Silver Pride 2024. The event is back on June 7, 2025 in Sarasota, Florida. Credit: c/o Sarasota Pride Project

With no main Pride parade in largely conservative Sarasota, two organizations fill in the gaps each year.

And despite the ramp-up of anti-LGBTQ hate from Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI sentiment, there’s still plenty of Pride to go around in Sarasota this season.

Sarasota Out and Project Pride SRQ (PPSRQ) each host two events this month, and the latter has its biggest celebration, Gulf Coast Pride, in October.

The first of them is PPSRQ’s annual Grand Carnival gala, themed “Palm Royale” this year, on May 31. The six-year-old nonprofit then hosts Silver Pride on Saturday, June 7, celebrating Tampa Bay’s queer elders with a community event and health care expo.
Justyn Hunter-Ceruti, who steps up as the nonprofit’s president on June 1, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay its corporate sponsorships scaled back this year. His organization is not alone. Some of the nation’s biggest LGBTQ+ Pride events have reported big corporate sponsors backing out this year for fear of President Trump’s anti-DEI agenda. Pride organizations in Polk County and Dunedin have seen similar losses.

“Some of our partners in the community that work at some organizations, they’re getting mixed signals from folks above them on what they can and cannot do,” he said. “So we have seen a little bit of an impact, although, by and large, we still have a large group of people that do support us.”

Despite Trump’s anti-DEI mission, Sarasota County and City officials haven’t withdrawn their support for Pride. The city still flies PPSRQ’s name and flag on downtown street banners.

This year, the nonprofit launched “Diverse perspectives,” a monthly panel open to all. The interfaith Community Day School hosts the next event on June 26, focused on LGBTQ+ inclusive education.

“We’re a small town organization, but our voice is heard throughout the Tampa Bay region,” Hunter-Ceruti said.

Readers are invited to submit their own events to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s things to do calendar.