Hundreds gather for Pridefest 2026.  (Justin Jordan/FAMUAN)

The Adderly Amphitheatre roared with music, local organizations spoke to passerby, and local businesses showed their wares as hundreds of community members gathered at Cascades Park to celebrate Tallahassee’s Pridefest 2026.  

Pridefest is hosted by Tallahassee Pride, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “facilitate celebrations of queer joy and experiences and to promote the visibility and representation of the LGBTQIA+ community through an active community presence and events designed to entertain, educate, and empower.” 

This year’s theme for Pridefest was “united we stand, better together,” a reference to unity during times that many in the LBGTQ+ community consider perilous. 

“We have officially declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States for the first time following an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses this year,” the Human Rights Campaign said in a statement. 

Senate Bill 244, which passed in Kansas, made it illegal for transgender people to use public bathrooms that differ from their sex at birth and invalidated the drivers’ licenses of transgender Kansans who updated their license’s gender markers. 

Locally in Tallahassee, Capital Tea, a nonprofit offers free HIV testing, support groups and even a safe house for Transgender people who often face discrimination and even violence due to their gender identity.  

Markayla, a woman who received services from Capital Tea, spoke about the support and community she felt due to the festivities. We are not using Markayla’s last name because of the discrimination that Transgender people often face. 

“I’m seeing a lot of support from all different walks of life,” Markayla said. 

As many LGBTQ+ advocates have noted, an environment that is increasingly hostile to their existence as queer people, many queer people are searching for places of acceptance and belonging. 

Sylvia Smith, who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, found her place of acceptance in Saint Stephens Lutheran Church. 

“I think it’s important to have churches remind us that we are all loved and that we are being sought by a power bigger than ourselves and that there’s also community,” Smith said. 

Smith explained that her spiritual journey had not always been one of acceptance. 

“I have like a lot of people from the LBGTQ+ community had experiences that were painful, harmful, and I had experienced rejection.” 

But unlike past experiences, Smith said that Saint Stephen Lutheran Church offered her acceptance. 

“It’s beyond just an open congregation, beyond a welcoming congregation, it’s a congregation that’s been led by people from the LGBTQ+ community,” Smith said. 

Alongside community advocacy groups and churches, local politicians and candidates for local elections were also present at Pride including Mayoral Candidate Jeremy Matlow, County Commissioner David O’ Keefe and candidates for City Commission seat 3 PJ Perez and Max Herle. 

“We’re out here collecting petitions, and it’s important to be out here because it’s a beautiful day in Tallahassee with a community that loves everyone and every part of our community,” Max Herle said.