same rights and benefits as opposite gender couples and that LGBT persons are safe from bashing and can’t be fired from our jobs.” The Festival in the Park is set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in Seville Square in downtown Pensacola. The festival will include live entertainment like Port City Men’s Chorus from Mobile, Nicole Bowen, Josh Duffy, Janelle Frost, Nick Horton and the Red Carpet Lounge Divas. Leigh Tremmer said she's looking forward to the Festival in the Park. This will mark her third year at PensacolaPRIDE, but she thinks this year is special because same-sex couples in Florida gained the right to legally marry in January. "Finally, we're moving ahead with our rights," said Tremmer, a Pensacola resident. "Every person has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We're just scratching the surface of rights for all people. Attending Pride lets me be a part of that." Pride gives Tremmer a sense of community and camaraderie, she said. She enjoys the education available at Pride about issues and events important to the LGBT community. "There is strength in numbers," Tremmer said. "We're just average, ordinary every day people. I just happen to be in love with a woman. I feel like it's important for us to congregate. We still live in a state where I can be terminated for my sexual orientation. Straight people don't gave to be concerned about that."

About 50 vendor booths are scheduled for the festival, including organizations like the ACLU, Equality Florida, Holy Cross Metropolitan Community Church, Cox Cable, Open Books and the Epilepsy Foundation, along with several merchants with jewelry, Pride gear and other goods and services. There will also be various food vendors, including Arlene Williams BBQ. Originally, the festival was scheduled to include a mass wedding of same-sex couples, in recognition of same-sex marriage becoming legal in Florida. However, all of the couples who signed up for pre-marriage counseling have ceremonies planned elsewhere. “I think this speaks volumes as to how society have embraced marriage equality,” Landreth said. “Same gender couples are readily finding wedding venues, florists, bakers, coordinators, and officiants making themselves available to meet their needs and desires.” [sidebar] PensacolaPRIDE 2015 Schedule June 20, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.: Festival in the Park, Seville Square, downtown Pensacola. Admission is free.

June 21, 12:30-8 p.m.: LGBT Movie Marathon. Ever’man Natural Foods Community Room, 315 W Garden St. Admission is free with concessions for sale.
June 22, 7-8:30 p.m.: Book Signing/Reception "Those Others: Navigating Homosexuality in 1965," by Joe Openshaw. Open Books, 1040 N. Guillemard St. Admission is free.
June 23, 6-7:30 p.m.: Town Hall "Job Discrimination," Downtown Library, 239 Spring St. Admission is free, with donations accepted.
June 24, 6-9 p.m.: Chili Dinner & Line Dancing. Holy Cross MCC, 3130 W. Fairfield Dr. Admission is $8.
June 25, 6-7:30 p.m.: Town Hall "Transgender Today," Downtown Library, 239 Spring St. Admission is free.
June 26, 7-11 p.m.: Celebration Ball "Finally We Can: Marriage Equality in Florida," Bayview Senior Center, 2000 Lloyd St. Tickets are $45 in advance/$50 at the door.
June 27, 7-9 p.m.: Open Mic/Open Stage Performance Showcase, First City Arts Center, 1060 N Guillemand St. Admission is free, with refreshments for sale.

Details: www.GGnwfl.com [/sidebar] The festival, however, will still recognize same-sex couples with a special blessing and musical tribute. Events for PensacolaPRIDE are scheduled daily for the week following the festival. There’s an LGBT comedy movie marathon on Sunday, June 21, and other events scheduled every night of the following week. “This year we have included two community forums, one on workplace discrimination and efforts to pass the Competitive Workforce Act in Florida, along with a second public forum on the unique or disparaging issues facing our transgender community,” Landreth said. Gina Duncan, the transgender inclusion coordinator for the statewide Equality Florida gay rights organization, said Equality Florida's TransAction team will staff the forum. "With Caitlyn Jenner (and others), the discussion of what it means to be transgender is accelerating," Duncan said. "It's kind of the best of times and the worst of times in that that there is a lot more conversation but there is a lot more information that people need to catch up on." The week also includes a lecture by Joe Openshaw, author of "Those Others: Navigating The Riddle of Homosexuality in 1965," an open mic/open stage showcase, a chili dinner and line dancing event and the Celebration Ball, a semi-formal banquet with live entertainment. Of the events, only two – the chili dinner and the Celebration Ball – are paid admission events. The chilli dinner is $8 and the Celebration Ball is $45 in advance/$50 at the door. The rest are free, which is an important element, according to Landreth. “Being inclusive is something that Gay Grassroots and PensacolaPRIDE takes very seriously and continually strives toward,” Landreth said. “Keeping the vast majority of events free makes our pride week accessible to all.” PensacolaPRIDE cost about $5,000 to produce, he said. The cost is offset by many donated goods and services. The bulk of the financial support for PensacolaPRIDE comes from advertisement sales in the event program.

Back to Blogs

PensacolaPRIDE starts with festival in Seville Square

Recent Posts