Hundreds of community members attend free celebration presented by Project Pride SRQ and Senior Friendship Centers
On June 6, Project Pride SRQ and Senior Friendship Centers collaborated to present Silver Pride 2026, a free Pride Month celebration of LGBTQ+ community members ages 50 and better. It featured live entertainment, food from Mellow Mushroom, tabling by local vendors and community partners, and information about resources available for senior-related services, as well as LGBTQ+ support and advocacy, the nonprofit organziations have announced.
The event provided “plentiful excitement and fun,” a news release notes.
More than 700 members of the public were estimated at the celebration, which was held at the Senior Friendship Centers Sarasota facility over the course of the afternoon, the release adds, pointing out. “This was Project Pride SRQ’s largest-attended event of the year to-date.”
“The partnering organizations dedicated the day to Honoring Our Past, Celebrating Our Future, as icons from the LGBTQ+ community were celebrated,” the release continues. “At least 30 couples who have been together for five, 10, 15 – even as many as 60 years – were recognized for paving the way, with love and authenticity, for future generations,” the release adds.
“Older LGBTQ+ adults helped make today’s visibility possible,” said Project Pride SRQ interim Executive Director Justyn Hunter-Ceruti in the release. “This event has allowed us to celebrate their legacy while also reminding the broader community that inclusion must extend across every age and stage of life,” Hunter-Ceruti added in the release.
“Our collaboration with Senior Friendship Centers is meaningful because it connects LGBTQ+ inclusion with the broader work of aging, wellness, dignity and community connection,” he continued. “Our partnership helps ensure LGBTQ+ older adults are included not as an afterthought, but as an important part of the community we are all building together.”
Among the live entertainers were the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Azara Ballet, Diversity Voices Choir, Dingbat Theatre Project, Tap Kats, Dame Lindsay Carlton-Cline, and DJ Janine, the release notes.
A panel presentation, with the theme Aging Out Loud: LGBTQ+ Life, Legacy, and Belonging Across Generations, was moderated by local television personality Joey Panek, the release says. It featured the following panelists: Christie Castro, CEO of HomeWell Care Services of Manasota; Chris Covelli, chef and owner of Sage Restaurant; Christine Jennings, board member of Senior Friendship Centers and Sunshine From Darkness; and MJ Jianelli, director of strategy at Orenda Health and Wellness, the release adds.
“Senior Friendship Centers believes connection is essential at every age,” said Declan Sheehy, chief advancement officer for Senior Friendship Centers, in the release. “Through our partnership with Project Pride SRQ, we have been thrilled to create a welcoming space where LGBTQ+ seniors and allies can gather, celebrate love, access resources, and be reminded that they are valued,” Sheehy noted.
“Major sponsors were HomeWell Care Services, Celebration Stage Sponsor; Bank of America, Annual Season Supporter; and Aviva Senior Living, Bath Fitters, Dan Denton, Humane Society of Sarasota County, Millennium Physician Group, and Sarasota County Democratic Senior Caucus, Ally Sponsors.”
For more information about Project Pride SRQ, visit ppsrq.org. For more details about Senior Friendship Centers, visit friendshipcenters.org.