ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA) — A restaurant owner in Orlando came up with a creative, community-oriented response to the state order removing rainbow crosswalks and other street murals last month.
Trina Gregory, who owns Se7enbites, opened up 49 of her private parking spaces and invited local artists to fill them with bite-sized murals.
“Art has always been a form of resistance and healing,” Gregory wrote on Facebook. “If our state leaders want to erase symbols of pride and acceptance, then we’ll create even more of them.”
The restaurateur told NBC affiliate WESH that the event was in response to the state removing the Pulse memorial rainbow crosswalk, and that there were over 1,000 local artists interested in participating.
The event, which Gregory called ‘Parking Spaces for Pride,’ was held on Monday and featured food trucks, local vendors and live music. It was described as a “space for LGBTQ+ individuals, allies, and neighbors to come together.”
The state’s decision to remove all street artwork and murals was met with fierce pushback from across the state, including in St. Petersburg, where residents responded to the order by replacing the artwork with chalk.
Gregory said ‘Parking Spaces for Pride’ will be a recurring event, where local artists can show off their talent and the community can come together to celebrate “a powerful message of resilience.”
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