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River City Pride History
Publisher/Executive Editor: David Vandygriff publisher@cityxtramagazine.com
- David Vandygriff
River City Pride Parade Route - Jake Russell
Parade Marshal Richard Ceriello -James Smith
Creative Designer: Jason Smith designer@cityxtramagazine.com Sales Department: Carlos Martinez sales@cityxtramagazine.com
We Are Straight Allies -Chevara Orrin
Headliners Thea Austin & Cazwell -David Vandygriff
Editor In Chief: Harvey Carr editor@cityxtramagazine.com
cityXtra Magazine is published by cityXtra Magazine, LLC. 2941 Plum Street Jacksonville, FL 32205 (904) 410-9592 www.cityxtramagazine.com Like us on Facebook/cityxtramag Twitter/cityxtra
Contributing Writers Laura Riggs, Dr. Harvey Carr, Attorney Gordon Nicol, Meredith O’Malley Johnson, Tina Vaughn, Jake Moore, Tyler Curry Editor HIV Equal Online, Sebastian Fortino, David Vandygriff, Joey Amato Publisher Unite Magazine
night life JACKSONVILLE Boot Rack: 4751 Lenox Blvd. (904) 384-7090 bootrack.com Bo’s Club: 201 5th Ave. N. (Jax Beach) (904) 246-9874 bosclub.com
ORLANDO Parliament House: 410 Orange Blossom Trail (407) 425-7571 parliamenthouse.com ST. PETERSBURG
Club Jax: 1939 Hendricks Ave. (904) 398-7451 clubjax.com
Flamingo Resort: 4601 34th St. S (727) 321-5000 flamingofla.com
Hamburger Mary’s: 3333-1 Beach Blvd. (904) 551-2048 hamburgermarys.com/jax
Sporters Bar: 187 Dr. MLK St. N (9th St.) (727) 821-1920
Incahoots: 711 Edison Ave. (904) 353-6316 Park Place: 931 King St. (904) 389-6616 Metro: 859 Willow Branch Ave. (904) 388-7192 metrojax.com Norm’s Alibi: 2952 Roosevelt (904) 384-0029
TAMPA (Ybor) Bradley’s on 7th: 1510 E 7th Ave (813) 241-2723 Liquid Tampa: 1502 E 7th (813) 248-6104 liquidtampa.com
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RIVER CITY PRIDE HSTORY By David Vandygriff
The year was 1978, nine years after the Stonewall riots that gave birth to the gay rights movement and Jacksonville celebrated its’ first Gay Pride Festival with a large picnic at Willow Branch Park, thus becoming yet another city nationwide to be out and proud. The Lesbian & Gay Community Center of Jacksonville (LGCAJ) was subsequently Project, the FCP HIV Testing Project, the Ray established receiving its’ 501 (c) (3) status in Castro Foundation of the Arts, MyOITC.com November of 1989. community portal and Steppin Out Networking Socials. In the years that followed, LGCAJ became an umbrella organization for many community Despite the largest crowd in its’ 30 year history for service projects and the stepping stone for other the parade, block party and a successful scaled non-profit start ups in Jacksonville such as: Out & back festival, low revenue would mark 2008 as About, Jacksonville Gay Pride, Unity Leadership, the final year in the long history of pride Safe School Coalition, The Lesbian Breast celebrations in Jacksonville. The year would also Cancer Outreach Project and First Coast Chorus. bring an end to the newspaper, Out in the City, due to dwindling ad revenue sources and the In 1999, the future of LGCAJ began to look bleak inability to secure an editor in chief. as many of the board members had left to pursue other endeavors/careers and some had become First Coast Pride/Merge Inc. disassembled in victim of the AIDS epidemic. With the organization 2009 as the majority of board members had in limbo, attorney Kim Blankenship stepped resigned for various personal reasons and funding forward to reinstate the organization along with was non-existent due to lack of leadership in the Jacksonville Gay Pride Committee. The sponsorship efforts. While there were attempts to organization was then renamed; Community resuscitate the organization unsubstantiated Rainbows, Inc. rumors/claims/accusations of large indebtedness and funding issues took its’ toll on all who were Two years later at the end of 2001, the trying to put the organization back together and all Jacksonville Gay Pride Committee became First pride activities were canceled. Coast Pride, Inc. acquiring the umbrella organization and re-established the Out & About In 2010, Jerry Rosenberg compiled a group of newspaper as Out In The City. After many years, persons interested in bringing back a pride 2001 also marked the last year the annual Pride organization to Jacksonville and River City Pride Festival was held at the fairgrounds and in 2002 was born. Starting with zero dollars, the LGBT FCP moved the festival to the Sea Walk Pavilion community came together and re-established a in Jacksonville Beach. In 2008 the name was Pride Parade and Pride Festival in October, 2010 once again changed from First Coast Pride, Inc. to coincide with Coming Out Day. The River City to Merge, Inc. with the festival moving to Pride Organization not only raised enough dollars Riverside Park. to finance the 2010 events but also made it possible to continue the events in 2011. At one time prior to 2008, the following organizations were housed under the 501 (c) (3) As of November, 2011, River City Pride was apumbrella of Community Rainbows, Inc.: First proaching a revenue balance exceeding $30,000 Coast Pride, Out in the City, the NEFL Names to take the tradition into 2012 and beyond.
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River City Pride Parade 2015 By Jake Russell
START TIME: 4:00 pm on October 3, 2015 START LOCATION: Boone Park From Boone Park, turn left onto St Johns Avenue Continue for one mile to McDuff Avenue Turn left onto McDuff Avenue and continue for half of a mile Turn right onto Park Street and continue for one mile Stay left at caution light to Riverside Park END: 5 Points Business District
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RCP Parade Marshal Richard Ceriello By James Smith Richard Ceriello is a local activist introducing the community to like minded candidates from Republicans to Democrats. Richard is well known for one of the most avid art lover and collector in Jacksonville.
generations to come. Richard is very known as PFLAG Jacksonville’s largest annual donor with the If ever you should be honored to receive an White Party raising $20,000 annual for the dinner invitation from Richard you won’t be PFLAG Scholarship Program. disappointed. His Friday night small dinner parties are just as famous as his non profit work within our local community. FYI don’t be a no show to such an invite. River City Pride is proud to announce our Parade Marshall for 2015 as Richard Ceriello. Please share in our enthusiasm and say thank you to Richard for endless non profit work within our wonderful Jacksonville LGBTQ Community.
Nobody compares to the iconic status achieved through respect and compassion as that of Richard Ceriello. The thousands of dollars raised over the past 3-4 decades for LGBT College Scholarships has influenced endless lives for
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We Are Straight Allies By Chevara Orrin
Two months ago, I visited Pensacola for the first time as we began our We Are Straight Allies statewide expansion. No different than many communities throughout our nation, I found beautiful conscious humans grappling with the intersection of injustice and freedom: racism, homophobia, homelessness, the criminalization of homophobia, equality. Shit, now I was mad, too. poverty, and economic, education & healthcare All was not lost. A lovely gay activist stopped by to disparity. chat and picked up our tab after Father Monk told Breakfast at the Coffee Cup, a local gathering him what I was doing in the Panhandle. spot (kinda reminded me of "Mel's Diner) with Of course, I couldn't wait to get to Graffiti Bridge. Father Nathan Monk, Orthodox priest and What greeted me was an American flag and "F*** homeless advocate who gave up his priesthood in Fags!" the spirit of commitment to his beliefs about LGBT Father Monk shared that for the past two and a equality, was insightful and inspiring. He shared half weeks, a group of less than stellar human stories of his personal journey and work, recent beings from a tiny town 45 miles away had come tension and vitriol surrounding the Confederate to paint a rebel flag on the bridge. Townspeople flag and marriage equality, and hipped me to the waited them out and repainted. Each day. Graffiti Bridge (more formally known as the 17th I walked around the bridge, taking photographs, Avenue railroad trestle). stopping to read each line, trying to visualize the The bridge is a community canvas, a public humans whose hearts were hardened with such discourse space with no real "rules." A place hate. Teetering in six inch heels on rocks, broken where art & expression collide with politics and glass and sand as cars whizzed by whimsy. Artists paint daily, covering each other's When I'd had enough artist expression, I made my work. From memorials to Mardi Gras, portraits of way back to my car parked near the river bank. A Jesus and rainbow flags. family was preparing to sail. "DIXSEA" was her Midway through our conversation, we were name. I stood in the sweltering sun and watched interrupted by a late 30something white woman. them until they were only a speck against the She apologized for intruding and then said, "It's horizon. All the while, breathing deeply, filled with obvious you people aren't from around here, but rage, sorrow, shame and exhaustion. you could try a little Southern Hospitality! My child can hear your vulgar conversation!" She snatched A few feet away, two deeply sunkissed wrinkled men sat on the bank. One looked up, "Hey pretty her son by the arm and dragged him out of the lady, I like your bright dress. You a reporter? "No restaurant while I wrapped my mind around the sir, just passing through." "Ask her, Sam. She narrow and scary world she inhabits and picked looks like she outta know." He pointed to the boat my mouth up from the floor. in the distance. "Ain't that 'sposed to be taken A moment longer and I would have told her that down? All them Confederate flags?" yes, I am a daughter of the South, raised on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi River, in a cotton This week, I journeyed back to the Panhandle and added our voice to Graffiti Bridge. town with the same putrid history as Pensacola. I quickly asked Father Monk if I had dropped any Thankful for ancestors who despite weary bodies, "F" bombs. He laughed. Ohhhhh....right...the hearts and minds, kept it moving for my freedom. vulgarity of publicly discussing racism,
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RCP Headliners: Thea Austin & Cazewell By David Vandygriff
The #1 Pop & Dance Hit Songs Thea performs in her shows: Rhythm is a Dancer (aka Snap), I Got the Power (aka Snap), I'm Addicted To You (aka Pusaka), Can't Get Enough (aka SoulSearcher), Just About Had Enough (a big circuit hit). Thea Austin, the (5 octave) former lead singer for SNAP, wrote and sang the massive #1 pop hit "Rhythm is a Dancer." Thea is also the current lead singer of the dance group SoulSearcher, Thea, also had a huge club hit with the songs "Can't Get Enough" and "Do It To Me Again." In the US recording under the group name of Pusaka (featuring Thea Austin), Thea lends her vocals to the smash hit "I'm Addicted To You" aka "You're the Worst Thing for Me" (written by Thea, Chris Cox and DJ Irene, and then remixed by Chris Cox & DJ Irene) which is being heralded as THE anthem for the summer, and was rushed out as a remix single on May 8th, by Tommy Boy Records. "DMA Magazine" gave this new song 5 Stars, and when the song was tested at the Winter Music Conference, it turned out to be a SMASH HIT with the DJ's! That's why it has ZOOMED to the top of the Billboard dance charts, and became the #1 dance song in the country. The song was heard on radio, and on the hit TV shows "Queer as Folk," and "Sex in the City." At the Winter Music Conference, the song won the award for "Best Underground 12"." Ministry of Sound, out of the UK, recently released remixes of her # 1 Pop/Dance hit "Rhythm Is A Dancer." Along with the new
remixes is a hot new video which stars Thea and was shot in London. Needless to say this new version of the classic song "Rhythm Is A Dancer" and video has reignited dance clubs and radio stations all over the world all over again. Thea lives in Los Angeles.
Rapper Cazwell is one of the more colorful characters to arrive on the NYC club scene since the ’90s heyday of Deee-Lite and RuPaul. He fires off raunchy rhymes over bumping club-friendly beats, boasts a distinctive visual flair, and knows how to rock a crowd live. His wicked verbal dexterity has prompted some critics to compare him with another blond MC with a big gay following, but it’s hard to imagine Eminem dropping lines like “Take off the Speedo/ I’ll eat you like a Cheeto/You knew I was a freak/ Don’t look surprised/When your ankles end up behind your eyes” (from the Cazwell tune “Do You Wanna Break Up?”) … , or “Ice Cream Truck.”
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