PHOTOS: Orlando Pride shines a spotlight on Florida’s queer community

The Sunshine State was beaming with pride over the weekend as the queer communities of Central Florida brightened the streets of Orlando. Aptly dubbed “Come Out with Pride Orlando,” over 200,000 members of the LGBTQ+ community showed up to the event’s festival and parade to celebrate COWPO’s values of “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.”

The debauchery kicked off on Saturday at Eola Park with the annual Come Out with Pride Festival, featuring a marketplace and food vendors, such as Cosmos Ice Cream and La Orengette, to grab a nosh. Embracing their principle of inclusion, the fest offered family-friendly options such as a Youth Zone and the Rainbow Ranch Kids Zone, as well a Sober Space sponsored by Pineapple Health.

By the afternoon, RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni Monet Exchange and Lala Ri cranked up the heat on the Club Pride Stage. Performances also included local talent such as Darcel Stevens, The Les Vixens, House of Cavalli, House of San Miguel, The Renaissance Theater, and more.

One of the missions of COWPO is to champion resistance, which was showcased by members of Orlano’s trans community, who hosted a rally to promote awareness and radically express their fierceness. The centerpiece of the day was the “Most Colorful Parade” presented by AHF, capped off by a grand fireworks finale.

For those who weren’t able to bask in the light of “Come On Out Orlando,” we’d like to shine a spotlight on some of our favorite images of the event.

_{Photography by Chris Shepardson. Photo editing by Mike Ciriaco.}