Festivals and Parades Are Canceled Amid US Immigration Anxiety
From LA to Pittsburgh, fears over immigration raids are dampening cultural vibrancy as events are canceled. Those that go forward are taking extraordinary precautions.
International parades and festivals are both community gathering spots but also sources of revenue for many cultural groups.
Photographer: Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images
Pittsburgh had planned to host its first-ever local World Cup this summer, a community soccer competition inspired by the global tournament and aimed at celebrating the city’s cultural diversity. The weeks-long event, which was set to begin in June, would have featured teams made up of residents from the city’s vast immigrant community, who’d play under the flags of their national origins.
But city officials called off the games amid growing anxieties over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. The city also canceled its annual International Parade and Festival, which previously brought out vendors and performers from dozens of cultural groups. In a statement from Mayor Ed Gainey’s office to Bloomberg, spokesperson Olga George said both events were canceled out of “an abundance of caution” after consulting with residents and community stakeholders.