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Miami Beach Pride
Date coming soon
This event has been canceled for 2020.
By: Ian Maloney | February 16, 2020
See How Miami Beach Celebrates Pride!
For the past 12 years, Miami Dade’s LGBTQ+ community has celebrated Pride during early April in Miami Beach. What started off as a relatively modest crowd of 15,000 people at the first event in 2009 has ballooned into one of the most popular parties along Ocean Drive, drawing over 140,000 people last year. This year, the festivities will last nine days from March 28, 2020 through April 5, 2020 and will culminate with the famous two-day festival on Saturday and Sunday along the sands of Lummus Park in South Beach, as well as a parade down Ocean Drive in the city’s Art Deco neighborhood on Sunday morning.
New events and activations, including a vogueing ball featuring Jason Rodriguez from the hit FX series Pose and a queer art pop up, celebrate South Florida’s diverse and creative LGBTQ+ community while nodding to Miami Beach Pride’s 2020 theme: “Let’s Have a Ball.”
Last year, while coming off the most successful event in its history, the Miami Beach Gay Pride Board of Directors decided on a new name: Miami Beach Pride (they dropped the word “Gay” from the name). The new name reflects the changing landscape of the LGBTQ+ and allied communities. This year, to continue that same goal, the organization has new leadership at the top. Late in 2019, Rich Walczak was named Miami Beach Pride’s Executive Director, replacing long time leader Dave Cook. According Bruce Horwich, chair of the Miami Beach Pride Board of Directors, “As our community grows and becomes more diverse, it’s our duty to develop programming celebrating all facets of our LGBTQ+ community here in Miami Beach and beyond. Rich Walczak brings the LGBTQ+ and international event management experience we need to achieve our goals in providing more inclusive and educational programming and better mirrors the inclusiveness of the celebration.”
“It’s an honor to join a team that has helped make Miami Beach Pride such a successful and visible event,” Walczak said. “I hope to build off this success and begin to include year-round programming for Pride with a focus on educating and helping our LGBTQ+ community, as well as teaching people on the outside looking in about the issues we deal with on a daily basis. We want to celebrate our diversity, our differences and the things that make each of us unique.”
Included in the celebration this year, Miami Beach Pride will feature nine days of activities with Ultimate Miami Drag Queen (one of the two pageants taking place during the week) officially kicking things off on Saturday, March 28, 2020 at 9 p.m. at Magic City Casino. Things will continue with the rainbow flag raising ceremony at Miami Beach City Hall on Monday, March 30, 2020 at 6:30 pm. The flag raising ceremony will be followed by a “Flip the Switch” event at 7 p.m. for the fourth annual “Pride Lights the Night” whereby buildings throughout greater Miami will light up in the colors of the rainbow flag as a tribute and remembrance of the PULSE nightclub victims.
While there will be activities throughout the week - including the Miss Miami Beach Pride contest on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 where Mhi’ya Iman LePaige will relinquish the title and pass along the crown and a VIP Gala on Friday, April 3, 2020 - the highest energy events will happen over the weekend.
On Saturday and Sunday, April 4 and 5, 2020, the Miami Beach Pride Festival will take over Lummus Park between 10th and 12th streets. Just east of Ocean Drive, the party will kick off at noon each day with live entertainment, two stages, over 125 vendor booths, more food than you can shake a stick at, and of course, lots of that famous SoBe sun. Pride is full of fun for the entire family, so bring the baby gays and gals so they don’t miss the Pridelines Youth District and Safe Zone, Lambda Living Lounge, the BB&T Food Pavilion, The Garden of Eve Women’s tent and many other family-friendly activities.
On Sunday, the final day of the festivities, things will kick off at noon with the 12th annual Pride Parade along Ocean Drive. After the parade, revelers will pack the park for an afternoon and evening of dancing and pride. The “Opening Ceremonies” will be held at 2 p.m. with the excitement building throughout the afternoon till its time for the headliner to take the stage. Past performers have included Adam Lambert and Jordin Sparks from American Idol fame, 80s chanteuse Taylor Dayne, and Grammy Winner Thelma Houston.
Stick around after sunset for a spectacular fireworks display that will put the finishing touches on the week of nonstop events. For more information, a full event schedule for the week, and to learn more about volunteer opportunities for Miami Beach Pride week, visit their website.
Read More:
Miami Beach Pride Parade
The Local Lesbian Insider
Miami Gay Event Guide For Each Day Of The Week
Hotel Gaythering Strives to Make a Difference in the LGBTQ Community