COVID-19 leads to more canceled plans

BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) ––– For the second year in a row, the Baton Rouge Pride Festival is canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the organization is not giving up. 

They announced the cancellation stating, “because of the continued commitment to ensure any event produced by our organization follows the strictest health and safety guidelines set forth by federal, state, and local governments, we do not see the ability to truly plan an in-person large event.”

Organizer Christopher Bradford says, “we really went into thinking and anticipating and hoping that 2021 would be a little bit different. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be different for us in the summer.”

All is not lost. Bradford says the organization plans to hold virtual events and focus on its digital presence, “we’re looking at doing a couple of online roundtable discussions on different things that affect the community, just to give people a presence.”

“We’re eventually looking and hoping to have more community-based discussions because being part of the LGBTQ+ community isn’t always about going to the bar. Yes, that’s where a lot of our background has been for so many years because we knew that was a safe place. You know, places like George’s and splash, which are, you know, deep links for our community, but there are so many other things that people want to do,” he adds. 

The organization has an LGBTQ+ Business Directory that lists local businesses that it has verified as inclusive and diversity-friendly. 

Some may wonder why a pride event is necessary. Bradford says, “pride is about community… having a place where I can go and hold my husband’s hand out in public and know that nobody’s gonna say anything… It’s having that ability to have a place to be your true, authentic self without means of repercussion.”

The Baton Rouge Pride organization is volunteer-based so if you would like more information on how you can help, visit their website HERE. 

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