As a festival that brings nearly 200,000 people to St. Pete every year, St. Pete Pride‘s commitment to No Straws St. Pete means a great deal. It’s just the latest in a number of impressive commitments to the movement which is growing, not only in St. Pete, but across Tampa Bay.

“How can we call ourselves St. Pete Pride without having pride in St. Pete,?” said St. Pete Pride board member, J. Aller. “For us as a board, it just made sense to align ourselves and the event with ‘No Straws St. Pete.’ We love our beautiful waterfront city and have a responsibility to help keep it pristine for years to come. Each beverage and food vendor was asked and strongly persuaded to refrain from freely giving straws to parade and festival goers. If a vendor agrees, they will be given a plaque to display their participation.”

The news comes on the heels of recent commitments by the newly opened Lucky’s Market as well as all three Hooters locations in St. Pete and follows the support of other major events including Run Fest St. Pete. While we’ve aimed to keep tabs on all of our partners, we’re learning new ones daily that have simply committed to the idea of making straws available only on request.

At a recent committee hearing at City Hall, councilwoman Wheeler-Bowman cited the movement’s impact on businesses saying she didn’t get a straw with her drink at a recent trip to Joey Brooklyn’s Pizza.

Pete Boland, owner of The Galley, commended the movement’s impact on the consumer saying guests are specifically requesting “no straw please” with their drinks.

As we have said all long, our partners are capable of educating the public simply by making the commitment. With thousands of people descending upon St. Pete for Pride, the impact of their commitment will be felt immediately.

That’s great news for our planet and the Burg, indeed.