Storms cancel first night of Lincoln pride festival but won’t rain on parade

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A thunderstorm forced Star City Pride to cancel Friday night’s festival.

Organizers said there are always discussions about safety before an event like this.

Andrew Dominguez Farias, the Star City Pride event board president, said before the storm hit that the group has permanent awnings for shelter.

“Overall, we’re encouraging people to make the best judgment for themselves,” Dominguez Farias said. “We typically have rain every single year at our festival, regardless of what the weather is.”

UPDATE: Lincoln pride parade canceled after storm damages festival lot

The Friday and Saturday festival is being held in a parking lot in the Haymarket. More than 4,000 people are expected to attend.

And since the organizers knew bad weather was possible, they took as many precautions for the tents as they could.

“We wrap some pretty heavy sandbags and concrete bricks around them,” Dominguez Farias said. “So every single tent has been weighed down.”

But a heavy downpour forced people to run for cover.

And around 7 p.m., organizers announced that Friday night’s festivities were canceled.

But celebrations continue Saturday morning.

The Pride Parade starts at 10 a.m. and will circle the State Capitol building.

The festival starts again in the Haymarket at noon.