Naples PrideFest event affected by Florida’s Protection of Children Act

Reporter: Michelle Alvarez Writer: Paul Dolan
Published: Updated:
Naples Pride Fest. CREDIT: WINK News

The goal for the annual Naples PrideFest is to build resilience, unity and pride within the community.

Getting the event to happen has been a fight for supporters, but there are those who oppose the event too.

The Naples PrideFest event began in 2017, but this year’s event will differ. The show will go on at Cambier Park, but the drag shows will be inside at The Norris Center.

WINK News spoke with the executive director of the Naples Pride event, Cori Craciun, about how the event will differ.

“We are very, very saddened about that, but it was really a very hard decision to make to move the drag show inside, so that’s our VIP area,” Craciun said. “We moved it inside because of the safety to our participants and our community.”

Moreover, to follow Florida’s “Protection of Children Act,” a law prohibiting anyone from knowingly admitting a child to an adult live performance. Supporters of the law said drag shows are not appropriate for kids. Naples Pride still believes the festival is family-friendly.

“It’s the greatest mood and vibe, right? Everybody’s happy. It’s extremely inclusive. You just feel so good being there. It’s just great. Everyone’s polite, everyone says hi, how are you? Everybody’s just, they’re having a good time kind of doing their own thing, too,” Nicki Brock, the Naples Pride president said.

Thousands of people are expected to attend. There will be music, entertainment, food and more at the festival.

“It’s a very welcoming space for everybody of our LGBTQ-plus community and all of our allies as well,” Brock said.

“I think it’s really cool that we’re able to host an event that big and how people feel comfortable and just have kids and family members and everything around,” Naples resident Brittani Cardinale said.

Naples PrideFest starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday and ends at 5 p.m. Tickets are available online or in person.

Naples Police said they’ll be at the event to ensure everything goes smoothly.

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