Miami Beach's First PRIDE Festival...EVER!

Thanks to Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower, the most famous sandbar in the world will join the ranks of world class cities like Sao Paulo, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Madrid that officially honor the gay & lesbian community by hosting its first city-supported pride event today, April 18th.

With the support of the City of Miami Beach’s newly developed Gay, Business Development Ad Hoc Committee, South Floridians will participate in the first annual Miami Beach Gay Pride to be held on Ocean Drive between 5 and 15 Street beginning at noon.

The Miami Beach Gay Pride Committee, a committee formed to spearhead all logistics for the parade and festival, has chosen “PROUD” as this year’s main theme for all festivities including the parade, and a festival/expo composed of businesses and community booths, kiosks, and exhibits. The Festival/Expo will be on the sand at Lummus Park, in the Art Deco District, located between 12 and 14 Street.

“PROUD” will also feature a Main Stage for special guests including internationally renowned DJs, shows by various local and national recording artists, and performances by a number of local and national popular entertainers and celebrities.

Support for Miami Beach Gay Pride comes from the Miami Beach Visitor & Convention Authority, The Knight Foundation, Macy’s and the Dade Community Foundation.

The mission of the Miami Beach Gay Pride 2009 is to raise awareness and inspire appreciation and acceptance of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender community in South Florida.

Below are some of the performers at this historic event:

For more details and complete schedule, visit their website at http://www.miamibeachgaypride.com/.

I look forward to seeing you there!