Delray Beach Cancels 2027 St. Patrick’s Parade Under Florida Law

The city of Delray Beach, Florida, has canceled its 2027 St. Patrick’s Day parade and its Pride event, saying a new state law bars it from organizing, funding or promoting them. The mayor now says he is working to keep the March parade going with private funding, according to The Guardian.

The parade regularly draws tens of thousands of visitors to the city near Fort Lauderdale, so the cancellation affects residents, local businesses and people who plan to travel there for the celebration.

What the Florida law restricts

The measure is formally known as Florida Senate Bill 1134. Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed it in April, and it takes effect on Jan. 1. It bars municipalities from hosting events deemed to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, often shortened to DEI.

In a statement, Delray Beach said the restrictions reach certain programming and activities designed or carried out with reference to ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. City officials concluded they were legally prohibited from organizing, funding or promoting the two events in 2027.

Residents and business owners react

The Guardian reports that the decision angered residents and local business owners, who stood to miss two of the most lucrative weekends of their year. Mayor Tom Carney wrote on Facebook that he had received numerous messages from people upset about the cancellations.

Carney said the parade is “engrained in the DNA of the Delray Beach community.” He wrote that he had read the social media posts and emails and that the city is working feverishly with multiple entities so the 2027 parade goes ahead as scheduled. He did not give details and said he would post regular updates.

What this means for visitors and the weekend in March

For now, the city is not organizing the parade or the Pride event. Whether the parade can be held on its March dates depends on the private arrangements Carney says are being worked out, and he has not yet named who is involved or how the funding would work.

Visitors who were planning around the celebration will have to wait for those updates. The sources do not say what will happen with the Pride event, which the city also canceled.

Other cities and the law’s exemptions

Other Florida cities are assessing where they stand under the law, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported, but no other canceled events are known so far.

The law does not apply to events held on federal holidays that celebrate or promote ethnic diversity. The Guardian lists Martin Luther King Day in January, Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples’ Day in October as examples.

The Guardian describes SB 1134 as one of a flurry of bills passed by Florida’s Republican supermajority in the final full year of DeSantis’s time as governor.

Source: The Guardian