Anti-diversity bill could end Lake Worth Beach partnership with Palm Beach Pride
Pride 2026 expected to draw 30,000 revelers downtown March 28-29 for festival, parade
FOR 26 YEARS, Lake Worth Beach has been the proud host city for Palm Beach Pride, one of South Florida’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations. This year’s annual event, March 28-29, is expected to attract 30,000 people for festivities in Bryant Park and a parade downtown.
But organizers and city leaders are worried about what future Palm Beach Pride festivals and parades will look like if new anti-LGBTQ state legislation goes into effect Jan. 1, 2027.
The bill would ban counties and cities from funding or promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and allow Gov. Ron DeSantis to remove local elected officials from office if they promote Pride events or other activities tied to DEI.
“If the state legislature has their way, this might be the last time the city can partner with Pride of the Palm Beaches or have anything to do with it,’’ Vice Mayor Sarah Malega said March 17 at a City Commission meeting.
The bill passed the House and Senate and is awaiting the governor’s signature.
“As I proudly support the LGBTQ community in this town, as I ride in the parade every year and celebrate our diversity, I could be removed from office. Any one of us can,’’ Mayor Betty Resch said at the same meeting.
The mayor noted that DeSantis suspended two elected Democratic State Attorneys in 2022 and 2023 “because of their political bent.’’
“The State Attorneys who appealed, they lost. So, let that sink in for a second on what’s happening,’’ she said. “I think that’s frightening. We call ourselves the ‘free state of Florida.’ I’m going to leave it at that.’’
Aside from those brief public comments by mayor and vice mayor, the City Commission has not formally discussed or made any decisions about the city’s future with Palm Beach Pride.
The legislation doesn’t ban Pride festivals outright but may limit how cities promote or fund them, House Speaker Daniel Perez told reporters earlier this month.
Palm Beach Pride is organized and paid for by Compass, a nonprofit community center serving Palm Beach County’s LGBTQ+ community since 1988. Compass has operated since 2007 in downtown Lake Worth Beach, leasing a city-owned building two blocks north of City Hall.
The pride festival was launched in 1992 in West Palm Beach and moved to Lake Worth Beach eight years later. Next weekend will be the 34th festival.
Lake Worth Beach doesn’t directly contribute public money to Pride, but the city waives pavilion fees in Bryant Park and its elected leaders participate in the downtown parade, said Julie Seaver, executive director of Compass.
While the new legislation might not ban pride festivals outright, it will likely erode Palm Beach Pride’s valued partnership with the city and reshape how the festival operates, she said.
“This bill is a complete overreach in how cities can support their residents. It’s really sad and it’s really concerning,’’ Seaver said.
“The visible support from the city of Lake Worth Beach, that’s everything.’’
Officials in cities such as Wilton Manors and Miami Beach, which give thousands of dollars to support their communities’ pride festivals, have said the new legislation would threaten the financial stability of events in those cities.
Seaver is also worried the new law will pressure sponsors to drop out, a trend Palm Beach Pride has seen in the wake of other anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, including a 2022 bill restricting how race and gender are taught in schools and a 2023 measure banning public colleges and universities from spending money on DEI programs.
“Pre-COVID for Palm Beach Pride we would have $175,000 to $200,000 in sponsorship revenue. That has dropped down significantly,’’ Seaver said.
She shared a conversation she had before the 2024 festival when she asked a major sponsor for its logo so organizers could place it on banners and signs.
“I said, ‘What do you mean you don’t want any of that?’ ‘Well, we’ll still support Compass and Palm Beach Pride. We are just taking a step back from being so visible in our support.’ That was a gut punch,’’ Seaver said.
Meanwhile, costs for the parade have been increasing, she said.
“I would hope we continue with the Palm Beach Pride parade (in 2027), but costs are going up, revenues are going down and some people are holding close,’’ she said.
For now, Compass officials are trying to focus on a successful Pride 2026.
“We’re all thinking about it,’’ Seaver said about the legislation, “but we still have to go on. We are … days out from heading to the park and fencing it in and putting up tents and getting the stage set up.’’
The two-day festival will feature live entertainment, a Youth Village, a community marketplace, food trucks, and health and wellness resources.
This year’s theme, “Act Out Loud,” celebrates the performing arts and recognizes the powerful role theater, film, and creative expression play in LGBTQ+ culture, visibility, and resilience.
The parade will feature a Collective Grand Marshal presentation honoring Palm Beach County’s performing arts community, including leadership and representatives from local theaters.
“‘Act Out Loud’ reflects our commitment to uplifting creative expression as a way to celebrate identity and build belonging,” said Lety Gonzalez, Compass’ marketing director.
The event will also be a celebration of Lake Worth Beach, long considered a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community. Every year, elected leaders raise the Pride flag over City Hall and ride in the Pride parade.
“I’ve always felt like I lived in a bubble here in Lake Worth Beach. I know that it’s not like that in every city across the country and I don’t take that support for all communities lightly,’’ Seaver said.
“How do I think this will affect Palm Beach Pride 2027? Only time will tell,’’ she said.
But the possibility of a Pride parade without “the visibility of the city government supporting all of its residents, regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation and culture” would be “distressing,’’ she said.
“I want to make sure that people of all ages can attend their first pride and remember that feeling of being in a safe space with so many people just like them and allied folks and having that feeling of being their authentic selves in a place of celebration,’’ she said. “I hope that that continues for a very long time.’’
Great reporting again Joe. Thanks
Wouldn’t Veterans Day and Memorial Day parades end too? Those are celebrating DEI as well.