ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — An estimated 350,000 people packed downtown St. Petersburg on Saturday for the city’s 24th annual Pride celebration.

Crowds lined the streets as marchers made their way through downtown, while attendees filled food vendors, local businesses and entertainment areas throughout the day.

For many, the event was a celebration of community and acceptance.

“There’s no judgment here,” Sarasota resident Caitlin Hemulth said. “Everyone feels comfortable whatever they want to do, and no one judges you.”

“It’s one of the best days of mine — I mean, the whole month,” Hemulth’s partner, Jermyla Trebbles of Sarasota, added. “I love this.”

Jesus Moreno, a Tampa resident and nurse practitioner with Harmony Healthcare, attended with his husband.

“We’re coming up on 15 years being together next month, so being able to be out here celebrating with other people of our community is something that we really enjoy,” Moreno said. “We have four children, and so bringing them up in a house full of love, and we get to see that here as well.”

Organizers said putting on this year’s event was challenging after falling well short of their fundraising goal.

“Unfortunately, we still were about $146,000 short of our fundraising goal,” St. Pete Pride President Dr. Bryon Green-Calisch said. “I had to shift some things. I had to rearrange some things. But this behind me — we were always going to have Pride no matter what.”

Attendees said they were thankful the celebration went on despite what they described as growing resistance toward LGBTQ+ communities in Florida.

“This is Florida, honey,” said Charles Bland, clinic practice manager with Harmony Healthcare. “They come in with rules against us, with voting and redistricting. You can’t even have someone painting a rainbow flag in the street anymore. It is criminal.”

Last summer, the Florida Department of Transportation directed that street murals on state-owned roads be removed. At the time, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.”

Earlier this year, DeSantis also signed legislation that takes effect in January, prohibiting counties and municipalities from funding diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, saying, “Floridians should not be forced to pay for radical climate agendas or identity politics with their hard-earned tax dollars.”

Green-Calisch said producing St. Pete Pride costs between $500,000 and $700,000 each year. To help close this year’s funding gap, volunteers encouraged attendees to contribute $1.

“I told you that we’ll have about 350,000 people that will be here,” Green-Calisch said. “If everyone gave $1, it really would help us secure that future Pride.”

Green-Calisch said the annual celebration also serves as a reminder of Pride’s origins.

“I want to say this with my whole chest: Pride was a riot,” he said. “We started here because we were fighting back against an oppressive government that was looking to dictate how queer people showed up in public spaces. Years later, we are still in that moment.”

The weekend celebration concludes Sunday with the ‘St. Pete Pride Street Fair on Central’ along Central Avenue from noon to 5 p.m.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.