PHOTOS: St. Petersburg raises the Pride flag during Shine with Pride 2026

Elected officials and representatives from St Pete Pride June 4. (Photo by Ryan Williams-Jent)

ST. PETERSBURG | City officials and LGBTQ+ advocates gathered at St. Petersburg City Hall June 4 from 8 a.m.-noon, raising the Pride flag during this year’s Shine with Pride.

The celebration marked the 13th time St. Petersburg has raised the flag above City Hall for Pride Month. This year was the first time it was held in conjunction with Shine with Pride, which featured local vendors and giveaways.

The ceremony began at 9 a.m. with remarks from St. Petersburg LGBTQ+ Liaison Nathan Bruemmer. He was joined at the podium by Mayor Ken Welch, members of the St. Petersburg City Council, state Representatives Michele Rayner and Lindsay Cross, Pinellas County School Board Chair Caprice Edmond, representatives of St Pete Pride and other local leaders.

“Thank you all for being here as we recognize the contributions, resilience and diversity of our LGBTQ+ community and reaffirm our commitment to continuing to building a city where everyone feels welcome and valued,” Bruemmer began. He subsequently introduced St. Petersburg City Council Chair Lisset Hanewicz.

“You belong. Period,” she addressed the crowd. “You belong in this city, you belong at the table, you belong in our schools, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods, in our houses of worship, in City Hall and every place where the future of St. Petersburg is shaped. You are valued, and no matter what anyone tries to tell you — whether it comes from a bully, a law, a headline or even that voice in your head that sometimes whispers otherwise — you are not alone.”

Hanewicz noted that message was particularly important ahead of the 10-year mark of Pulse, detailed in our current issue.

“Next week marks 10 years since the horrific tragedy at Pulse nightclub in Orlando,” she said. “Forty nine lives were taken in an act of hatred and violence that forever changed Florida’s LGBTQ+ community and our state. The people we lost were friends and partners, neighbors and co-workers, people with dreams, relationships and futures that were taken far too soon. We hold their families, their loved ones and the survivors in our hearts and we honor them not only by remembering their names but by continuing the work of building communities where everyone can live openly, safe and without fear.”

Rayner spoke next, reflecting on her journey as the first Black, openly LGBTQ+ woman elected to the Florida Legislature and the current political climate.

“Our joy is our resistance. Our showing up as who we are is our resistance,” she said. “Our joy is our protest. Us showing up as who we are is our protest — and in this moment when we are facing forces that are coming at us, we must clearly show up as who we are. So if you are of the community, show up — but also to the accomplices … it’s going to require you to show up in a way that will also cost you something in this moment.”

The mayor followed.

“We will not let our LGBTQ+ community be silenced, we will not allow fear to drown out freedom and we will continue to stand together to speak out and lead with love and courage because that is who we are,” Welch said. “We are a resilient city, we are a compassionate city, we are a welcoming city and we are not going backwards.”

St Pete Pride President Byron Green-Calisch gave the ceremony’s closing remarks. He began by thanking elected officials for standing with the LGBTQ+ community and by praising the St Pete Pride board, its other volunteers and the 2026 Royal Court for shaping this month’s celebration.

“As the first Black board president of St Pete Pride, I do not take this moment lightly,” he said. “I carry with me the names of those who came before us, I carry the weight of our trans siblings — especially our Black and Brown trans siblings, who continue to face relentless assault on their dignity, their safety and their very existence — and to them I say what I will always say. We see you, we need you and you will never stand alone.”

The group subsequently raised the Pride flag before returning to Shine with Pride. Participants took photos in front of City Hall’s rainbow staircase, met with vendors and more.

Watermark Out News was on hand to help celebrate and you can view our photos below. For more information about St Pete Pride 2026, read the official St Pete Pride Guide, also available at all official events and our current issue.

Photos by Ryan Williams-Jent.