Dayton Pride in-person celebration canceled; event turns virtual

Dayton Pride 2019 kicked off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 31 with performances by the Dayton Gay Men’s Chorus, The Rubi Girls and the pop duo REYNA at Levitt Pavilion in Dave Hall Plaza in downtown Dayton. TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Credit: Tom Gilliam

Credit: Tom Gilliam

Dayton Pride 2019 kicked off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 31 with performances by the Dayton Gay Men’s Chorus, The Rubi Girls and the pop duo REYNA at Levitt Pavilion in Dave Hall Plaza in downtown Dayton. TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

After being postponed from its original June 5 kickoff to Aug. 21-23, the in-person Dayton Pride celebration has been canceled. Plans are in the works for a virtual version of the event.

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Dayton Pride, a celebration of the LGBT community in the Miami Valley, is hosted by the Greater Dayton LGBT Center and typically includes a parade, festival, bar crawl, musical performances and other events.

"It is with heavy hearts that the Greater Dayton LGBT Center Board of Directors has decided to cancel in-person LGBTQIA+ Pride for Dayton this year," said the Greater Dayton LGBT Center in a Facebook post. "We originally postponed the events for Pride weekend from June to August hoping the local effects of the COVID pandemic would have been minimized by that time. Unfortunately, it is painfully obvious that we are not able to hold large gatherings and parades such as Pride without risking the health and wellbeing of our community."

Though no further details have been announced, the Greater Dayton LGBT Center will be shifting its Aug. 22 celebration from in-person to online, with a televised and Facebook Live event from 1-3 p.m. According to organizers, this online celebration will be similar to the annual Pride State Show, which features local speakers and entertainment.

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More details regarding the virtual Dayton Pride event will be announced in the coming weeks, so be sure to stay tuned to the Greater Dayton LGBT Center's Facebook page and website.

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