This weekend, Tampa Pride will take over Ybor City. It’s starts off with a Ball on Friday night. Then a street festival, diversity parade and nighttime party that will all take place on Saturday, March 26.
Details about Tampa Pride
On Friday and Saturday, there will be four main events:
Ball
Tampa Pride is kicking off the weekend with a Ball! The event starts at 8pm and doors open at 7pm at The Cuban Club in Ybor City. Tables and VIP tickets are sold out, but you can still buy an individual ticket for $10. Unsure what Ballroom is? Find out more here!
Street festival
Tampa Pride is partnering with HCC Ybor Campus to bring an exciting street festival to Ybor. Attractions will include vendors, artisans and craft show, community health fair, food alley and more. The vendors will be in two main areas — East 9th Avenue and the HCC parking lot. The festival will last from 11am to 4pm.
Diversity parade
The 7th annual Tampa Pride Diversity Parade will kick off at 4pm right after the festival. The parade will wind its way east from the corner of Nuccio Parkway and E 7th Avenue, down E 7th Avenue to N 20th Street, where it will turn north to disperse.
Pride at night
Finally, there’s Pride at Night, the official afterparty of Tampa Pride. It will be held at The Cuban Club and feature local and national headlining artists, laser light show and international DJ Matt Suave. Performances start at 7pm.
What is Pride?
The first Pride event took place in 1969 after the Stonewall Riots. After the riot, organizers wanted to build on the momentum and the following year, they organized a march to Central Park. The march spread to other cities throughout the years, and Pride celebrations became more and more popular as the 1970s progressed.
Want to learn more? Creative Loafing has an excellent oral history of the history of Pride in the Tampa Bay area.
