Two Pride groups merge to create Gulfcoast Pride Festival

Zee Machine, also known as Joe Bissell, said not everyone has been as lucky as he was, growing up in a household where he never felt he had to hide his membership in the LGBTQ+ community. 

The Los Angeles-based musician, who headlined the Gulfcoast Pride Festival, said he hoped to convey that experience through his music, known for its pop-rock-electronic combination.

"I think that kind of like, openness, comes through the music, and I'm hoping that maybe it will rub off on people who may not have felt that growing up," he said. 

Project Pride hosted Sarasota’s largest Pride event on Oct. 25, renamed this year as the Gulfcoast Pride Festival after the organization merged with Manatee Pride for the celebration.

The event featured live performances, food from local restaurants, and a vendor market with more than 100 vendors.  

Tom Edwards, Project Pride's executive director as of August, also said while the organization has done an "amazing" job serving as a social organization, it is also looking to expand its reach.

"The board was forward-thinking enough that they knew that we were moving into an era that required more civic engagement, community building, community programming that really helped build large coalitions of community to help us organize and get the government we deserve," he said. 

Nonetheless, he said that day was a celebratory occasion recognizing the progress the LGBTQ+ movement has made, and a chance for those who have faced bullying or peer pressure to be "out and proud."

"It's also to build community with our allies, and to show, with our allies, that we're just like everybody else," he said. "We have the same values, we have the same care for community, the same love for our higher powers, however we worship, but our only difference is how we love."