RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Pride announced Tuesday that its annual PrideFest, held on Brown’s Island in late September, is canceled due to concerns and uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival, which draws more than 40,000 attendees, was slated for Saturday, September 26.
Virginia Pride says cancellation was made out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the artists, volunteers, vendors, patrons and sponsors.
“Our first and foremost concern is for the health and safety of our community,” said James Millner, President of Virginia Pride. “While there was some hope that restrictions on larger outdoor events would have eased by September, we could not, in good conscience, hold an event that put anyone at risk.”
Millner says Virginia Pride has formed a special committee to explore the possibility for virtual programming for the remainder of the year.
“We know this will be disappointing to our LGBTQ community and our allies. But, we are resilient. We will not let this steal our pride,” Millner said.
This will be only the second time in 40 years that Richmond has not had some sort of annual pride event.
