When many people think of Pride, they think of June. But in Palm Beach County, Pride arrives a bit earlier.
Hosted annually by Compass LGBTQ+ Community Center, Palm Beach Pride returned to Bryant Park in Lake Worth Beach this weekend for its 34th year, bringing together vendors, advocates, families, and community members for a celebration rooted in both joy and resilience.
For some, Pride is a festival. For others, it is a statement.
At this year’s event, local vendors and organizations used the gathering not only to celebrate but to connect people with resources, build community, and affirm a message of belonging at a time when many in the LGBTQ community feel increasingly under attack.
One vendor, Melody Rodriguez with The Crystal Chica, spent the morning before the festival started handing out coupon codes to fellow vendors and volunteers. To her, Pride is about accessibility and community care.
“Love is love; everyone, everywhere, should be accepted. I want to meet people, see their energy, and I give discounts to anyone in a show with me… because I want to provide access to healing crystals to everyone,” Rodriguez said.
Others came with a service-driven mission. Lia Head-Rigby with Palm Beach County’s HIV Elimination Services said she was at Pride to “give access to all these cool services,” pointing to HIV prevention services, homeless services, senior services, and the county’s Community Action Plan that helps residents in need pay their bills.
That blend of celebration and support is part of what makes Palm Beach Pride significant each year. According to Julie Seaver, CEO of Compass, Pride is the biggest opportunity the organization has to reach people, especially youth and families. She said she sees the event not as a fundraiser, but as a “friendraiser.”
For Seaver, Pride also belongs to the broader LGBTQ community, not to those who host it.
“I don’t look at this as my Pride or Compass’ Pride — This is the community’s Pride. And I think that all of us could use a little bit more unity in the community, especially this year.”
That sense of urgency was echoed by Maxx Fenning, Executive Director of PRISM, an organization tabling at the festival.
“As our community faces more and more attacks, Pride becomes our space to take back our joy — to stare oppression in the face and laugh, sing, and dance our way through it,” Fenning said.
Palm Beach Pride continues Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Bryant Park in Lake Worth Beach. Tickets are $20, while youth 18 and under receive free admission and free face painting. Sunday’s parade begins at 11 a.m., followed by the festival at noon.
Learn more about Palm Beach Pride and buy tickets here.
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