It has been a fabulous year,” James said. “I had no idea winning Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride 2017 would be this much fun. Special guest performances during the evening will include Fantasia, Dion, Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride 2014 TP Lords, Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride 2016 Kalah Mendoza and the reigning Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride 2017 Joanna James, who will relinquish her crown to the next winner. Morales, Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride 2013 Tiffany Fantasia and Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride 2015 Athena Dion. The Stella Rosa Red Carpet Champagne Reception, hosted by Kitty Meow, begins at 7:30 p.m., followed by the pageant at 9 p.m., hosted by Peter J. That same evening on April 2, a new Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride will be crowned. “The colorful display of lights throughout Greater Miami sends a message of support to the entire LGBTQ community as structures and buildings are illuminated in rainbow colors,” Murry said. Richard Murry, marketing director for Pride, says “Pride Lights the Night” is a week-long display of unity and remembrance paying tribute to the victims of PULSE and their families. Then at 8 p.m., "Pride Lights the Night - A Tribute to PULSE" kicks off as PULSE Nightclub survivor Laura Vargas "flips the switch" to illuminate the 1111 Lincoln Road parking garage in rainbow colors. Miami Beach elected officials will raise the flag at 6:30 p.m. In the meantime, let your rainbow colored freak flags fly!įor more Miami events, be sure to register on 305area.For its momentous 10th year, Miami Beach Gay Pride 2018 will feature a week’s worth of events starting Monday, April 2 with the official Pride rainbow flag-raising ceremony at City Hall and the Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride pageant, which moves to glamorous new digs at the Faena Theater, 3201 Collins Ave. We can only imagine what the next decade holds. The first 10 years of Miami Gay Pride Week have been a rousing success. And, of course, the event which started it all, the parade, takes place on Sunday at noon. Performers include Betty Who and Australian DJ, Dan Slater. Speaking of the beach party, that takes place April 7 from noon to 10 p.m. The kickoff event is arguably the second-most anticipated Pride event after the beach party. Later that night, Basement Miami hosts a pride kickoff party.
From there, there is Gay Pride Pageant at Faena Miami Beach on April 2 and a VIP Gala held there on the April 6. The events kick off on April 2 with a rainbow flag raising ceremony. The week of events ranges from ceremonial to late-night partying. With 70 parade contingents, 35 floats, and 125 LGBT-friendly businesses and vendors participating in the festivities, Miami Gay Pride Week is primed for another record-setting string of events. International superstars like Jordin Sparks, Mario Lopez, Elvis Duran, Iggy Azaela, Gloria Estefan, and Adam Lambert have graced the event's stages as either hosts or performers. The 2017 event welcomed over 135,000 spectators, and they're expecting, even more, this year.Īs Miami Beach Pride Week grew over the last decade, so did its influence, calendar of events, and noteworthy performers.
While 15,000 is nothing to sneeze at, this was just scratching the surface. About 15,000 people attended the first event. At the time, it was a fairly modest neighborhood event, which included a beach party and parade. The inaugural pride celebration was held in 2009. Running from April 2 through April 8, Miami Gay Pride Week will not disappoint in 2018. This year's week of events marks the 10-year anniversary of South Florida's (rainbow-colored) flagship LGBT event. That may be an overused cliche, but we're inclined to think the folks organizing and attending Miami Gay Pride Week must be having a grand old time. It said that time flies when you're having fun.