Vaccines were widely available and as the vaccination rate rose, so too did confidence that we could resume our pre-COVID lives. In June, the Governor lifted the state of emergency.
The world has changed since we first decided to move forward with the October event. Sadly, many who say that also opine that they may not be able to attend because of concerns about the virus." We have heard from many in the community about how excited they are for the October event, and how much they are looking forward to it. We explored the viability, and safety, of several different scenarios before concluding that we needed to cancel, and refocus our energy on producing NJ's 30th LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration in June, 2022. We reached the conclusion that we needed to look critically at whether we could safely hold the event this year. Even with these precautions, however, it was clear that a critical mass of participants was withdrawing from (or at least questioning) participation in Pride. We had also made a determination that we would follow the lead of outdoor event organizers like Live Nation and mandate vaccinations or negative COVID tests for any attendees. It was already clear that we were not going to be able to host the blow-out 30th year event that an anniversary year warranted, and that we should target a modest one this fall. Other prides - like Atlanta Pride - that had rescheduled their 2021 events to the fall have already cancelled. Authoritative consultants raised the spectre that we would be creating a super-spreader event. We are now beginning to get some pushback and cancellations of those who might otherwise have participated in our event this October. As the summer wound to a close, Jersey Pride was forced to confront the reality of a fall surge of the virus - courtesy of both the delta variant and a non-trivial percentage of the population eschewing vaccinations. Jersey Pride, Inc., producers of NJ's Annual Statewide LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration, reluctantly announce that our 30th Annual LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration, held in Asbury Park, will be rescheduled from October 10th, 2021 to June 5, 2022. Save the date - June 5, 2022, in Asbury Park NJ's Annual LGBTQ Pride Celebration