TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa community groups are rallying to ensure Pride celebrations continue this year after Tampa Pride announced it would take a hiatus, citing sponsorship and funding challenges. Two organizations, Pride of Tampa and the People's Pride Coalition, have independently stepped up to fill the gap, organizing events and gatherings for the LGBTQ+ community during what many describe as an increasingly hostile political climate.
Pride of Tampa Treasurer Dustin Johnson said the group sprang into action after learning Tampa Pride would not hold a festival this year. He and his husband immediately acted.
"We got the news in what October of last year that Tampa Pride wasn't holding a festival this year, and so he gathered a lot of the different leaders in the area to say, like, hey, we need something," Johnson said. "Tampa is a huge city. We can't go without a Pride festival. We don't need the big hoopla. We just need to make sure there's a pride."
In roughly four to five months, Pride of Tampa secured 501(c) (3) status, built partnerships with organizations such as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the LGBTQ Chamber, and hosted a "Taste of Pride" event that Johnson described as a major success.
"It's probably bigger and better than we expected," Johnson said. "We were just going, let's have something where we're having to get together, and the community has really rallied around it, which has been fantastic to see."
The upcoming festival will be smaller in scale than previous years. Johnson said there will be no parade this year due to time constraints around city permitting and the manpower required to organize one, though he said Pride of Tampa has had productive conversations with the city.
"We still have a ton of vendors that are supporting, a ton of businesses that are coming out and endorsing again in this political climate where they're told time and time and not to," Johnson said.
Bradley's on Seventh is a top-level diamond sponsor, providing what Johnson described as substantial funding to help cover costs, including entertainment, venue rental, city ordinances, police, and fire services. A kickoff party will also be hosted at Bradley's as part of a full weekend of events.
"Bradley's stepped up in the biggest way and helped with a lot of substantial funding," Johnson said. "So we're super grateful to Bradley's."
Johnson said the community support from local bars holding drag events to major corporate donors is what makes the festival possible.
Beyond the festival, Pride of Tampa is also spotlighting community events at venues including 1920 and District 8, showing that Pride extends beyond a single event.
"Pride, to all of us, is bigger than one meetup, one event, one parade, one transaction," Johnson said. "It's all of these other orgs that are doing things and making sure they have that platform, making sure that's advertised, making sure the community has these very essential places to gather at a time like this."
Johnson pointed to recent legislation as a reminder of why showing up matters, including a bill from Gov. Ron DeSantis that he said names LGBTQ+ people and Pride directly.
"It's very clear that we're under attack," Johnson said. "There's people that don't want this to happen, and I think that's why it's even more important to not take hiatuses and to show up and show out and say that we're not going anywhere."
Separately, the People's Pride Coalition, a group that includes the Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, also known as TARPER, is organizing its own events rooted in what members describe as the original spirit of Pride.
V, TARPER's representative in the People's Pride Coalition, said the group is holding a march at Centennial Park, with speeches and a community gathering focused on solidarity and local organizing.
"We feel like it's really important to come together here in the community, especially after last November, the deadly crash where the police chased that speeding car into Ybor, injuring a bunch of people, killing four people as well," V said.
V said the ongoing legislative attacks on queer and transgender people made organizing not just important, but necessary.
"The attacks on queer people in Florida, the attacks on trans people in Florida, it's extremely important, probably more important than ever, to make sure that we are showing out as the queer community," V said. "To show our Governor Ron DeSantis, to show Trump that we are here, we are not going anywhere, and we are going to be proud."
The People's Pride Coalition is also hosting its second annual alternative Pride event at Allendale Church on June 26. V described it as donation-based, featuring performers, food, and an organizing fair connecting attendees with local groups.
V said the goal is to return Pride to its roots, as an act of resistance rather than a commercial event.
"We are actually as an act of rebellion and able to stand with each other in solidarity, instead of just kind of getting drunk and forgetting the next day. We're working towards a purpose here," V said.
V also pushed back against what she called "rainbow capitalism," saying corporate support that disappears under political pressure is not enough.
"When these companies are so quick to erase their DEI initiatives, when Trump tells them to, they roll over on their backs, and a rainbow logo is not going to cut it anymore," V said. "That rainbow logo is not going to get the health care that their trans employees, their queer employees need."
The Pride of Tampa Official Opening Party is Thursday, March 26, at Bradley's on 7th.
The 🌈 Pride of Tampa Festival 2026 is Saturday, March 28, at The Cuban Club.
You can find all the events hosted by Pride of Tampa here.
TARPER's march will be held March 14 at Centennial Park in Ybor City, starting at 4 pm. More information on TARPER can be found here.
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