Phil Ehr & Blaire Castro

Teniade’ Broughton, Drew Buchanan & Jonathan Kusnerek

Melanie Dillon & Elizabeth Schrey

Mike Potters & Catherine Barnett

Josh Gilmore & Louis Cooper

T

he annual Pensacola PRIDE Festival in the Park kicked off on June 16 with 
entertainment, vendors, food and more. Gay Grassroots of Northwest Florida 
presented the yearly festival and encouraged attendees to visit and communicate 
with neighbors at this colorful community event. “Over the years there’s been a 

lot of change in the way Northwest Florida has interacted with the LGBTQ community,” says 
Louis Cooper, president of Gay Grassroots, the organizer of the annual Pensacola PRIDE 
cultural awareness events. “The theme is ‘Forty Years Beyond the Rainbow’,” Cooper says. 
“The rainbow fl ag was fi rst designed and showcased as a positive symbol of the LGBTQ 
community in 1978 and has since come to represent our community around the globe. We are 
using this year to look at how LGBTQ culture has changed in our area in that time frame and to 
celebrate everything our beautiful fl ag represents.” 

Highlights included the festival headliner Wayward Sisters, standup comic Andrew Ferrara, 

and the Red Carpet Spectacular, the traditional end-of-day drag show. About 60 vendors 
ranging from artists to businesses and non-profi ts were represented at the festival. For the third 
year in a row, the Lewis Bear Co. was the festival’s beverage sponsor.

Pensacola Pride:

 

Festival in the Park

Jess Gehres, Elle Banton & Dara Flanagan 

   VIP Pensacola at Seville Square Park

photos & story by

 

Kristina Wright 

Craig Weber & Forest Dixon

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7/25/18   2:30 PM