Tim Frye, the coordinator of the 2021 Pride Parade, told Windy City Times that the assessment of this year's event has not changed over the last few weeks.
The official statement/assessment at this point is: "We are waiting for municipal guidance for a late summer/early fall Pride Parade. We will be sending out a general information email in a few weeks. The application forms will go out when we have a better concept of the timing for a safe event. We had to cancel last year's parade. We're cautiously optimistic that we can go forwardmaybe a little later than usualthis year."
In an email to Windy City Times, Frye said, "Parades are not ticketed or in some other way limited audience participation events. Most, if not all of the events currently on schedule for this summer have limited/controlled entry for participants. We understand the need for this type of safety protocol early in the reopening process. We have always felt that our ability to have a parade this year would require a longer time period between the beginning of re-opening and when it would be safe for very large crowds to gather. In other words, the longer the period of increasing safety, the better to feel confident to have a large event such as the Pride Parade.
"We don't want to cancel again unless there is no other choice. That's why we feel that a possible late summer or even early fall Pride Parade is better than having no parade this year. In 2022, of course, we will be returning the parade to the last Sunday in June."
"We're not ruling out anything, but we feel this is the far more likely scenario."
L.A. Pride revealed that its parade will be virtual for a second consecutive year, while Philly Pride said a revamped Philadelphia LGBTQ Pride Festivalwithout its normal parade lead-inis being moved to Sept. 4, although the parade option for Philadelphia may change if restrictions are relaxed.