THE TAMPA PRIDE BOARD AND DIRECTORS
ARE VERY PROUD OF OUR WORK AND
VISION FOR TAMPA PRIDE 2020.
THAT’S WHY 2020’S THEME IS
“MANY VOICES, ONE VISION.”
The many visions
that I have
experienced
with Tampa Pride
began in my
college days at
the University
of South Florida
in the mid-1980s,
with softball games
sponsored by all the local gay bars.
Establishments sponsored BBQs, with grills
smoking and the smell of hot dogs and
hamburgers filling the hot, summer air.
There were local talents performing
on makeshift stages, with blankets as our
centerpieces while we used the ground for
chairs. There were even people that rode
their horses to participate. This was the
beginning of Tampa Pride.
The years flew by and Tampa Pride
was soon parading through the streets of
downtown Tampa to the Convention Center.
Another year we went to the Performing Arts
Center. One year we paraded over to the
Cruise Ship Terminal before Channelside.
In another we went to Pepin Stadium
at the University of Tampa. At others we
celebrated with the “Wet Party” at the
Florida Aquarium, held onto the rails at the
Tampa Railroad Union Station or marked the
occasion in the Tracks parking lot in 1990s
Ybor City. We’ve welcomed “Cagney & Lacy”
television star Sharon Gless and honored
many grand marshals including Chaz Bono.
Today is a new era of Tampa Pride.
This year we have the new vision of
multi-generational LGBTA events. Tampa
Pride has doubled the festival space with
the addition of the Cuban Club Courtyard
adjacent to the HCC Ybor Festival area and
the inside of the first floor of the historic
location. This will be the largest Tampa Pride
we have ever had!
We have the Artisan Fair with new
emerging creations on 9th Ave. The Health
& Wellness Fair has a new festival location,
featuring more than 40 health vendors,
hospitals and free testing! The always
famous Food Truck Alley will be also be
on 9th Ave. this year with a wide variety of
more than 25 food vendors for your outdoor
festival tastes!
In the Cuban Club Courtyard area, we
welcome Tito’s Vodka and Florida Cane Rum
along with Bud Light. The concert stage
area within the Cuban Club Courtyard with
also dazzle you with amazing entertainment
including Pepper MaShay of “Dive in the
Pool” fame, Jay Miah from NBC’s “The Voice”
and the “It’s Raining Men” diva icon herself:
Martha Wash! New this year is PRIDE AFTER
DARK, where the celebrity mistress will
perform a full, FREE concert at night!
All day long, ABC WFTS-TV will also be
live streaming the stage performers and the
Diversity Parade, which has a new starting
time of 4 p.m. Last year’s 60,000+ attendees
can’t be wrong, so come enjoy 160 local
and national units who will be proudly
participating along the parade route. This
and more is why Tampa Pride is known as
“The Fun Pride!”
Make your reservations at hotels or
with your Tampa friends now to come on
out March 28th to TAMPA PRIDE 2020
for a great, long weekend of total fun! See
you all there.
HAPPY PRIDE EVERYBODY,
Carrie West, Tampa Pride President
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