WILTON MANORS, Fla. – The Stonewall Pride Parade and Street Festival is on in the city of Wilton Manors with events all day starting at 3 p.m. and a twilight parade at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 18. The festival closes at 11 p.m.
And while security is always a No. 1 priority for the city, Mayor Scott Newton says that it doesn’t come cheap.
“I’ll tell you one thing, I will never ever, because of money, not have a safe environment for all of us to enjoy the event,” Newton said.
He said there really isn’t much change in security this year except for changes in the amount of money that is being given to the city to help with security.
“It’s the same amount of people and the same amount of money, the difference is BSO used to give us $35,000 in-kind,” he said.
This year, Broward County Sheriff’s Office is giving half of that.
But Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony told Local 10 News that he will provide deputy patrols. A spokesman for Tony said not only will BSO provide patrols; his investigators are monitoring social media for any possible threats.
Wilton Manors City Commissioner Chris Caputo said that the bill to secure the event went up from roughly $50,000 to a shocking $92,000.
But, Caputo said, “come this Saturday there’s going to be no place that is safer or more fabulous than Wilton Manors.”
Still, the required number of officers, hours, and equipment to secure the festival has been rising every year and Broward County, which usually provides resources at no cost, pulled out of the festival this year. “They have their own budget concerns,” Caputo said.
There is an admission charge to get into the event. On the Stonewall Pride website, it states that the money is used to pay for public safety, security, and the half-a-million dollar price tag of producing the event.
There is a $10 admission fee at the gate to get in. They accept cash or credit. If you buy your ticket in advance, you can save $3. Here’s info.
“Security is of the utmost importance, not only for this year but every year that we have Stonewall Pride being that it’s a marginalized community that does have hate attacks associated with it,” says Jameer Baptiste, one of the lead organizers of the event.
The rising costs come in light of rising concerns over recent mass shootings and threats against other pride events across the country. There was a recent incident in West Palm Beach, where police said a Canadian teenager made credible threats earlier this month and was arrested.
“We have an abundance of security staff and police on-site at all times. We do ask the public as you are enjoying the event to please remain vigilant. Anything you can think of that would be a protective measure for an event of this size and of this capacity, we have definitely thought about and have implemented in the strategy and it is reflected in the cost that we spend,” Baptiste said.
Baptiste said it is one of the most expensive pride events as far as security costs go in all of South Florida because of the outside sources that are brought in. He said the end goal and priority is to make sure everyone is safe.