The organizers of Lake County Pride in Central Florida are encouraging residents of a deep-red territory of Florida to “be part of a historic moment” this month by attending the nonprofit’s first-ever LGBTQ+ Pride fest on Sunday, April 26 from noon to 8 p.m.
“This event, Lake County Pride Fest, is truly a love letter and our way of giving back and showing our appreciation to those who have stuck by us the last seven years,” Danielle Olivani, president and founder of Lake County Pride, told Orlando Weekly over email.
“I want young people, elders, and everyone in between to be inspired to live loudly and proudly, without fear, judgment, or persecution simply for living their truth,” Olivani said. “We want everyone to feel seen, valued, and welcome in our community.”
The Lake County Pride Fest is being organized as a family-friendly affair with a variety of food trucks and retail vendors. It’s also packed with a talented array of musicians and performers, from the Orlando Gay Chorus to Orlando beloved queer singer Billy Mick, drag queen Karma Rose, and other queer artists aligned with Lake County Pride’s goal of promoting tolerance, LGBTQ+ visibility, and creating “awareness and understanding through education, outreach, and acts of service.” A dance competition is on the agenda, too.
The historic event will be held at Ferran Park in Eustis, a small, Republican-leaning city about 40 miles northwest of Orlando. Unlike the City Beautiful, Eustis is not a city known for its queer-friendly culture. Olivani admitted that they’ve faced a number of challenges in putting the event together, including navigating the recent loss of Addison Taylor, an LGBTQ+ advocate who served as marketing manager of one of their event sponsors, Harmony Healthcare.
“He was our original sponsor and the person who had faith in us and encouraged us to try to put on the event again after the city of Tavares canceled it at the last minute in 2023 due to inclement weather,” Olivani told the Weekly.
They’ve also faced logistical challenges, including unexpected costs of organizing the event. And then, there’s the haters.
“A certain segment of the conservative, religious community here does not think we should even exist, much less have an event,” Olivani said. They said their social media posts about the event often receive comments from people disparaging Lake County Pride organizers as “groomers” and “pedophiles,” and even threatening violence.
Organizers, however, are hopeful that their event will help normalize diverse forms of love, joy, and being one’s authentic self at a time when some other cities in Florida are pulling Pride events to avoid conflict with an anti-diversity sentiment being promoted on the state and federal levels.
“The current political and economic climate, including challenges with corporate sponsorships, reductions in county, state and federal grant funding, and the discontinuation of DEI programs under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has made it increasingly difficult for our organization to sustain ongoing operations for 2026,” the Tampa Pride board of directors wrote in a Facebook post last September.
Closer to home, Orlando holds its annual Pride festivities in October, and that’s still the plan for this year, too, as far as we’re aware. A bill passed by the Florida Legislature this year and currently awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis’s signature could further deter Pride events (if not outright ban them) by making local governments’ endorsement of them unlawful.
Orlando-area state Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat running for Orlando mayor next year, noted in a recent radio interview that if Florida’s Senate Bill 1134 is signed into law, she wouldn’t be allowed to attend or participate in a Pride festival in her capacity as mayor, if elected.
“You can attend these events, but you can’t denote that you’re an elected official,” Eskamani told the hosts of a WMNF 88.5-FM Tampa radio program last month. “I mean, it’s just so silly and impossible, right? It’s as if, you know, I walk into Pride, and if someone calls me mayor, I have to duck and hide.”
The bill would also likely prevent local governments (even those willing to publicly support and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in Florida) from putting any funding towards Pride events or promoting them in any capacity.
Olivani, with Lake County Pride, acknowledged that the “hate” they’ve seen from some of the more socially conservative sections of their community has been overwhelming at times, but that they have decided their slogan for Lake County Pride Fest is “We choose joy.”
“During this difficult time for many, we hope to give that joy back to the community we love!” they said.
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