History of Pride South Florida
Anita Bryant is an American singer who made a series of television commercials for Florida orange juice. She is most remembered today for her vehement opposition to anti-discrimination ordinances.

A member of the Southern Baptist church, she is remembered for campaigning in the 1970s to repeal a local ordinance in Miami, Florida that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

In 1977, Florida's Dade County (now Miami-Dade County) passed a human-rights ordinance that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In response to this, Bryant led a highly publicized campaign to repeal the ordinance. The campaign was waged based on "Christian beliefs regarding the sinfulness of homosexuality and the perceived threat of “homosexual recruitment” of children and child molestation."

Indeed, the concerns over homosexual recruitment of children inspired the name of Bryant's political organization, Save Our Children. Among Bryant's assertions during the campaign were “As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children. On June 7, 1977, Bryant's campaign led to a repeal of the anti-discrimination ordinance by a margin of 69 to 31 percent.

The following day, Bryant stated, “In victory, we shall not be vindictive. We shall continue to seek help and change for homosexuals, whose sick and sad values belie the word ‘gay’ which they pathetically use to cover their unhappy lives.”

In the aftermath, legislation was passed outlawing adoption by gays and lesbians in the state of Florida and Bryant led several more campaigns around the country to repeal local anti-discrimination ordinances.
The ordinance was defeated by electoral repeal in early June of 1977, but the spirit and cooperation among gay groups and activist remained undeterred. The Coalition formed a sub-committee that planned and organized a protest celebration for National Gay Pride Day on June 28, 1977 to commemorate the Stonewall Riots. Several hundred people marched through Coconut Grove carrying signs and shouting slogans, ending in a street party. Trying to muster pride in the face of defeat, Gay Pride in South Florida was born.

The birth of Pride in South Florida had to do with the political process that was unfolding. In 1978 activists collected names to put the gay rights ordinance back on the ballot, the first time in U.S. history that gays & lesbians used the political system to place a pro-gay initiative on an electoral ballot. The referendum was again defeated, but the 1978 Pride Parade and Rally grew to 1500. The march occurred annually in Miami and continued to grow in size and scope.

Dade County, in 1998, repudiated Bryant's successful campaign of 20 years earlier, and re-authorized an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting individuals from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The statute forbidding adoptions by gay persons in Florida, however, remains law.

Though early marches were held by and in Dade County, the Broward County Coalition for Human Rights was always an active participate. In 1980, the subcommittee of the Dade County Coalition that planned and organized the past Pride Parades, lead by Marty Rubin, filed for incorporation as a separate group to represent both Dade and Broward counties. The South Florida Gay & Lesbian Pride Committee was created and organized the annual Pride Parade. In 1980 a rally in downtown Miami’s Centennial Park was added to the end of the parade.

In 1982, the committee caused controversy by abandoning the Parade in favor of an indoor festival to encourage participation by closeted gays and lesbians not willing to be seen in public. The 1982 festival, held at the Hollywood Sportatorium, featured booths for businesses and organizations, and brought together hundreds of people that would otherwise not have participated in a public parade or rally. In 1984, the Parade was brought back and Pride was expanded to a full week of events. The indoor festival was moved to the Coconut Grove Exhibition Center and grew to over 5000 by 1985.

In 1991, under pressure from bisexual and transgender activists, the committee adopted the name Pride South Florida. Pridefest stayed at the Coconut Grove Exhibition Center, but the Parade and Rally was moved to Ft. Lauderdale for the first time. Pride Picnics were held with the New Name in Dade and Palm Beach Counties.

Pridefest now had over 130 exhibitors, and in 1992 moved to the Broward County Convention Center where it could all fit indoors, out of the heat and June downpours. It remained there until 1995 when rising costs forced it back to the War Memorial Auditorium and tents in Holiday Park.

Rain and heat were a continuing problem for Pride in June. The rainy season frequently canceled the Parade, and put a damper on Pridefest, forcing the thousands of Pride revelers to seek shelter in the Auditorium and the Tents. In 1998, Pride South Florida made the controversial decision to split Pride and move Pridefest from June to February, to capture the winter tourists and the better weather. Pridefest ’98, or Winterfest as it was called, was moved to Mills Pond Park and drew over 11,000 people.

After a heated town meeting in 2000, Pride South Florida decided to move the Parade and associated Pride festivities to February. In the winter, Pridefest attracts thousands of visitors from around the country and hundreds of exhibitors, becoming the largest Pride Festival in Florida.

Pride in South Florida started as a protest and has grown as the political strength of the LGBT community grew. From the early activist marching along 21st Street Beach in 1972, to the hundreds marching in protest of the Save Our Children campaign in 1977, South Florida’s Pride celebrations have been rooted in Protest.

In the 70’s South Florida activists made national history in their fight against Anita Bryant and her crusade. Their efforts inspired and galvanized gays and lesbians across the country and prompted a national boycott of the orange juice industry. In the 80’s, AIDS challenged Pride to give visibility to a new issue. Pride assumed a responsibility to remind the city and the media of the lives being lost to AIDS.

In the 1990’s AIDS phobia fueled a growing fervor of religious extremism. “Ex-Gay” ministries claimed that Gays can change their sexual orientation through Jesus, in a controversial “Truth in Love” campaign. In 1998, more than 3000 South Floridians rallied to protest Reverend D. James Kennedy of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and his “hate campaign guised as Christian love.”

Currently, the State of Florida still provides challenges. From the “Defense of Marriage Act” debate to the fight for the right of Gays to adopt children, Pride is an opportunity to take a stand against oppression, and celebrate the strength and resolve of the LGBT community. In Pride, both celebration and protest are alive and evident, in South Florida.

Pridefest (Pride South Florida) remains as the largest Pride Festival in the state of Florida with thousands of  attendees and up to 250 vendors. It’s a two day celebration at Jaco Pastorius Park, Oakland Park.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need to buy a ticket to get into PrideFest?
We sell tickets for PrideFest to raise money for our Grants Program. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised from ticket sales for this celebration go back out into our community in the form of Grants. For more information about Grants, or if your organization would like to apply for a grant, please click here to visit our Grants Page.

We are a Non Profit organization. Why do we need to pay for a booth?
Booth Fees are used to help subsidize the cost of all those items involved in putting together an event. Things like, transportation, insurance, state filing fees, printing, mailings, signage, entertainment, phones, location, police, fencing, and tents. Not to mention the cost putting together packages to find sponsors. It is our goal to receive enough sponsorship dollars along with your booth registration fee to underwrite the entire cost of this event, thereby seeing that all the money we work so hard to raise goes 100% back to the community. Non-profit organizations get a discount on Booth Fees
The money generated from this Celebration serves as the primary income producer for various Grant programs and public benefit opportunities throughout the year.

Pride South Florida has created a Volunteer Grant: - An individual or group may assist with the production of the annual celebration and earn an hourly stipend to be granted to the non-profit organization to be used to fund the organization' s booth at PrideFest.

Can I bring my Pet to PrideFest 2010?
Animals and pets are not permitted at Jaco Pastorius Park, except in conjunction with an approved exhibit, display, show, etc. Seeing eye dogs are permitted.

Can I bring a cooler to the event?
Alcoholic beverages, and or coolers, may not be brought into Jaco Pastorius Park.

Why is PrideFest in March?
The decision to move the PRIDE Festival from June to March was made for several reasons. The first was the weather: a March event is far less likely to get rained out, will definitely be cooler and is not in hurricane season. These concerns are shared by many southern Pride organizations and many other cities have moved their events out of the traditional June dates. Other reason is during the traditional June pride festivals, snowbirds are away, and March is high tourist season in South Florida. The major reason the PRIDE Committee felt that our Festival should be held in March instead of June was, not having to compete with every other pride festival nationwide for sponsorships. Many pride events have moved their events out of the traditional June dates for the same reason. Check the link to InterPride.org (The International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Pride Coordinators) to see on the global calendar how many pride festivals moved their events.

Why Do I Have to Pay to Attend Pride?
Pride South Florida is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization run by unpaid volunteers. We aim to produce a highly professional Pride Festival that is not only economically valuable to our community to promote itself as the #1 Gay and Lesbian destination in the U.S.A., but also benefiting South Florida LGBT community organizations: Proceeds from PrideFest are distributed through a grant program each Spring. PSF does not receive funds from any other organizations, grants, or City/County funds.  PrideFest cannot and may not happen if it does not receive support from its own community and supporters that the festival was created and fought for. It takes a lot of time and money to put together this event. Sponsors money and donations pay for entertainment, permits, insurance, tents, sound & lighting, printing, tables, chairs, venue, fencing, and many other expenses. We are asking you to not only support PrideFest by attending your festival and showing other non-supporters that we have the right to celebrate who we are but, we also need your support financially.

What is the significance of the Stonewall Riots?
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Pride Events in the United States (including marches, parades, festivals, rallies, and other events) commemorate the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Riots were the first time that gays (specifically, gay men and women, drag queens, and street people) fought back physically against police harassment and entrapment.
Up until the late 1960's, routine raids of New York City's gay and lesbian bars were frequent -- with same-sex couples being routinely arrested for dancing together, kissing or showing other signs of affection. Individuals were also arrested for wearing clothing of the opposite sex - considered "unlawful" by the police. The Stonewall Riots (named after the Stonewall Inn, the Greenwich Village gay bar outside of which they took place) occurred on June 27, 28, and 29, 1969. The riots were three nights of violent street protests and arrests involving over 300 gay people who finally grew tired of all the verbal slurs, unfounded arrests and beatings the police had subjected them to.
The Stonewall Riots have since been credited with sparking the modern queer liberation movement throughout the world.

What is the significance of the Rainbow Flag?
The Rainbow Flag is an international symbol of Gay and Lesbian Pride. The flag was conceived by Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco resident, who made the first one by hand. He then had copies of the flag made, which were first flown at San Francisco's Pride events in 1978. The flag (with its 6 horizontal stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple) represents the diversity, yet unity, of the gay and lesbian community.

Gilbert Baker Bio and History of the Rainbow Flag
By Gilbert Baker for Rainbow25
 
Gilbert Baker, known as the gay Betsy Ross, is the creator of the Rainbow Flag.  He designed the flag in San Francisco in 1978 as a positive alternative to the Pink Triangle -- a symbol first used by the Nazis to identify homosexuals.
 
Baker, born in Kansas in 1951, arrived in San Francisco as an Army draftee in 1970.  Like Dorothy in Oz, he found himself in a different and more colorful world. He dreamt of being an artist and, at the same time, fell in love with drag.  He quickly learned to sew in order to create the costumes he couldn't afford to buy. 
 
He came out of the closet in 1971 and received an Honorable Discharge from the Army in 1972.  In 1975, he met activist and budding politico Harvey Milk, whom Baker credits with getting him involved in gay activism and with changing his life.  Milk was elected as San Francisco's first openly gay supervisor on November 7, 1977.
 
Throughout the early 70's, Baker was known to work day and night sewing banners and creating bold visuals for gay protests and marches.  When actress Anita Bryant publicly labeled all gay men child molesters in 1977, Harvey Milk convinced Baker to create a symbol that would call the gay movement to action.

Baker immediately got to work on the project, and, in the spirit of Betsy Ross, Baker hand-sewed and dyed the strips of fabric that would later become the Rainbow Flag.  The original Rainbow Flag had eight stripes:  fuchsia; red; orange; yellow; green; turquoise; blue; and, purple -- which represent sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic serenity and spirit.

The Rainbow Flag first flew during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978. Two eight-color Rainbow Flags, each measuring 30 feet by 60 feet, flew from the flagpoles at United Nations Plaza.

In the wake of Harvey Milk's tragic assassination later that year (November 1978), Baker was moved to create a flag display for San Francisco's Market Street for the 1979 Gay Freedom Day Parade.  When he discovered there was no fuchsia fabric readily available from commercial flag makers (he was creating far too many flags for the fabric to be hand-dyed), he simplified the Rainbow Flag by eliminating fuchsia and then turquoise in order to keep the flag design evenly balanced. The six-color flag gained popularity steadily.  Baker then began working with the Paramount Flag Company in San Francisco to produce the first commercial Rainbow Flags in six colors.
 Baker began designing flags for other events including State visits to San Francisco by: the President of Italy; the President of France; the Premier of China; the President of the Philippines; the President of Venezuela; and, the King of Spain. He designed flags for the 1984 Democratic National Convention, the 1985 Super Bowl, San Francisco Symphony Black and White Balls and stage and street decorations for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parades from 1979 through 1993.  In 1994 Baker created the history making mile-long Rainbow Flag for Stonewall 25 in New York to mark the 25th anniversary of the gay civil rights movement.  The Guinness Book of World Records then recognized the mile-long Stonewall 25 Rainbow Flag as the world's largest flag.

Baker has mounted exhibitions illustrating the history of the flag for World Pride Rome in 2000 and in 2002 he brought his exhibition to the New York City LGBT Community Center.   In 2003 his work and historical collections were also presented in exhibits at both the LGBT Center and the Hormel Collection at the San Francisco Public Library.
 
On June 15, 2003 at The Flag’s Silver Anniversary: Rainbow25, presented by ABSOLUT VODKA, the Rainbow25 Sea-to-Sea Flag – the world’s longest Rainbow Flag - was unfurled in Key West, Florida.  This world’s longest Rainbow Flag was sewn by Baker who restored it to its original eight colors.  Parts of the Flag were shared with more than 100 cities around the world.

Gilbert Baker lives in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.