From parades and markets, to drag bingos and galas, St. Petersburg’s pride events happen all year round, not just in June.
Photo courtesy of Cat Foster
By Julia Birdsall
Loud cheers, fun and quirky floats and rainbow on every corner. These elements of Tampa Pride’s March festival will be absent in 2026.
Tampa Pride announced in a Facebook post that all of its events will be on hiatus for the year of 2026.
“The current political and economic climate, including challenges with corporate sponsorships, reductions in county, state and federal grant funding, and the discontinuation of DEI programs under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has made it increasingly difficult for our organization to sustain ongoing operations for 2026,” Tampa Pride said in a Facebook post on Aug. 1.
Following attacks on free speech in the form of book bans, mural erasures and the banning of DEI-related terms, Floridians and USF students worry about the future of Pride events in the state.
“I’m a little disappointed that that’s where things are heading,” said a junior who is part of the LGBTQ+ community. “I think it’s just gonna lead to more things [like Tampa Pride] getting cancelled.”
This student also worries about LGBTQ+ friendly events on the St. Petersburg campus, like the annual drag show, which has happened for the past 15 years, being cancelled.
Petra, a first-year history and psychology major, agreed. They told The Crow’s Nest that Tampa Pride’s hiatus could be a slippery slope.
“Maybe for one year, it could be useful for getting more support,” she said. “But I think that…if it continues for more than one year it’s gonna be continually on hiatus and that’s a dangerous thought.”
Leo Faerberboeck, a sophomore anthropology and hospitality management major, benefited from attending Pride events when they were new to the LGBTQ+ community and he worries about what impact the Tampa Pride hiatus will have on the younger generation.
“Now more than ever we need to come together and have that community, so it sucks that [it] might be taken away from us,” Faerberboeck said.
While censorship is spreading into St. Petersburg and the city’s USF campus, local organizations are working to keep Pride events intact.
St. Pete Pride affirmed in an Instagram post that they aren’t going anywhere and planning for 2026 events is already underway.
“Our LGBTQ+ community deserves safe spaces, joyful celebrations, and lasting visibility, and that’s exactly what we’ll keep building,” they wrote.
As an executive board member for the USF St. Petersburg branch of PRIDE Alliance, and I can confirm that we aren’t going anywhere either.
PRIDE Alliance and other organizations on USF St. Petersburg are still determined to support LGBTQ+ students and ensure that they have safe spaces.
This year, the Multicultural Programming Board (MPB) is hosting Art of Expression on Nov. 13. According to MPB, the event will “showcase art expression talent within the LGBTQ+ Community” and feature “kings and queens.”
Students can participate by volunteering for event set up and submitting art pieces that will be displayed in a zine.
PRIDE Alliance hosts meetings and events to educate and support USF students in the LGBTQ+ community.
Photo courtesy of @usfsppride on Instagram
Like Tampa Pride, USF St. Petersburg’s PRIDE Alliance and St. Pete Pride have both faced financial difficulties.
St. Pete Pride president, Byron Green-Calish, told the Tampa Bay Times that “the organization lost $150,000 to $175,000 in sponsorships this past summer” and “allyship is needed now more than ever.”
At USF, school-wide funding cuts to campus clubs and organizations have had a significant impact on PRIDE Alliance and forced us to carefully ration funding and limit certain events.
However, this does not mean that the message that university and local pride organizations are trying to put out can be reduced by funding cuts or smaller events.
Arianna Alves, a senior studio art major and a former executive board member of USF St. Petersburg’s PRIDE Alliance, believes that pride comes in many different forms and therefore cannot be put on hiatus.
She told The Crow’s Nest that local pride organizations should come together and continue to make people aware of LGBTQ+ resources and events so that everyone in the community remains safe and supported through the next year.
We’ve, as a community, adapted to so much so I feel like we got this,” Alves said.
Petra reaffirmed this statement and urged local organizations to continue making safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community. She and Faerberboeck are both confident that, despite the hurdles, the Tampa Bay area’s LGBTQ+ community will persevere because new and young members can rely on community support in times of fear.
“St. Pete, it’s not in our nature to back down from stuff like this,” Petra said.
The anonymous junior agreed. They don’t believe that this will cause long term harm to the Tampa Bay area’s LGBTQ+ community.
“No matter what you take away from us, we are still here,” they said. “So even though Tampa Pride is getting cancelled and other things in the future may be getting cancelled, I don’t think that’s going to ruin what St. Pete Pride is.”
This student attended St. Pete Pride in Summer 2025 and said that they enjoyed being in an environment where they were surrounded by support and acceptance.
They hope to continue attending the June festivities next year and in the future.
The organization concluded its Instagram post with a goal for the future and a call to action for the community.
“Together,” they wrote, “we’ll ensure Pride doesn’t just survive, but thrives for generations to come.”
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Written by: Julia Birdsall on October 22, 2025.
Last revised by: Alisha Durosier
