PRIDE Cape Coral parade celebrates LGBTQ culture in downtown Cape: Photos

Fort Myers News-Press

Cape Coral's LGBTQ pride was on colorful display Saturday for the annual PRIDE Cape Coral parade.

The parade was part of the sixth-annual PRIDE Cape Coral event, which featured vendors, street performers, food trucks and live entertainment onstage Saturday, including drag queen Kylie Sonique Love of "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars."

The parade and its surrounding events celebrate and advocate for LGBTQ culture, organizers say. The parade boasts floats, drag queens and rainbow-colored costumes.

Cape Coral’s 6th Annual PRIDE Celebration parade took place in the downtown area of the city on Saturday. This two-day celebration happens on SE 47th Terrace, between SE 9th Place & SE 11th Place.

“It’s definitely one of the most unique, colorful, exciting parades in Southwest Florida, that’s for sure,” organizer AJ Ford said in 2022. “Everybody dresses up. It’s really fun. …

“It really is a flood of dopamine and serotonin and just being able to see the smiles on everybody’s faces. People cry because they’re finally able to be themselves in public.”

The parade started at about 4 p.m. Saturday and traveled along Southwest 47th Terrace from Southeast 15th Avenue to Southeast Eighth Court.

The two-day PRIDE celebration, including a colorful parade, takes place along SE 47th Terrace in the downtown area of Cape Coral, between SE 9th Place & SE 11th Place.

PRIDE Cape Coral continues Sunday, March 3, with an outdoor brunch and live drag queens − including Kylie Sonique Love − at the corner of Southeast 47th Terrace and Southeast 10th Place in downtown Cape Coral. Tickets for Drag Brunch in the Street are $45.

PRIDE Cape Coral is organized by the nonprofit of the same name. For more information, visit facebook.com/PRIDECapeCoral or pridecapecoral.com.

Spectators lined the route Saturday to catch the unique and colorful parade that celebrates LGBTQ culture.

Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at crunnells@gannett.com. Follow or message him on social media: Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), X (formerly Twitter) (@charlesrunnells), Threads (@crunnells1) and Instagram (@crunnells1).