Rain forces Palm Beach Pride to cancel Saturday events but Sunday parade to go on

LAKE WORTH BEACH — The 32nd annual Palm Beach Pride event was forced to cancel its Saturday festivities because heavy rains overnight flooded Lake Worth Beach's Bryant Park, but the parade Sunday is expected to go on as scheduled.

In West Palm Beach, rainfall of 3.47 inches was measured Friday through 11:59 p.m., breaking the previous record of 1.64 inches set in 1925.

Saturday's Pride events, which included performances by the JD Danner Band and the Mushroots, was scheduled for noon to 6 p.m., but organizers said with more showers expected to move through Saturday it was best to cancel the programs for the day.

"Safety is first in all things we do and we do not feel that it will be possible to ensure people's safety," a statement from sponsor Compass said. "We appreciate the outpouring of support from our community, vendors, volunteers, and sponsors and we will do everything in our power to have an amazing experience for everyone on Sunday, March 24."

More: LGBTQ event: West Palm country music star highlights annual Palm Beach Pride Festival

The parade Sunday, which has more than 100 groups participating, begins at 11 a.m. on Lake Avenue. The hour-long parade has in recent years attracted 25,000 to 30,000 people, who then can attend Palm Beach Pride events in Bryant Park. Sunday entertainers include country music star Brooke Eden, actor and comedian Daniel Franzese and popular drag queen Melissa St. John.

Julie Seaver, CEO of Compass, had hoped that Saturday's events could go forward even with some rain, but it would be difficult for vendors to set up and entertainers to perform with Bryant Park flooded.

"It's been a really tough year for the LGBTQ community so we need a safe space to celebrate our families, friends and loved ones," Seaver said in an interview Friday. "We really need Pride more than every this year."

The rains are expected to end late Saturday with Sunday forecast to be mostly sunny and breezy with a high of 77 degrees.

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Pride festival cancels Saturday but Sunday's parade still planned