Although the ongoing public health crisis caused initial delays, Pride St. Louis and Tower Grove Pride are poised to host empowering events celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community this summer and into the fall.
“All of us are navigating an ever-changing pandemic and trying to get back to what was once normal,” says Jordan Braxton, Pride St. Louis’ director of diversity, inclusion, outreach and Pride Center. “PrideSTL faced these same challenges. We knew we had to keep the spirit of Pride alive.”
The nonprofit hosts an annual celebration, PrideFest, which, as noted in an April press release from the organization, has been postponed until June of 2022, due to limitations on capacity and social distancing advisements. In its stead, Pride St. Louis has partnered with Ballpark Village to host a new kind of event this weekend: Pride is Alive.
“Pride is Alive is a celebration of our uniqueness and diversity within our St. Louis LGBTQIA+ community,” Braxton says. “It’s an event in which all people in the St. Louis LGBTQIA+ region can come together, be themselves and celebrate with PrideSTL to remind the world that Pride is alive!”
Tower Grove Pride, “a community-powered LGBTQIA+ event,” according to its website, also faced similar stumbles in its event planning amid the pandemic. After postponing last year’s celebration, event organizers are taking the coronavirus crisis into particular consideration as they prepare to host Tower Grove Pride on Sept. 25 at Tower Grove Park.
Mini busking stages featured at key festival locations will replace the two large stages used at previous Tower Grove Pride events in an effort to minimize crowds. Masking is encouraged wherever people are gathered, including in lines.
