ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Pride festivities will be taking over downtown St. Petersburg this weekend. There will be events all weekend long, including a parade making its way down Bayshore Drive.
St. Pete Pride is the largest pride event in the South. With roughly 100,000 people expected, there will be a heavier police presence to keep people safe, authorities said Tuesday.
The Pride parade takes place on Saturday, stretching from the Dali Museum to Vinoy Park. This route is reversed from years prior.
The increased security measures are extensive, with officers surveilling on the ground, from the water and remotely.
"During the next few days, we will have our state, federal and local partners with us at this event, you will see more police cars," St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said. "We'll have cameras surveillance with every type of surveillance possible because we want this to be a safe event for not only the people that are participating in a parade but the people that are coming out in the parade."
There are new laws now in effect that have prompted discussion by organizers, including those that ban children's exposure to adult live performances.
"So we have live performances on parade day from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. They encompass all kinds of entertainment," St. Pete Pride Executive Director Nicole Berman said. "And we don't anticipate that any of those performances will violate any laws."
Holloway said his officers are ready to enforce all newly passed legislation.
"We are going to enforce a law that was passed, we've already worked things out if we see an issue, my team and I will contact Nicole," Holloway explained. "Nicole has her marshals throughout, she will give them a warning like they're supposed to give the warning. Then after that, we'll take action that needs to be taken."
Berman said the goal is that Pride is not overshadowed by legislation or safety procedures.
"We've reached out to all of our performers and are pretty clear on what is and isn't allowed," Berman said. "And again, this is not any different than years past."
This year marks the 21st St. Pete Pride event, giving community members a chance to celebrate who they are, freely and openly.
Holloway added there haven't been any incidents targeting LGBTQ people in St. Pete in the last year.
If you're planning to be out and about along St. Pete Pier, no cars will be allowed in or out of that area after 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
"The most important thing we want to tell people is if you're going to the pier to have lunch, have your vehicle out of the pier by 4:30," he said. "If not, your vehicle will be there until the parade is over."
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.