The City of St. Petersburg, Florida is celebrating its 19th Pride Celebration this June with an entire month of events especially centered on those who identify as LGBTQIA+.
“St Pete Pride was created out of a desire to ensure a safe space for all people of the LGBTQIA+ community of Tampa Bay, to celebrate unity and the many things that make us similar. As we move forward into a bright new future, we do so purposefully and with intention to not just embrace those similarities but welcome, celebrate and promote respect for the many intersections of the human experience. We value and respect diversity in its many forms: race, ethnicity, ability, class, faith, age, gender identity, sexual orientation and experience. We honor the visible and invisible qualities that make each of us who we are. We center Black, Brown and Trans voices that so often go unheard because we know Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are the ultimate acts of PRIDE.” St. Pete PrideFest https://stpetepride.org
PrideFest 2021 celebrates with 4 themed weeks to allow for COVID-safe gathering.
| Outdoor Adventure Week | Signature Event: Pride OUTside on Saturday, June 5th at Vinoy Park, 7am-2pm. This waterfront festival costs $5 and features live music, local vendors, and experiences like yoga and music. |
| Family Week | Signature Event: We Are Family on Saturday, June 12th at St. Pete Pier, North Straub Park, and South Straub Park, 11am-5pm. This gathering of LGBTQIA+ families and allies will feature family-focused vendors, entertainment, and activities for $5 a ticket. |
| Arts and Music Week | Signature Event: Arts + Qulture on Saturday, June 19th at The Factory, 4-10pm. For $5 a ticket, stroll the grounds of this new 8-acre, mixed-use space in the Warehouse Arts District and enjoy music, art, and dance. Juneteenth will be honored through a celebration of Black, Queer culture. |
| Taste of PrideFest Week | Signature Event: Pride Picnic on Saturday, June 26th at North Straub Park and South Straub Park, 2-9pm. There will be food trucks, vendors, musical performances, and fireworks at dusk (~9pm). |
LGBTQIA+ and Addie LaRue
As a person who came out as gay in her late 20s, V.E. Schwab authentically writes LGBTQIA+ characters who live into themselves, unrepentant in their queerness taking up space in the world they deserve. Two of the main characters in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – Addie and Henry – are introduced to the reader as bisexual as part of their character development, but not in a showy way. Their sexuality is part of their existence and part of their story, but it is not their entire story.
- How bestselling author V.E. Schwab finally found the words to come out of the closet. https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/a34100214/ve-schwab-coming-out-story/
- Carolina reviews The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. https://lesbrary.com/carolina-reviews-the-invisible-life-of-addie-larue-by-v-e-schwab/