Annapolis Pride festival plans in-person event

The Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival will take place in person this year — yes, you read that right — in October, to allow for plenty of time for the community to be vaccinated against COVID-19, organizers said.

The celebration will take place in downtown Annapolis on Oct. 30, said Pride Chair Jeremy Browning. After the pandemic, the festival will continue annually in June, when most pride events worldwide are held, but this year, Annapolis Pride will celebrate during LGBTQ+ History Month.

“It’s so important for the LGBTQ+ community and allies to come together, to be visible, celebrate our progress and reflect on the work that remains,” Browning said.

Browning said Annapolis Pride won’t proceed with an in-person gathering if it violates public health guidelines. More information on the pride celebration will be available in the coming months.

The announcement of an in-person pride celebration comes after President Joe Biden said Tuesday there would be enough COVID19 vaccines for every American adult who wants one by the end of May. Previous estimates suggested the U.S. might meet this milestone by the end of July. He said the faster production of the vaccine could be attributed to the manufacturing agreement between Johnson & Johnson and pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. The deal was announced days after the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization to Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine.

Annapolis Pride held its first event in June 2019, and the visibility it allowed the LGBTQ+ community was powerful, Browning said.

“Growing up here in Annapolis, I never saw any visibility,” Browning said. “Being able to take up physical space on streets that don’t always feel safe... It’s the one day a year that hopefully everyone can come out and feel comfortable.”

The in-person event was canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The group held an online forum with activists to discuss racial justice and the fight for LGBTQ+ equality. The conversation spanned from the Black Lives Matter movement to the danger Black trans women are in every day, to self-care, and how to be a good ally to communities you are not a part of.

Though the flagship event was canceled, one community in Crofton held a socially distanced car parade to celebrate Pride. In some cars, kids decked out in rainbow colors popped up through sunroofs our out open windows to celebrate the 51st anniversary of the protests at the Stonewall Inn in New York, which is widely known to have started the movement for LGBTQ+ equality.