Our Roots: Pride Month

Welcome to the June edition of Our Roots! This month, we celebrate Pride Month, a time dedicated to honoring and uplifting the LGBTQ+ community. As we come together to recognize the progress made towards equality and inclusion, we also acknowledge the work that still lies ahead.

PrideFest

Kicking off Pride Month, the City of Kissimmee hosted PrideFest for its eighth year. The city worked closely with Kissimmee Police Department to make the event safe and secure for everyone involved. Read more about the fun event here!

New art installation for Pride Month

Big, bright and beautiful: Downtown Orlando is home to the temporary new art installation “No Place Like Home.” It’s set to stay in place until at least through July. See the installation and downtown-goers’ reactions here!

OPD LGBTQ+ initiatives

Orlando LGBTQ+ residents can benefit from the Orlando Police Department’s LGBTQ+ Liaison team. This team works to ensure fair and respectful treatment of the community by providing a block of instruction for new recruits on LGBTQ+ competency, terminology, pronoun usage, and local resources. Read more about this team and these resources here!

June is Pride Month, but it’s not the only time Orlando celebrates our LGBTQ+ community! Mark your calendars for October 19th, when we have our 2024 Come Out With Pride event that lasts from noon to 10 p.m. The event takes place around National Coming Out Day to honor those who may have one day a year to be themselves. Get more information on this event here.

Next month is July, where we’ll celebrate Independence Day and summer festivities! If you have any questions, concerns, or story ideas, please reach out to me at bellis@wkmg.com.