There are many grumbles coming out of the St. Petersburg Pride camp following the announcement of the relocation of the popular event to a waterfront route. According to the Tampa Bay Times, which broke the story on Wednesday after Kriseman posted a missive to his Facebook page – the parade stands to lose $45,000.
The optics on that are bad, of course, because of the context of the Pulse massacre last summer and other public shootings. The parade, which launched in 2003, has withstood tacit approval from previous Republican mayors, the paper reports, and has grown its attendance to more than 200,000 at its previous location along Central Avenue. The new location will take the route to Bayshore Drive between Albert Whitted Park and Vinoy Park. The St. Pete Pride board made the decision last year under the leadership of Erik Skains and finalized its vote this week.
“As a signature annual event, St. Pete Pride receives $45,000 from the City of St. Petersburg to assist with its parade and festival,” Kriseman’s official Facebook account read yesterday. “Today, Mayor Rick Kriseman has informed St. Pete Pride that he is unwilling to provide this contribution in 2017 if the organization proceeds with relocating the parade from the Historic Kenwood Neighborhood Association and Grand Central District Association to downtown. St. Pete Pride may continue with its plan to relocate the parade, but will not be eligible for city funding. Regardless of its location, the mayor and the City will continue to embrace this event and help to ensure its growth and success. Pride will always be one of the main reasons we say the ‘Sun Shines Here.'”
A “baffled” Eric Skains, who is executive director of St. Pete Pride, responded to the Times with the following: “The event existed for a number of years under Rick Baker and Bill Foster, supporters in name-only. It looks like we’re reverting back to that. To me, that’s a shame.”
This is a breaking story. More information to follow.
