Tampa Pride 2022. (Photo by Dylan Todd)

TAMPA | Local advocates have begun talks to produce a Pride celebration in Tampa next year after Tampa Pride announced a “one-year hiatus” last month.

Preliminary discussions began not long after the nonprofit’s Sept. 19 announcement, which also detailed the termination of former board president Carrie West. The current iteration of Tampa Pride, formed in 2015, held its 11th celebration in March.

The gathering welcomed thousands to Ybor after mounting calls for greater financial transparency and a change in leadership. Tampa Pride noted last month that a pause would help “reassess our long-term strategy.” 

PFLAG Riverview President Daniel Johnson, a 2024 Tampa Pride grand marshal, has been “part of the early discussions with several community organizations who want to see Tampa Pride continue in a stronger, more sustainable way.”

He says he’s collaborating with representatives from St Pete Pride, the Hillsborough County LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus and Equality Florida, in addition to other local organizations and businesses, “to explore what the next structure could look like and how we can make this celebration more unified and impactful for everyone.”

Interested parties last met Oct. 11 in Ybor.

“We’re coming together as a community to try and make it happen,” Johnson notes. “This is about unity, collaboration and bringing Pride back to Tampa in a way that truly reflects all of us.”

To help ensure it’s a cohesive endeavor, a hybrid “Status of Pride” convening will take place Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. Organizers hope to establish open lines of communication across groups interested in planning an event, develop a shared code of ethics, create a two-year commission to advocate for accountability and begin planning for both 2026 and 2027.

LGBTQ+ nonprofits, fiscal sponsors, cultural leaders and Pride-aligned groups are encouraged to attend virtually or in person. A link and the meeting location will be shared with those who RSVP in advance.

The gathering will be moderated by LGBTQ+ advocates Nathan Bruemmer, who previously led St Pete Pride, Tamara Leigh, president of Tampa Bay Black Lesbians and Trevor Rosine, president of PFLAG Tampa.

Rosine previously served as vice president of Tampa Pride and in addition to sharing other concerns, told Watermark Out News in 2023 he was ousted “after uncovering some issues with the board’s financials.” West later denied this.

“This convening is about reclaiming our collective power and ensuring that LGBTQIA+ Pride in Tampa is sustained,” Rosine explains. “Pride has never belonged to any one board or organization — it has always belonged to the community. When leadership fails, we not only have an opportunity but a responsibility to step forward and make sure the work continues.”

The convening hopes to set shared values and collaborative communication practices, explore ways to collaborate, identify current needs and create “a space for honest conversation and collective vision-building.”

Those interested in joining can RSVP to attend virtually or in person at Status@PrideInTampa.org. Read more below:

“By bringing everyone under one roof, we’re not just rebuilding Pride; we’re reimagining it,” Rosine says. “We’re seizing the opportunity to create a sustainable, inclusive model that reflects Tampa’s true spirit, rooted in collaboration, accountability and liberation.”

Watermark Out News has reached out to Tampa Pride for comment and will update this story should it be received.

For more information about the Status of Pride convening, email Status@PrideInTampa.org.

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