{"id":64308,"date":"2026-03-28T23:48:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T03:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=64308"},"modified":"2026-03-29T00:39:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T04:39:18","slug":"polk-pride-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/03\/28\/polk-pride-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Polk Pride 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Across the country, the forecast for Pride has felt uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support has shifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visibility has wavered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spaces have gotten smaller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebrations have scaled back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many in our community, it feels like a storm is closing in\u2026 but we\u2019ve weathered storms before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve stood beneath darkened skies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watched the clouds of adversity gather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And felt the winds of acceptance shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storms have never stopped us. In fact, they\u2019re why Pride exists, to ensure our visibility endures. And to find strength and shelter in each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This storm is no different. And when it passes (as storms do) we\u2019ll still be here\u2014resilient, radiant, and PROUD, like the rainbow that follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introducing Polk Pride 2026: Proud Through The Storm. \"\ud83c\udf08\"\"\u26c8\ufe0f\"<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Polk Pride 2026 is scheduled to take place from June 13 to June 20, 2026<\/strong>, with a series of events held throughout the week in Lakeland.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The signature event, Pride in the Park<\/strong>, will be held on Saturday, June 20, 2026<\/strong>, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Munn Park<\/strong> in Downtown Lakeland.<\/sup> This family-friendly festival typically features local vendors, food trucks, and live entertainment.<\/sup>+1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scheduled Events<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While the full daily itinerary is often finalized closer to the date, the following events are part of the 2026 week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Pride in Faith:<\/strong> Historically a mid-week service (often held at Beacon Hill Fellowship).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Pride for Youth:<\/strong> A dedicated space for younger members of the community (often held at St. David\u2019s Episcopal Church).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Pride After Dark:<\/strong> An evening event (21+) usually following the park festival on June 20.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Pride in the Park:<\/strong> Saturday, June 20, 10:00 AM \u2013 3:00 PM at Munn Park.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Getting Involved<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Volunteering:<\/strong> Opportunities are available for setup, vendor relations, and loading zones. Shift options typically start as early as 6:30 AM on the day of the festival.+1<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Vendors:<\/strong> Registration for the 2026 festival is expected to open soon via the official Polk Pride website.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Monthly Socials:<\/strong> In addition to the main week in June, Polk Pride hosts monthly social events at rotating locations across the county<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Across the country, the forecast for Pride has felt uncertain. Support has shifted. Visibility has wavered. Spaces have gotten smaller. Celebrations have scaled back. For many in our community, it… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDNcLzY1Nzk2MzIzOV8xODU2NDk5MDM0MzAxMjYzOV83NzgxODc3MTc3MDMyNTg4NDZfbi53ZWJwP2ZpdD01MTElMkM2NDAmc3NsPTEiLCJ0eHQiOiJQb2xrIFByaWRlIDIwMjYiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImhpZ2h3YXkiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.jeGWsuFDlqpibAV8Vd8ZyESJRuxWs4s2Pszv1eu9Tq8MQ"},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[14251],"class_list":["post-64308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-polk-pride-2026"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64308"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64312,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64308\/revisions\/64312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}