top of page
Venice Pride Festival
2022!
On November 12th of 2022, Venice Pride and other organizations held a festival on Centennial Park located on the island of Venice, FL.
Venice Pride had a permit that was clear that all events were for "all Ages." This allowed the group to rent out Centennial Park that Saturday. Again, the permit described the event as acceptable for "all ages." A friend of mine, Melissa Bakondy, stated on Flvoicenews.com, "I saw a scantily clad drag queen walking through the park, visible to families and children. I saw children and families perusing through the aisles of multiple pro-LBGTQ booths. One reading 'pussy power' and selling T-shirts that say the same. Another with the dildo ring toss, etc."
We should not only look at this as evil and unacceptable, but biblically speaking, this is an abomination. For one, we see cross-dressing, which is addressed in Deuteronomy 22:5: "A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God."
We also know that when we reject God, He eventually gives us over to our sins. This would explain why no one there understood why what they were doing in front of the children was not considered evil and wrong. Romans 1:26-27 "For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature: and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error."
The City of Venice did approve of the event, not knowing that there were going to be drag queens in the location performing adult material. Not only did the City of Venice not know, but they also did not approve of the drag queens overall. This was what I was told by a City staff member. When I asked why it was allowed to continue and why the police didn't do anything, he responded that it would have caused trouble, and that's not what they are looking for.
My first thought to that response was that the City of Venice is made of cowards who do not fear God.
1 Corinthians 16:13 is encouragement to the church of Corinth: "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong."
Revelation 21:8 "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
The organization CAN Community Health, which featured a sex-toy ring toss game, issued a statement explaining why they chose to include this present during the festival. This organization provides treatment and care for individuals who have HIV. Roger Capote, who is vice president of CAN claimed on WWSB that they used this game as an 'icebreaker' to have discussions on safe sex. Roger Capote tells WWSB:
"We do apologize for any way that it was misconstrued,” Capote told WWBS. “Unfortunately, there are a lot of false accusations being made out in the community of what we were doing, but the activities we do provide and the services we provide are geared toward adults.”
CAN on Tuesday, 11/15/22, released a statement
"does not provide medical care to minors under 18 years old without parental consent. Our events and our activities are never advertised as children’s events and are used as ice-breakers to destigmatize our employees’ specialized and very sensitive conversations with community members.”
On Nov 14th, 2022, Venice, Fl Pride officially uploaded photos of the festival. None of the images on the site shows any evidence of anything slightly inappropriate. Are they trying to hide something?
This event was not advertised throughout Venice. The event was advertised only on their pages, on Social Media, or a poster located on Venice Island in Centennial Park.
A board member of Venice Pride by the name of Nancy Wilson, who organized the festival on 11/12/22, told WWSB that the festival itself was successful, also stating,
“We’re so excited to provide a community and family-friendly atmosphere for people to celebrate the diversity that is our community," Wilson noted to WWSB. "We had performers, churches, and groups. It was an enjoyable and amazing experience."
Nancy Wilson also adds,
“We’d like to unpack that. There may be some misunderstandings. It’s important for us and the city to talk through what was in our program, how it lines up with Pride events all over the state. People spread misinformation. We need to be sure we’re communicating clearly.”
It's not a misunderstanding or a miscommunication if their flyer contains "Kids Korner and more..." Even the drag queen under the name of Georgia Moore is a High School history teacher.
Their site advertising the event, which was released on August 23rd, 2022, made it clear that it's "Something for everyone."
There was no MISCOMMUNICATION!
As the festival began, the event got worse by the minute. Performers soon went up to sing as drag queens started to dance to the music. Children were present during these performances.
The reason I chose to attend this event was to share the Gospel with those who are open to hearing. I printed out my flyers and tracks and gave away bracelets and Bibles. I handed out all 40 Flyers I had printed the night before, which was a success. I had two banners, a table full of resources, and much more.
At the beginning of the event at 11 am, I was approached by two men who claimed to have a permit. In the license, both men declared that where I was set up was in their rented area. They warned us that if we did not move across the road, they would call the police, to which we would have to relocate, to which I responded, "go tell the police" because we were on taxpayer property (the sidewalk). The two men approached the police, located at Centennial Park's entrance. The men eventually leave the police and do not return to us. The officers stood there, knowing we were within our rights to be on the sidewalk.
On Nov 8th, 2022, at 11:37, 4 Days before the festival started, I emailed the churches in Venice, Florida, explaining that there was going to be an event promoting "Love & Acceptance" for the LGBT Community. At the end of the email, I asked if anyone would answer this call and if they would contact me. The only response I received was from the Holy Spirit Orthodox Church in Venice, Florida. The Priest of that church responded.
Fr. Stephen Lourie
"If you can shut them down, won't they also be able to shut you down?
Do they not have a constitutional right to do this, no matter how much we might disagree with it?
Of course, we allow it in our backyard; this is a free country.
I really can't imagine Christ and the Apostles carrying protest signs.
Freedom works for all of us, not just for Christians."
After receiving this email, I knew I would not get help from my local churches.
The rest of what I have provided on my site are videos and photos of the event from beginning to end. These photos and videos are graphic and contain material not meant for children.
Photos
Videos
John 3:19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.”
Galatians 5:19-21 “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. As I did before, I warn you that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Why was the church SILENT on this event? Are they afraid? Ashamed? Scared to speak out?
If you would like to join me in sharing the love and acceptance of Christ Jesus, contact me on my social media.
bottom of page