Mother Nature vs Pride & Safety
OpEd by Gary Snyder
The challenge with bringing together our LGBTQIA+ family for pride is that inevitably we cannot make everyone happy. That was apparent before, during, and after this year's Pride on the Bay 2024 Pridefest hosted by Northwest PA Pride Alliance. Ultimately a concern for the safety of attendees, vendors, and volunteers due to a tornado watch resulted in ending the delayed event. As someone who has hosted, organized, coordinated, participated in, and volunteered with gatherings from a handful to thousands of people, this was not easy nor could it be.
Over the past few years, Erie's Pridefest has grown immensely. So much so, Perry Square as the host venue became difficult to manage from a crowd flow and overall safety perspective. Last year SWAT vehicles were deployed in response to protest activities reported at other prides in the United States. Prior to this year, Liberty Park was a consideration but consistently was booked the same date for another event. That changed for 2024. Months of research for multiple venues was conducted for a comparison of options that would allow the event to not only grow in size, but also address the growing safety needs of thousands of attendees.
When it comes to working with teams of staff from Public Safety, Emergency Response units, Law Enforcement, and beyond, the ability to assure everyone has an opportunity to be proud without concern for harassment or harm gets very complex. This included contractually mandated security detail, establishing safety checks, while accounting for constant updates from the National Weather Service, and balancing the wants / needs of sponsors, vendors, entertainers, and volunteers.
This is all behind-the-scenes and not really seen or known by the public that lines up to be seen, heard, accepted, and welcomed at Pride. And honestly, they shouldn't have to think much about these things. We take a lot for granted during public activities when we show up to have a good time. And yes, it is completely fair to be critical when things do not turn out like we want or meet expectations.
Immediately after making the decision to cancel the event for everyone's health and safety, online opinions began posting. You should have Well I would've Absolutely we that volunteered to organize / manage the event could have done things differently. No one is perfect and to expect as much is futile. Ultimately a tough call was made that broke many hearts including myself and others that were soaked to the bone working to pull off a new version of Pridefest for Erie County.
My hope is that lessons learned from this year will inform the development of future events. This could include contingency plans for outdoor activities that have to quickly pivot to contractual indoor venue spaces with either sponsors or the attendees incurring the costs. Celebrating pride can be joyful but it takes human power, involvement, and in today's society funding to make it happen. It usually takes rain to make a rainbow, let's shine on.
