DaytOna beach • OrlanDO • tamPa • st. Petersburg • sarasOta • issue 22.21 • OctOber 8 - 21, 2015 • watermarkOnline.cOm
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the Anti-ordinary
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RE-ELECT
Patty Sheehan for Orlando City Council District 4 ENDORSED BY: Equality Florida Orlando Professional Firefighters Local 1365 Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 25 Greater Orlando Association of Realtors Central Florida AFL-CIO Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association
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departments 6 // mail 7 // editor’s desk 8 // orlando news 12 // tampa bay news 16 // state 18 // nation & world news 27 // in-deptH 37 // arts & entertainment 49 // community calendar 51 // tampa bay out+about 53 // orlando out+about 55 // transitions/wedding bells 56 // tampa bay marketplace 58 // orlando marketplace 62 // uprisings
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37
There’s no character. There’s no makeup. there’s no any of that. I actually believe pretty strongly in kind of the, what’s the phrase, like the profundity of the every day. Finding something profound in these very basic moments and the deeply human experience of living is profound on its own. —jess t. dugan
on tHe cover
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PAGE THere GOes THe
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GayBOrHOOD: Last
month, local institution and gay-bar stalwart Georgie’s Alibi closed to make room for a new housing development. The impact remains to be seen—and, clearly, some stories remain untold—but the move could have a significant impact on St. Pete’s LGBT community which, in many ways, revolved around the Alibi.
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i perform for you now:
Tony and Oscar awardwinning costumer Tim Chappel dishes on the big hair and even bigger shoes that made Priscilla shine both on stage and screen. Now, the whole shebang is hitting the wild seas. Watch out, world!
watermark i ssue 22.21 //oct ober 8 - oct ober 21, 2015
making Hate
tampa bay news
living loud
“stuff Happens”
PAGE Liberty Counsel figurehead
PAGE Rev. Gina Durbin rises to
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read it Online! In addition to a Web site with daily LGBT updates, a digital version of each issue of the publication is made available on WatermarkOnline.com
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Mat Staver has made quite a name for himself lately by standing at the side of Kentucky clerk of courts Kim Davis and the supporters of her anti-equality grandstanding. Staver, however, fronts an officially designated hate group, and he calls Central Florida home. Orlando, we have a problem.
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the rescue of SunCoast Cathedral MCC as interim pastor as the congregation grieves the loss of Rev. Dr. Sherry Kennedy. “Laughter is great medicine,” she says.
Local civil rights activist and attorney Mary Meeks speaks to the necessity of activism beneath all of the balloons and beads of Orlando’s Come Out With Pride celebration.
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Our political column Uprisings mourns the loss of 10 students in Oregon and then grimaces at the responses from the candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination. Stuff happens? Really?
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check watermarkOnline.cOm fOr all Of the infO yOu’ll neeD tO make yOur PriDe PrOuDer watermark Your lgbt life.
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top web comments “The Parliament House staff does not come within a fraction of showing great hospitality! Years ago, they trespassed alot of my vogueging friends, for vogueging.” —Orlando torres
WaTermarkOnline.com: On the Parliament House being close to finalizing refinancing:
“THE CITY OF ORLANDO IS KNOWN FOR SHOWING ALL GUEST GREAT HOSPITALITY IN ORLANDO FLORIDA AND THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE STAFF DOES NOT COME WITHIN A FRACTION OF SHOWING GREAT HOSPITALITY! YEARS AGO, THEY TRESPASSED ALOT OF MY VOGUEGING FRIENDS, FOR VOGUEGING, WHAT WAS ILLEGAL ABOUT THAT? TO TRESPASS VOGUERS, WHAT NIGHTCLUBS DICTATE ON HOW A PERSON SHOULD DANCE AT A NIGHTCLUB!?” —Orlando Torres
“You mean the voguers who take over a section of the dance floor and whip around smashing into and kicking people? The voguers who put full drinks of liquor on their heads and vogue spilling drinks all over the dance floor? The voguers who while they are spinning around whack other people’s drinks on the floor???? I saw one girl who was kicked in the stomach when she walked by. C’mon.” —Christopher Koback
“You’re confusing those with the J-Setters dancers that kick in the
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watermark Your lgbt life.
air! Know the dance terms please!” —Orlando Torres
On the TIGLFF film preview for Drag Becomes Him:
“Drag Becomes Him was a failure because it didn’t really depict Jerick Hoffer as the actor he is. The writer was too busy making his OWN narrative and focusing on “relationships” and pot. Jerick Hoffer is an accomplished actor having done several mainstream plays but moreover... over 100 shows of his own original comedy show The Vaudevillians at the Laurie Beechman off Broadway and around the world. Also nominated for AU’s equivalent of an Emmy. So no, he’s not “cobbling together” a drag career.” —Ali Gori
from Facebook: On Biden backing transgender military service:
“He keeps taking public positions on controversial topics. Looks like he’s planning to run.” —Garrett L. Grainger On Pope Francis hanging out with a gay couple and barely meeting with Kim Davis:
“Who cares what the pope did. Why would we give this man any
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attention. He thinks gay people who have sex will die and burn in an imaginary lake of fire.” —Eddie Nickell
On a public official attacking a gay teen for wanting to bring his same-sex date to school dance:
“Maybe he could be Kim Davis’ next romp!” —Mylez Edward
On the Parliament House being close to finalizing refinancing:
“Time for ‘Hotel Impossible!”
—Michael E. Moriarty On Dustin Lance Black and Tom Daley announcing their engagement:
“The comments on other articles about this have been horrible. Can we be better than that Orlando? Ageism and jealousy are not attractive.” —Doug Bowser
On Kim Davis saying she met with the Pope:
“Even if she met him and he told her she has a right to her stand by her convictions, it does not give her the right to not obey the law. Hopefully he told her she needs to step down if she cannot fulfill her job description.” —David Chudney
Photo by Robert Bartlett
editor’s
Billy Manes EDITOR
BIlly@WatermarkOnline.com
“T
Desk
urn and face the strange,”
a certain crazy-eyed pop-cultural god once warned us through the bedazzled bullhorn of a 1970s rainbow of weathered hope. “Chch-changes” were at the root of David Bowie’s 1972 rhythmic cause for alarm and call to arms, a sort of anthemic response to a society teetering on various brinks, with only the scary monsters and super freaks holding on to any notion of prescribed normality.
Everything—from war crises to social shifts to women’s rights to gay rights—was caught in the shuffle, and we’re better for it, right? Plate tectonics, changing fads, political upheaval and shifts in the weather have all resulted in who we are right now. And, in many ways, we are better for it. In some, we are far worse. This week’s Watermark explores the changes we’re going through, both nuanced and on the real estate surface, against the
watermark staff
backdrop of Orlando’s Come Out With Pride celebration, of which we are always proud to be a part. Many people, including those of us making journalistic noise at this publication, are urging caution in just how the LGBT community evolves from dissimilation to assimilation, how we negotiate our path into the grand old world of marriage and acceptance and infinite joy. But we’re also aware of the shoulders upon which we’ve stood to get us here, even to get us
Founder and Senior Contributor: Tom Dyer • Tom@WatermarkOnline.com
in the conversation. You’ve heard this lecture before: Don’t forget from where you’ve come and never forget the history upon which you stand. You get it. But let’s also not forget our differences, our successes and our failures. One of the things I’m most proud of in this week’s issue comes in the shape of eyes—more specifically, the disarmed, contextually disrobed eyes that make up photographer Jess T. Dugan’s Every breath we drew exhibit at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College. Dugan’s keen perception of how masculinity fits into intimacy, especially in the art of portraiture, is something to behold. And you should: Dugan’s show is free and running through January. The strange that we face now is real, Dugan’s work argues, and, well, it isn’t that strange at all if you take a moment to address and appreciate it. Elsewhere, we address real, physical change that is happening in the St. Petersburg community with the closing of longtime watering hole and nightclub Georgie’s Alibi. Sometimes earthquakes are quiet and nearly unnoticeable, but in the case of Georgie’s and the potential for further “gayborhood” dismantling, the aftershock can be disabling (insert silent but deadly joke here). Many questions remain about the fate of the “command center” for LGBT individuals in the Burg. Accusations and denials continue to fly, which is typical to just about any bar’s closure, but the implications of a community unraveling are worth paying attention to. If you pan out with your camera, you could make the argument that the need for LGBT communities and services is dwindling, that our economic fortitude has been overplayed, that we’d all rather stare into a smart phone than across a bar, anyway. Is that all there is? Well, no. In fact, our diligence is arguably required now more than
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ever, given the soft-lens treatment the LGBT community is getting in the wake of marriage equality. Just look at hate group persona-nongrata Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel and his blatant lies about papal sympathy for his client, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis (oh, and that fake Peruvian photo-op). And, not to put too fine a point on it, let’s look at the defending of the defenseless shootings in Oregon last week by people running for president. These are the same people who play the deflection game on gay issues, on health issues, on labor issues. We can’t give them a free pass. Not now, not ever. As usual, it’s not all serious
You’ve heard this lecture before: Don’t forget from where you’ve come and never forget the history upon which you stand. You get it.
here in our Watermark dressing room. We have good news about community development on the Gulf Coast and a celebration of Sarasota Pride. We have a call to arms from local attorney and activist Mary Meeks that urges the community to remain active and push forward in these times of Pride. We have fantastic costumes from Priscilla going on a cruise and we have bears (oh my!). Sometimes we just like to party and take long walks on the beach. Other times, we like to try a little harder. “We could be heroes just for one day,” the Grand Dame once shouted. Happy Pride, Orlando. Let’s make that day today.
Orlando Office P. O. Box 533655 Orlando, FL 32853-3655 TEL: 407-481-2243 FAX: 407-481-2246
Tampa Bay Office TEL: 813-655-9890 FAX: 813-849-2986
Oc tob er 8 - Oc tob er 21, 2015 // Issue 2 2. 21
contributors Krista DiTucci
is a freelance writer and family advocate for Manatee Children’s Services. She lives in Sarasota with her husband and children. Page 12
Mary Meeks
is an Orlandobased attorney who is also an LGBT activist. She is a long-time contributor to Watermark. Page 21
Aaron Alper is a
photographer and writer in St. Petersburg. He holds a Masters in English Education from the University of South Florida. Page 27 Aaron Alper, Scottie Campbell, Susan Clary, Krista DiTucci, Kirk Hartlage, Joseph Kissel, Jason Leclerc, Mary Meeks, Stephen Miller, David Moran, Gregg Shipiro, Greg Stemm, Dr. Steve yacovelli, , Michael wanzie
photography Brian Becnel, Nick Cardello, Angie Folks, Bruce Hardin, Julie Milford, Travis Moore, Chris Stephenson, Lee Vandergrift, Tinkerfluff
distribution RJ Publishing, Lisa Jordan, Ken Caraway, David Krauss CONTENTS of WATERMARK are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher. Unsolicited article submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Although WATERMARK is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles, advertising, or listing in WATERMARK is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons or members of such organizations. WATERMARK is published every second Thursday. Subscription rate is $55 (1st class) and $26 (standard mail). The official views of WATERMARK are expressed only in editorials. Opinions offered in signed columns, letters and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper’s owner or management. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication. WATERMARK is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors.
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central florida news
se7en bites moving, eXpanding Jamie Hyman
s
oon, Se7en Bites’ customers will be able to fill their pie holes at a much bigger location. The bake shop, owned by Trina Gregory-Propst and Va Propst, is currently located on a small green building on Primrose Drive and opened in 2013. Over the next six months, they’ll work on renovating the 3500-square-foot building that used to the home of Sunshine School Uniforms, just north of Se7en Bites’ current location at 617 N. Primrose Drive. “Still in Colonialtown North area, which we are thrilled about,” Gregory-Propst says. The original location will remain open throughout the entire renovation. “When we get into our new building, the old one will close,” she says, adding that they leased the old location but own the new building. I’m sure something fabulous will go in [the original location]. “The owner of the property and I have been bombarded with so many inquiries.” In addition to more space, the new locations will bring an expanded menu. “Since we’ll be going into a full kitchen with gas, we will have the ability to do fries and fried chicken, plus we’ll be adding some breakfast and lunch poutine, burgers, chicken and waffles, donuts, fritters, largher pastry kitchen; we’ll be able to add specialty bread,” Gregory-Propst says. “We’ll have a full line of baked goods.” They’ll also have a beer and wine license and are working with Disney’s recycling specialists to plan a green-friendly disposal of glass bottles. The bigger location will mean more staff, as well – Gregory-Propst says they currently have 14 staff members and expect they’ll need to expand to 40-50 employees between the kitchen, bakery and front of house. Two things that won’t change are the look of the business and the general hours of operation. GregoryPropst says they’re going to paint the new building their trademark green, because it’s a signature color created by their graphic designer, and the “pie lady” mural will reappear on the front of the new location. Se7en Bites will continue to offer just breakfast and lunch, with some slightly expanded hours, although Gregory-Propst says, “We might throw in a pop-up dinner every once in a while.” She says as a small business, they’re qualified for several grants that will help with the renovation. “We fully intend on working with the city to make this spot as fabulous as it used to be,” Propst says. “This whole area is just flourishing, with new business coming in.” Se7en Bites originated with Gregory-Propst making desserts for other businesses around town. She says she’s pleased with Se7en Bites success, but also a little surprised. “We just thought we’d open this small storefront and continue making food for other businesses,” GregoryPropst says. “I had no idea it would take off the way it did and we are so grateful that people love what we do that much.”
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pants On fire: On Sept.
30, Orlando attorney Mat Staver appeared on CNN and described in great detail a private meeting between Pope Francis and anti-gay activist Kim Davis. Much of what Staver claimed subsequently was denied by the Vatican.
SCREEnCAP fROM Cnn
National embarrassment Orlando-based hate group Liberty Counsel lies about Kim Davis rally Wire Report
l
Ouisville, ky. (ap) | Kim Davis’ lawyer stood onstage in a Washington D.C. hotel and pointed to a photo on the screen. It showed 100,000 people packed into a Peruvian soccer stadium, Mat Staver told the crowd, all there to pray for the Kentucky clerk battling against gay marriage. The crowd erupted. It wasn’t true. Staver’s firm, the Liberty Counsel, which revealed Davis’ secret meeting with Pope Francis, has been accused by advocacy groups of peddling misrepresentations in the past. Yet it has become the main source of details about the controversial pope meeting. Online sleuths quickly debunked the Peru story Staver told at the Values Voter Summit, a conference for the conservative Family Research Council. The photo was from a yearold gathering unrelated to Davis, who spent five days in jail for defying a court order and refusing to license gay marriages. Staver could provide no evidence of a massive Davis rally. He
watermark Your lgbt life.
later called it a mistake and blamed miscommunication with Peruvian congressman Julio Rosas. Rosas denies Staver’s claim. The next day, the firm dropped a bombshell. It said Pope Francis, on his celebrated visit to America, secretly met with Davis. The pope hugged her, thanked her for her courage and told her to “stay strong,” Liberty Counsel said. The Vatican subsequently distanced itself from Davis and Staver, saying the pope had a brief meeting with Davis that should not be seen as support for her stance. Many on the religious right hail the Florida-based Liberty Counsel, which bills itself as a non-profit committed to “restoring the culture by advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the family.” “They’re willing to stand up for our rights under the Constitution, they’re not backing down,” said Nick Williams, a probate judge in Alabama who has also pledged never to issue a marriage licenses to a same-sex couple and sought guidance from the Liberty Counsel. Williams compared the federal court system to the tyrannical kings in the Bible: “I’m glad we have
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a law firm willing to stand up to the kings of our time.” But critics watched in exasperation as the organization rocketed to national celebrity alongside Davis. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the Liberty Counsel as an antigay hate group for spreading false information. The Liberty Counsel has connected homosexuality to higher rates of promiscuity and incest, Potok said, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. The firm opposes laws banning hate crimes and supports discredited conversion therapies that purport to turn homosexuals into heterosexuals. Staver once declared that the Boy Scouts would become a “playground for pedophiles” once it allowed gay troop leaders. Staver, his hair bright white and his ties usually red, contends his quotes were taken out of context and he has legal arguments for the rest: hate crime laws infringe on free speech, he believes. “It is irresponsible and reckless to call someone a hate group because you disagree with them,” he said. Williams also came to his defense: the Bible warned that Christians would be persecuted for standing strong for their faith, he noted. “Jesus told us we would be hated for his name,” he said. “For standing for what we stand for, people will hate us. It happened to the disciples, but it’s also happening today.” Staver grew up in Florida. He told The Associated Press in a phone interview that his father was an cOntinueD On Pg. 10 | uu |
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and Vegeterian Cuisine Greek, Mediterranean, central florida news | uu | Liberty Counsel from pg.8
abusive alcoholic who his Catholic mother divorced when he was young. She worked three jobs and raised him alone, he said, and he went through the motions of Catholicism until an evangelical pastor saved him from sin as a young man. He became a pastor himself in Kentucky, though he shied away from social issues until he saw a film in 1982 about abortion. He resolved to go to law school to fight for traditional family values. He graduated from the University of Kentucky’s law school, moved back to Florida with his wife, Anita, and they started the Liberty Counsel in 1989. For years they dabbled in causes against abortion, the “War on Christmas” and other hot-button topics in the American culture wars. “There is an enormous amount of bluster amid his legal arguments,” said Barry Lynn, a minister and executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who has debated Staver on
religious freedom issues. “It looks to me like he’s making claims that will get his clients great publicity, but not necessarily get them victories.” Staver stands firm on his contributions to American jurisprudence. His firm has been involved in 60 same-sex marriage cases. It has 10 full-time attorneys, and dozens more across the country willing to work for free to promote the cause. In 2013, the firm hauled in more than $4 million, according to tax returns. As Davis defied a series of federal court orders and was sent to jail, Staver cast her as a heroine called into battle by God. He compared her actions to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln. She received 20,000 pieces of mail in jail, he said. “I’ve lost the ability to be surprised at how easy it is to become the next Joan of Arc,” said Lynn. “When you make heroes out of people who refuse to accept the rule of law and who fail to acknowledge the dignity of other human beings, you are on a very dangerous path.” Ed Blaisdell provided some additional reporting for this story.
Grinning and bearing it Ciara Varone
L
eather and chest hair and bears, oh my! Bears are coming out of hibernation and ready to celebrate for the 25th anniversary of Bear Bust, the longest-running event catering to bears in Florida. After a hectic transition when the Bears of Central Florida dissolved and Parliament House took over the festivities three years ago, Bear Bust is once again trying to establish its status as the can’t-miss spectacle of the season for the bear community across the nation. “We’re really just trying to bring it back to what it always should be… and that’s an entertainment force,” said Pat O’Rourke, an organizer for the event. Over the course of three days, expect concerts by singersongwriters Matt Alber, Matt
Zarley, Eric Himan and Keith London, the first openlygay contestant on American Idol to make it through to Hollywood Week. “I really tried to find musicians that really have a strong presence and are a big part of the community, and that are extremely talented on top of everything else,” O’Rourke said. “I’m trying to make sure that everybody has a chance to see and appreciate that these guys are making strides for the LGBT community in the music world.” In addition to the live singers, attendees can dance to the spins of DJ Walter, DJ C-Rail and Neon the GlowGoBear, all back by popular demand. Comedy fans can meet the cast of web series, Where the Bears Are and watch Varla Jean Merman perform a one-woman show. Attendees can also participate in or cheer on the Mr. Perky Butt and Mr. Bear Bust
2016 contests. Bear Bust will feature two auctions for underwear and jocks. All proceeds will benefit The Orlando Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a charity promoting HIV awareness, safe sex and queer rights and visibility. O’Rourke said attendees can also expect about 20 vendors, including Adonis Leather Crafters, Go Bearr, Hungry Bear Pizza and Barber Pete, who will be doing shaves, haircuts and beard trims. “No matter what you’re into, you’ll be able to find something there to enjoy, and you’ll want to come back next year because you enjoyed it so much this year.” O’Rourke said. “Whether you’re a part of the bear community or not, it’s always just a lot of fun.” The event kicks off with a Bearaoke party the night of Oct. 15 and runs through early Monday morning. Space at the Parliament House is filling up fast, but those who don’t reserve a room can still purchase run passes to enjoy all of the festivities at BearBust.org.
Thomas
Rhodes, Esq.
Practice Limited to Family Law Greek, Mediterranean, and Vegeterian Cuisine
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tampa bay news
also youtH eXpands witH new center, program Jeremy Williams
v
enice, fla. | Advocacy-Leadership-SupportOutreach, better known as ALSO Youth in Sarasota, is a non-profit created in 1992 as a safe environment for kids to explore and understand who they are without judgement. After nearly 25 years in Sarasota, ALSO is expanding south to Venice. “We want to make sure this ALSO is the same kind of culture that we cultivated in Sarasota,” says Molly Swift, ALSO Youth’s Sarasota Program Coordinator. “The program is entirely designed by the kids.” The group for ALSO Youth Venice meets in a space provided by the local Girl Scouts troupe. As the group grows, Swift hopes that they can expand to include as many activities and services as they provide at the Sarasota center. “Right now it is only a weekly thing here, as opposed to the Sarasota center where we are open four days a week, so we don’t know what it will look like because it is very different from what we are used to,” Swift says. The Venice group had their first meeting Oct. 2, and will meet every Friday from 2- 5:45p.m. The services provided by the new center will vary just as they do in Sarasota, based on the needs of the kids. “I don’t ever want to feel like we are forcing something on any of the youth so we survey the youth regularly to make sure our programs are relevant, interesting and needed. If a youth doesn’t want to participate then they are welcome to opt out at any point for any activity,” Swift says. To hold true to that promise, ALSO has brought in someone who has been right where they are. Sarah Rickner grew up in Northport and is the new ALSO Youth Program Coordinator. Rickner will be working partly in Sarasota and will organize and run the Venice center. “I went to school in Venice, the same school that a lot of these kids go to,” Rickner says. “After going there and being trans and bi and not having any of these resources available to me locally when I was their age, I jumped at the opportunity to come and help.” Along with the new center in Venice, ALSO is starting a peer support group for transgender and gendernonconforming youth. Unlike the support group for ages 16 and up at ALSO’s center every Saturday, this group will be for youth ages 13 to 16, but will accommodate children younger than 13 with parent or guardian approval. “ALSO Youth wants to respond to the great needs of young, gender-nonconforming and trans youth in the Sarasota area, by setting aside an hour for transgender and gender-nonconforming youth to meet and find support among their peers,” ALSO Youth said on their Facebook page. The first meeting was Oct. 1 and will meet every Thursday from 5- 6 p.m. “The group is still in its early stages and will hopefully develop as need is assessed through youth and parent/ guardian surveys,” ASLO Youth said. For more information, visit ALSO Youth’s Facebook page and website at ALSOYouth.org.
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sunday mOurning:
Rev. Gina Durbin is specially trained to help during the transition after the passing of Dr. Kennedy.
SCREEnCAP fROM SunCOASTMCC’S yOuTuBE CHAnnEl
rising star SunCoastMCC Welcomes Interim Pastor Rev. Gina Durbin Krista DiTucci
s
unCoastMCC experienced a new beginning on Aug. 17, 2015, as Rev. Gina Durbin became the new interim pastor. The church experienced a devastating loss in March 2015 when the only pastor in its history, Rev. Dr. Sherry Kennedy, passed away suddenly. An MCC interim pastor is hired during these types of transitional periods and is specially trained to help with the grieving process. Although interim pastors usually serve 12 to 18 months, Durbin says this will be a longer term since Kennedy was the church’s only pastor. “It’s understandable that many are still grieving,” Durbin says. “Some have moved through their grief, but as different things come up that remind them of Sherry, some of that grieving comes back up.” To help the congregation deal with this grief, Durbin holds workshops in which a therapist
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helps members cope with grief and allows them to identify where they are in the grief process. Durbin also holds one-on-one pastoral care appointments. “The fine balance as a pastor is loving them and allowing them to heal,” Durbin says. “That’s my goal right now.” Durbin hails from St. Louis, Missouri. She has held a variety of careers over the years such as medical coding, physician billing and IT support specialist. However, Durbin says her passion has always been people, and she dreamed of becoming a church minister. In fact, she says her favorite part of IT work was when people would sit down and talk to her about personal matters, much like they do in pastoral care. Durbin’s journey to becoming a pastor was a difficult one. In 1994, she was kicked out of her church when the congregation discovered she was a lesbian. Durbin decided at that time that she would never attend church again. In 2000, she discovered the MCC of Greater St.
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Louis and regained her faith. “A whole new world opened up,” Durbin says. “I was able to reconcile being a follower of Christ and also a lesbian. A lot of healing took place during that time and the call that I had into ministry was renewed for me.” Durbin graduated in May 2014 from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis. She was ordained in June 2014 and became interim pastor for Heartland MCC in Springfield, Illinois. When Durbin was invited to join the SunCoastMCC family, which would involve a cross-country move away from her family, friends and support system, she knew she would have to do some soul searching. She accepted the offer after praying about the decision and gained her wife’s support. “I have a pastor’s heart,” Durbin says. “Pastoral care is something SunCoast is in need of especially with grieving the loss of their pastor.” Rev. Pressley Sutherland, associate director of Church Life and Health, has known Durbin three years and attested to her talents both inside and outside of pastoral care. “I’ll never forget the first time I heard her sing,” Sutherland says. “There is something very special about her voice. She’s a great musician underneath all cOntinueD On Pg. 14 | uu |
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tampa bay news
sarasota’s cindy barnes celebrates final pride as cHairman Jeremy Williams
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arasOta, fla. | After six years as the chairman of Sarasota Pride, Cindy Barnes will step down after the festival in J.D. Hamel Park Oct. 17. “This is my last year of running it. I will remain on the board, but you know I’m hoping someone will step up and take this over,” Barnes says. “It’s about 20 hours a week, and it is, of course, a volunteer job, so I have to say the call for a leader has been out about six months and I have yet to hear from a soul.” Barnes has been involved with Sarasota Pride since 2006, but became the chairman in 2010 and moved the festival to October—and out from indoors and into the park. “We took it to the streets of Sarasota and got out of the
venue,” Barnes says. Barnes’ announcement that she was stepping down as chairman led many to speculate whether this would be the final year for Sarasota Pride, an idea Barnes refuses to let happen. “I doubt that. We’ve got a board; this isn’t going to be the last year of it, that’s for sure,” Barnes says. “That’s why I’m staying on the board, because I’ve been here so long and I’ve got the connections in the community. I think just quitting and walking away is not the proper thing to do.” Barnes hopes someone will step up soon, and while she admits the job requires a very large commitment, she also says that running the festival is more an act of maintaining than having to build right now. “It’s almost a canned event now. We have the same park, and we have pretty much the same layout every year,” Barnes says.
“It just continues to get bigger, and at some point in time when we outgrow that park, somebody is going to have to make the decision to take it somewhere else. But you can’t beat the eyes from 220,000 cars driving through that intersection every day, so it’s the best visibility in Sarasota.” In her final year leading the charge for Sarasota Pride, Barnes has built a festival, themed “Color the World with Pride,” that she promises will deliver the goods. This is Sarasota’s 26th year celebrating Pride, and the festival will kick off at high noon with a performance from the allfemale troupe The Cheaters. “We have live music all day. There’s beer gardens, tiki bars, a kids’ zone. We are up to almost a hundred vendors,” Barnes says.“It’s going to be a busy day, and there is something there for everybody to enjoy.”
| uu | Rev. Gina Durbin frOm Pg.12
the pastoral training, and she brings that creativity and presence to all she does as a pastor.” Durbin says she especially enjoys church entertainment events such as SunCoastMCC’s third annual variety show last month. She says the funniest part of church variety shows is watching the staff perform skits. “Laughter is a great medicine,” Durbin says. “People come in, they smile, they laugh, and they enjoy themselves. It’s a great way to connect to other people outside of worship.” Durbin says her vision for SunCoastMCC is to help the congregation identify their dreams for what type of church and ministry work they would like to do. To do this, she examines the church’s history to evaluate where they are now and where they would like to go, in addition to discovering who they are being called to be
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currently and in the future. “For SunCoast, because they only had one pastor, their vision and identity were probably wrapped up more into who Rev. Sherry was and what her visions were,” Durbin says. Durbin lives in Port Charlotte with her wife, Kelly, who is also ordained through MCC, and their two Boston terriers, Emmett and Toby. The couple initially met and became friends at church 15 years ago. They have been together 11 years and got married in 2009 in Iowa. Durbin has two stepchildren in St. Louis: Jonah, 19, and Grace, 17. “The best thing about (SunCoastMCC) is the people— their hospitality,” Durbin says. “They are a very warm and welcoming congregation, which is always helpful for a new person coming into that community. Now we get to know each other as we walk through this journey together.”
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state news
Transgender Southern Comfort conference comes to Florida Staff Report
T
he 2015 Southern Comfort Conference took place at the Bonaventure Resort & Spa in Weston, Fla. Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 with more than 400 transgender activists and allies in attendance. This was the first time the conference has been held in Florida. Southern Comfort is a Georgia-based group, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and is the largest gathering of the transgender community in the world. The five-day conference is meant to provide support and includes “detailed legal and medical presentations; and informative sessions on family, relationships, sexuality, and tips on makeup, presenting, and many more topics,” according to their website.
“It’s crucial for education,” Ashley Brundage, a Tampabased transgender activist and personal banker for PNC Bank, said, according to the Miami Herald. This is Brundage’s third Southern Comfort conference. “I work for PNC, and I am their transgender advisor. I go to various events across the country and promote goodwill to the transgender community. Being a transgender woman myself is something I pride myself on, and being as involved in as many things as possible,” Brundage said. “I actually interviewed and identified as a transgender woman in the interview process. PNC actually hired me to work there.” Trans celebrities Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner have given the community much needed visibility to many, but “people, including gays and lesbians, still have
misinformation about the transgender community,” said Paul Abad, a Fort Lauderdale gay man who also works at PNC Bank, according to the Herald. “At PNC Bank, I am the senior banker for the Broward market. I’m also the community liaison between the gay, lesbian and transgender communities. I’m on the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender council for the company, as well as being the liaison with Equality Florida,” Abad said. The conference included two prominent Florida-based speakers; Broward’s trans teen celebrity Jazz Jennings and Orlando’s Gina Duncan, Equality Florida’s transgender inclusion director. “I remember when I was transitioning nine years ago; my biggest frustration was that I couldn’t find quality resources,” Duncan said when
speaking to attendees at a luncheon Oct. 2, according to the Herald. “When I did find those resources, it was word of mouth. These weren’t vetted, known, quality resource providers. That has been put together by our transaction advisory board and is on our site, so that young people can find the information, be able to get access to hormones without going online and risking their health in doing so.” Duncan said to the crowd that one of the things she is most proud of was getting a statewide transgender resource guide published. The Transgender Resource Guide was developed to provide a directory of quality transfriendly service providers from across the state of Florida and is available for download at Equality Florida’s website.
Close comfort: Transgender
activists Ashley Brundage (L) and Jazz Jennings were among the more than 400 attendees at the Southern Comfort conference in Weston, Fla. Sept. 29-Oct.3.
Photo courtesy of Ashley Brundage
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nation+world news
in other news
Gay former student of Pope Francis speaks out
Biden backs transgender military service as US weighs policy
Wire Report
Vice President Joe Biden is throwing his unequivocal support behind letting transgender people serve openly in the military, as the Obama administration considers whether and when to lift the longstanding ban. Biden’s declaration at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner goes further than anything the Obama administration has said before, evoking memories of when Biden outpaced President Barack Obama in endorsing gay marriage.
Vatican fires gay priest on eve of synod The Vatican fired a monsignor who came out as gay on the eve of a big meeting of the world’s bishops to discuss church outreach to gays, divorcees and more traditional Catholic families. The Vatican took action after Krzysztof Charamsa, a mid-level official in its doctrine office, came out in newspaper interviews in Italy and Poland saying he was happy and proud to be a gay priest, and that he was in love with a man whom he identified as his boyfriend. Charamsa, 43, initially planned a press conference in front of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith’s office, but moved it to central Rome after the Vatican action. He was joined by his companion, identified only as Eduard.
Alabama judges use segregationera law to avoid gay marriage Some Alabama counties are using a segregation-era law to avoid issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples. In 1961, a time when the all-white Legislature was trying to preserve racial segregation, lawmakers rewrote state law to make it optional for counties to issue marriage licenses. In at least nine of Alabama’s 67 counties, judges have quit issuing any marriage licenses since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions in June.
2 suspected lesbians in Indonesia to undergo rehabilitation
percent sure” the pope did not initiate the meeting with Davis. On exchanging e-mail with Pope Francis, then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, when the country was debating legalizing same-sex marriage, which it did in 2010: “I remember reading excerpts from the press saying that Cardinal Bergoglio had said ... things that were extremely negative. I immediately thought `This is not like the Bergoglio that I know, not
“Perhaps this is the time to defend him. I owe him that as a friend, not because he is a friend but because I know part of the truth.” — Yayo Grassi Grassi said after the Davis story came out and he was contacted by the media he thought: “Perhaps this is the time to defend him. I owe him that as a friend, not because he is a friend but because I know part of the truth.” Grassi said, “Encouraging somebody who is so divisive like Davis would be out of character for Francis.” “Here is this guy that is so much into integrating everybody, communicating with everybody,” Grassi said, adding he was “500
the person that I loved so much when I was growing up,”’ he said. Grassi said he e-mailed the then cardinal that he was “disappointed” and “hurt.” A week later, he was surprised to get a reply, he said. Bergoglio asked for forgiveness if he had hurt Grassi and said a newspaper had taken his words out of context. Grassi said the last sentence his former teacher wrote was: “I want you to know this: that in my pastoral work there is no place for homophobia.”
from one HRC to another.” The statement marked a remarkable evolution for Clinton, who opposed same-sex marriage for more than two decades in public life as first lady, senator and presidential candidate. As recently as this year, Clinton said that while she personally supported gay marriage, the issue was best left for states to decide, a position held by most of the Republican presidential field. Since then, Clinton has placed equal rights at the forefront of her campaign, in part a reflection of the growing political and financial strength of the gay community in Democratic politics. Vice President Joe Biden, who is considering a 2016 run, gave the keynote address to the
group’s star-studded dinner, where he called transgender rights “the civil rights issue of our time” and issued the Obama administration’s most unequivocal statement of support to date for allowing transgender people to serve openly in the U.S military. As he spoke to the crowd of 3,000, he was interrupted by a loud shout of “You should run.” “There’s homophobes still left. Most of them are running for president,” Biden said, in a pointed jab at the Republican White House hopefuls. Clinton, in her appearance, said she has been “fighting alongside you and others for equal rights and I’m just getting warmed up.”
Clinton promotes gay rights as a main pillar of 2016 bid Wire Report
Two suspected lesbians detained earlier this week by Islamic Shariah police in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province will undergo rehabilitation instead of being charged with a crime, a police chief said Oct 3. The women, 18 and 19 years old, were taken in for questioning by Sharia police officers who saw them sitting and hugging each other in Ulee Lheue, a coastal neighborhood in the capital, Banda Aceh. The two women will not be charged because a new criminal code for Aceh that criminalizes homosexuality won’t take effect until later this month. Under that code, any person found guilty of homosexuality could face up to 100 cane lashes or a maximum fine of 1,000 grams of fine gold or imprisonment of up to 100 months. Indonesia’s national criminal code doesn’t regulate homosexuality.
18
W
ASHINGTON | An openly gay former student of Pope Francis’ who visited with the pope during his recent trip to Washington said he was surprised Francis had met with the Kentucky county clerk who gained attention for refusing to issue same-sex couples marriage licenses. The pope’s meeting with Washington resident Yayo Grassi, his boyfriend and a few others came to light Oct. 2 as the Vatican was distancing itself from claims the pope’s meeting with the clerk, Kim Davis, was an endorsement of her stance on same-sex marriage. Grassi, 67, met Francis more than 50 years ago when the future pope taught at his all boys school in Argentina. They reconnected in 2008, and since becoming pope Francis has since met him and his boyfriend of 17 years twice, once in Rome and most recently in Washington, Grassi said. Grassi, who came to the United States in 1978 and runs a catering business, spoke with The Associated Press at his home Oct. 3. On what he thought of the pope’s meeting with Davis: “I thought, `This is really
strange. This is not like him,”’ he said. He said he told friends who were quick to criticize that they should not rush to judgment and that he didn’t think they had all the facts. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, declined to say who invited Davis or what the pope knew of her case but such encounters are arranged by the Vatican ambassador and his staff, not the pope’s delegation or the U.S. bishops’ conference.
WASHINGTON | Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered the strongest speech in support of gay rights in the 2016 presidential race Oct. 3, promising that ending discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender people would be a central pillar of her administration. “I see the injustices and the dangers that you and your families still face,” she told hundreds of gay activists at the annual meeting of the Human Rights Campaign. “I’m running for president to stand up for the fundamental rights of LGBT Americans.” She added: “That’s a promise
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Mary Meeks
living loud COWP 2015: Celebrate, Remember and Fight!
c
Ome Out with pride
2015 is here, and it is time to party! What a year it has been— worldwide, nationwide, statewide and right here in Central Florida.
The LGBT community has so much to celebrate this year as we gather around Lake Eola for the annual rainbow shindig. Most especially, we will celebrate how we all have come together this past year to protect, defend, and empower our community. That is why the COWP Committee chose “Pride United” as this year’s theme. That is why, after skipping COWP the last two years, I look forward to hosting this year’s COWP Rally. Obviously the gold prize this year is the realization of marriage equality—Jan. 6 here in Florida and June 26 nationwide. It was a long time coming, and it only happened because an amazing diversity of advocates (and some really great lawyers!) united all over the nation and across state lines to make sure that every state was included. (Come on Alabama, you’ve got some serious loony tunes down there, but no one is left behind! That alone is cause to pop the corks, but there’s more. President Obama issued an executive order banning discrimination against LGBTs by federal agencies and federal contractors (covering hundreds of thousands of employees), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a landmark decision interpreting the employment protections of the federal Civil Rights Act to apply to sexual orientation. The Pentagon is ready to allow transgenders to serve openly in the armed forces. Heck, even the Boy Scouts have opened their tents to LGBTs! At a local level here in Central Florida, our community united to make substantial contributions to the achievement of marriage equality, including securing the official support of our Orlando and Orange County governments, by filing amicus briefs in the marriage equality lawsuits. It was the Orange and Osceola County Clerks, Tiffany Moore Russell and Armando Ramirez, who broke through the logjam and opened the floodgates
to the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses in Florida. I was honored to join Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer as he presided over the first mass same-sex wedding ceremony in Florida. Osceola County just recently passed the most progressive, LGBT-inclusive human rights ordinance in the state. And we as a community did what was necessary to preserve cherished organizations that have served our community well for many years, and the leaders of those organizations overcame some profound adversity to bring us a new, improved, healthy and relevant COWP. Kudos in particular to Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan for sponsoring scholarships which she will present to deserving young people at the 6 p.m. COWP Rally on Oct. 10, helping COWP revive its philanthropic roots. Yes, COWP should be a fun party, and we appreciate the “legitimacy” afforded by all those corporate sponsors, but that is just window dressing. The core mission of COWP has always been activism, and giving back to the community. That is truly how we make our community stronger and ultimately achieve our goal of full equality. We aren’t there yet, folks. Unfortunately, there is still much left to do. Discrimination against LGBTs is still legal in 28 states, including Florida; bullying and hate crimes against LGBTs are still prevalent; transgender people, especially youth, still face rampant discrimination; and, even though we have legally obtained the right to marry, there are still problems to be addressed. The state of Florida refuses to list both married same-sex parents on their children’s birth certificates and bigoted clerks and judges across the country refuse to perform their constitutional duties. And, of course, we now have to contend with hysterical, fabricated allegations of “assaults” on “religious liberty” springing forth across the nation. Unfortunately, one of the
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most insidious purveyors of faith-based bigotry sits right here in our own backyard. The Liberty Counsel, led by Mat Staver, is the so-called Christian law firm that has catapulted to international infamy for its representation of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis. We know them well.
Law Center designated it as an anti-gay hate group, for its “propagation of known falsehoods—claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scienti�ic authorities—and repeated, groundless namecalling.” SPLC further notes that “these falsehoods have
who was murdered in a vicious hate crime in 2007. I introduced Ryan Skipper’s amazing parents, Lynn and Pat Mulder, to the COWP stage in 2007, and again in 2008, when we celebrated COWP on the 10th anniversary of the death of Mathew Shepard. I think about Ryan, and about all the
Staver wrote the Florida anti-gay-marriage amendment that passed in 2008, and fought like hell to preserve it when the legal challenges ensued, all the while peddling the most offensive and disgusting lies about LGBT individuals and families. Liberty Counsel is so bad that the Southern Poverty
the effect of defaming a very large group of people which has the opportunity to subject them to violence.” Hate speech leads to hate violence. LGBT people get hurt, and some of them get murdered. Every year at COWP I remember Ryan Skipper, the young Florida gay man
souls that we have lost, and continue to lose, to bigotry and hate. And I renew my will to keep fighting. So, as you enjoy COWP and celebrate all the amazing advancements that our community has achieved, please stop and remember Ryan—all the Ryans—and keep fighting.
the core mission of cOWP has always been activism, and giving back to the community. that is truly how we make our community stronger and ultimately achieve our goal of full equality.
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viewpoint
D’Anne Witkowski
guest column
B
Creep of the week ust out the rainbow
M16 assault rifles because things are about to get FABULOUS! The United States Army is about to become the world’s biggest pride parade thanks to President Obama’s nomination of Eric Fanning for secretary of the Army.
The only thing you need to know about Fanning is that he’s a gay! What other qualifications does one possibly need to essentially be the CEO of the U.S. Army? Well, lots, actually. And Fanning’s credentials are pretty impeccable. He’s currently serving as the undersecretary of the Army and his list of qualifications is so long it would take up my entire column space. But if you ask Mike Huckabee, R-Will Never Be President,
“America’s heroes.” Is he saying that Obama should have nominated a military officer instead? The secretary of the Army is a civilian position, which Huckabee should know. I guess he’s saying that the mere act of nominating a homo is a dishonor to our troops. But it’s not like Obama just nominated Nathan Lane. Even Fox News saw through Huckabee’s homophobic bullshit. On a Fox Business morning show, host Sandra Smith asked Huckabee what his deal was with criticizing Fanning since he “is widely seen as very qualified for the job.” “He may be very qualified for the job,” he said, “and if he is, then nominate him because he’s qualified to lead the Army, not because of his sexual orientation. Why are they making such a big deal and talking about it?” By “they” he means the Obama administration. There is, of course, no evidence that Fanning was nominated because of his sexual orientation nor is there any evidence that Obama just can’t shut up about how gay Fanning is. Huckabee, on the other hand, cannot shut up about it. “I had people who were gay who worked on my staff, who have served in
“I just feel like that the president has made this such an agenda, and the agenda for the military is to focus on the best qualified people, because we’re talking about life and death issues.” —Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee
Obama just picked the first guy to come up on Grindr. On Sept. 19, Huckabee took to Facebook to criticize Fanning’s nomination. “It’s clear President Obama is more interested in appeasing America’s homosexuals than honoring America’s heroes,” the Huckster wrote. “Veterans suicide is out-of-control and military readiness is dangerously low, yet Obama is so obsessed with pandering to liberal interest groups he’s nominated an openly gay civilian to run the Army. Homosexuality is not a job qualification.” I’m not sure what Huckabee means when he says that Obama is all about the gays at the expense of
my administration when I was governor. I never went around saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got some homosexuals that are working for me.’ What’s the point? If they’re qualified, hire them.” Oh, so Huckabee has worked with known homosexuals, eh? Well then he couldn’t possibly be homophobic. “I just think this president
watermark Your lgbt life.
is so into symbolism, so into trying to prove to everybody that he’s this open-minded guy,” Huckabee said, “maybe he’s trying to make up for the fact that until, gosh, what, just three years ago, he still took the position that many of us do, and that is that marriage, for example, is a biblical issue, and it is between a man and a woman. He had this sudden
revelation that it is not that way anymore.” In other words, Obama is trying to make nice with the gays by throwing them a nomination or two. “I just feel like that the president has made this such an agenda,” Huckabee continued, “and the agenda for the military is to focus on the best qualified people, because we’re talking about
life and death issues. And if he thinks Eric Fanning is the best for the job, nominate him, but leave his sexual orientation out of it.” You hear that, Fanning! Back into the closet for you, for the good of the country. And so Huckabee can find something else to obsess about other than how super gay you are.
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talking points Of the
the question will be: Why is he gay? And I have to have a good answer. No one ever says, ‘Are they straight, and if they are, why?
114 FILMS glaaD trackeD this year,
ONLY
20
INCLUDED
—rOn nyswaner, Oscar-nOminated screenwriter Of the new lgBt film FREEHELD,, explaining that he must justify gay characters in his scripts FREEHELD when pitching tO hOllywOOd prOducers.
smithers cOmes Out in new seasOn Of ThE SiMPSoNS
W
aylOn smithers, the Overly OBsessive persOnal assistant tO BilliOnaire mr. Burns on the hit FOX show The Simpsons,, is coming out, and it only took him 27 seasons. “In Springfield now, most people know he’s gay but obviously Burns doesn’t,” said Simpsons executive producer Al Jean in an interview with TV Line. “We deal with that in two episodes. He gets fed up with Burns not appreciating him and considers his options.” For the long-term watchers of the series, a gay Smithers should be no surprise. While he has not verbally declared himself to be gay, Smithers has gay friends, hangs out in Springfield’s gay village and even vacations at a male-only resort. EXCELLENT! The Simpsons can be seen Sundays at 8 P.M. EST on FOX.
DEPICTIONS OF
LGBT CHARACTERS. that’s mOre than 80% Of the majOr stuDiO films releaseD withOut a single lgbt character. —GLAAD report
new game lets yOu hit kim Davis in the face
a
new app lets yOu smack arOund rOwan cOunty clerk kim davis without fear of following in her footsteps and ending up in jail. The game, called “Condemn Kim” and developed by Orlando-based company Endless Spiral, has you throw marriage applications at the Kentucky clerk for Christ, trying to hit her in the face. If you hit her enough times you send her back to jail. Make sure your aim is accurate and true as she runs back and forth trying to avoid you. The more you hit her, the faster she gets. You can earn divorce papers to hurl at the hypocrite which slows her down. The game is currently available on Android devices. Fifty percent of all proceeds will go to LGBT charities.
watermark Your lgbt life.
Who’S ThE BoSS? actOr tells OPrah he is hiv-POsitive
a
ctOr danny pintaurO, Best knOwn as the yOung sOn jOnathan on the ‘80s sitcom Who’s the Boss?, revealed he is HIV-positive on an episode of Oprah: Where Are They Now? “I wanted to tell you this a long time ago, but I wasn’t ready. I’m ready now,” Pintauro told Oprah Winfrey in the interview. Pintauro was diagnosed in 2003 while living in New York during routine blood work for a checkup. “You go in, and you sort of wait two weeks on pins and needles, or at least I did, because I was just terrified of the idea of getting HIV,” Pintauro said. The actor was outed in a 1997 National Enquirer article, against his wishes. “I was outed,” Pintauro recalled to Winfrey. “It wasn’t by choice.”
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thailanD chOOses gay-themeD Drama as Oscar submissiOn
T
hailand’s mOtiOn picture assOciatiOn has selected a gay-themed, cOmingOf-age drama, How to Win at Checkers (Every Time), as an entry for the foreign-language category at the Academy Awards. The movie is about an 11-year-old boy named Ek being raised by his gay, older brother in a poor Bangkok suburb. Ek tries to help his brother dodge the country’s military draft lottery in the film, which touches on corruption, discrimination and social status in Thai society—and was released while a military government is running the country. The Academy will announce the nominees in mid-January before the Oscars are handed out Feb. 28, 2016.
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in-DePth: gaybOrhOOD
PHOTOS BY BRUCE HARDIN
tHe messy closing of georgie’s alibi in st. pete signals potential Hard times for tHe lgbt community
T
Aaron Alper and Jeremy Williams
he $2 lOng island iced teas in
Mason Jars. The disco floor jam packed with all walks of LGBTQ life. The friendly bartenders who seemed to genuinely love their jobs. The delicious food. The meeting place before St. Petersburg Pride. The feeling of being both safe and accepted. These were the things that made Georgie’s Alibi the place that it was. It wasn’t just a bar. It was an institution, a queer-Cheers; a place where everybody knew your name … for better or worse.
watermark Your lgbt life.
Then came the Facebook
bar’s closure. “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we announce the rumors are true and Georgie’s Alibi St. Petersburg will cease operations at the close of business on Saturday, Sept. 19,” the Sept. 9 Facebook post read. “The real estate and an adjoining parcel have been sold to a developer who plans on building new housing units. We can’t thank the greater
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Oc tOb er 8 - Oc tOb er 21, 2015 // Issue 2 2. 21
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| uu | Georgie’s Alibi from pg.27
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St. Petersburg community enough for their support over the past 15 years. Technology and the greater acceptance of alternative lifestyles have impacted the viability of gay venues throughout the country, and the Alibi was not immune to this phenomena. Thank you everyone for 15 wonderful years of memories!” Bob Barnum of Earnest RealtyInc. brokered the Georgie’s Alibi deal and was the first to break the news 10 days before Georgie’s closed its doors for good. “The bar has been losing money for quite some time,” Barnum says. While details of the sale have still not been made public, Barnum says the list price for the Georgie’s Alibi building was $895,000. The building next door, which previously housed Metro Wellness before Metro moved across the street, was listed for $495,000. Barnum, who has been Georgie’s business liaison for many years, spoke with Watermark last December and said then that Georgie’s was up for sale, but he seemed confident that whomever they sold to would leave the bar open for business. “We are reaching out to people who have an affinity for the community,” Barnum said in 2014. “We are not marketing to corporate buyers. We are looking for people who will own and operate it and want to be in the area and know what Georgie’s means to the community. It’s painful, all the way around but it’s better to be for sale then just be closed.” Both buildings were owned by Shoppes of Kenwood LLC and sold to a development company out of Tampa. “Sadly,” Barnum said, “Georgie’s is leaving the community.” Beyond diminishing returns, however, the reasons why remain unclear.
All Alone With My Memories
Georgie’s was a place where many LGBT men and women came of age. The Alibi, as many playfully called it, opened its doors for business in 1998 and gave a generation of LGBT Burgians (and their allies) a place to experience many “first-times” and rites of passage. “If I was going to take any kind of straight friend out for their first gay bar, Alibi was a great option,”
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says Jeff Klein, local comedian and former Georgie’s bartender. “You would see all types of people there; bears, twinks, lesbians, straight people. It was a slice of life of not just the community but of St. Pete as a whole.” Georgie’s was a home away from home. Judging from the crowds that formed on its very last night, it was clear the community still had love for its longest running neighborhood gay bar. “It was a forward thinking place. In the beginning they had an area where they had business cards, copies of Watermark, as well as a trophy wall. It was a little information center. It was a friendly place that put people in touch with each other,” says Brian Longstreth, owner of Gay St. Pete House. Longstreth has been going to Georgie’s since the day they opened. He thinks it will be hard to find a place similar to what Georgie’s was for the community. “My defining moment there was when we started St. Pete Pride,” Longstreth says. “Georgie’s was one of the main forces for getting it started. They were there when we were lining up sponsors and were adamant that Central Avenue was the place to do it.” Georgie’s Alibi and the Kenwood area have been the staging area for the St. Pete Pride parade and after party. According to rumors, Pride is looking to move the parade staging to the Tropicana Field, which would change the entire dynamic of Pride. When reached for comment, St. Pete Pride Executive Director Eric Skains said that no announcement has been made yet. Skains added that one can be expected by April when St. Pete Pride has their kickoff event next year. Klein became vocal about the closing of Georgie’s on Facebook in response to those who were saying Georgie’s was past its prime, an extinct business model in the postonline dating world of Grindr. “There was negativity involved on my posts,” he says. “They were claiming the gay bar is dead because of gay apps. Rather than argue against it, I maintained that it held sentimental value. It was always there, and although it may not be the same Georgie’s everyone remembers, it’s been a staple and the go-to bar for so long and has had so much history that, for good or bad, when it closed, there is definitely remorse about that.” Klein feels Georgie’s closing will undoubtedly leave a void in the
Continued on pg. 34 | uu |
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Oc tOb er 8 - Oc tOb er 21, 2015 // Issue 2 2. 21
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| uu | Georgie’s Alibi from pg.30
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watermark Your lgbt life.
community that, as of now, is not going to be filled by any other of the existing LGBTQ establishments in the immediate area. “I am friends with the people at the Flamingo, and they’re trying to help make it interesting again. I am also friends with the owners at Enigma, but, to me, there is no alternative for Georgie’s right now,” Klein says.“The Garage, Lucky Star, they are what they are: small, little dive neighborhood bars. St. Pete has opened now and you can really go anywhere. But at the same time, there is something to be said for an actual gay bar.” Longstreth launched a GoFundMe page for the Georgie’s Alibi employees when he heard they were given only nine days before the bar would close. “Georgie’s Alibi staff is like family to many people here in St. Pete,” Longstreth says. “They’ve had a tough couple of years and have continued to work hard and give their time back to the community in many ways. I felt bad for them only getting a nine-day notice, and it’s going to be a rough nine days at that. I just thought it was the right thing to do.” While the page only raised about a thousand dollars, it demonstrates just how much Georgie’s means to loyal customers like Longstreth.
Ground Control to Major Ron
Ron Gofrank, the owner of Shoppes of Kenwood LLC and Georgie’s Alibi, declined to be interviewed for this article, but Barnum felt comfortable explaining why he opted not to. “He is a shy guy and this is a really painful time for him,” Barnum says. “This was not something he wanted to do. He turned down offers that were probably not LGBT-friendly, and he had hoped someone might step up and buy Georgie’s. It’s a hard time for him, and for everyone.” Gofrank signed the contract Sept. 8 for the sale of Georgie’s Alibi and its surrounding businesses. The purchasing company advised Barnum that they plan to tear down the buildings and put in apartment housing sometime late 2016. “It is depressing,” Barnum says. “Ron tried really hard to get it into profitability, but there was a lack of cooperation in getting things he wanted to [get done] done. Ron is not here and physically it’s very Oc tob er 8 - Oc tob er 21, 2015 // Issue 2 2. 21
hard for him to get here. Ron tried, though. He has spent a huge sum of money., well over six figures in the last two years, to shore up the bar.” The Kenwood area—Georgie’s Alibi, the Metro Wellness Center and King of Peace MCC church—has unofficially been home to St. Pete’s “gay district.” “This was the LGBT command center, between the Alibi, MCC and Metro, and Equality Florida just a block away. There were a lot of gay and gay-friendly businesses in the Metro Center building that have all been given notice to move out,” Barnum says. The Metro Wellness Center, according to Barnum, has also been sold, and is currently looking for a new place to relocate to in the immediate future. Metro has publicly and adamantly denied this claim. On Sept. 26, Metro CEO Lorraine Langlois issued a statement on the issue of relocating the organization’s Third Avenue North location in St. Pete. “Metro is not moving,” she said in an email. “If and when we choose to move from this location, we will certainly be the first to let our clients and the community know.” Langlois has previously hinted at more concrete plans to Watermark. “We are searching for a new 30,000 square-foot space and have anywhere from six to 12 months to maybe move,” Langlois said. “For many, Metro is a lifeline offering primary care, counseling, HIV care and social gathering. We would like to stay in the Historic Kenwood neighborhood and have some prospects, but nothing is solid right now. There is no rush, and all services will continue as usual.” King of Peace MCC church of St. Petersburg will not be moving from its building in the Kenwood area. The southern property right behind Georgie’s Alibi was sold to Burlington Place, which is building 53 low-income housing units. Barnum and Earnest Realty did not broker that deal. “Ron fought against that deal, and he wasn’t getting a lot of support from the Kenwood group for Alibi,” Barnum says. “Everyone threw their hands up and said we were stuck with the project, but we weren’t stuck with it. We could have fought it, because it was going to create a nuisance.” Barnum claims they were told the property south of Georgie’s would be a senior living area for residents over the age of 55, so that’s what was believed.
Last Dance: Revelers celebrate the end of an institution and the end of an era. Photos by Bruce Hardin
“Well, it’s not,” Barnum says. “It was very misleading and nobody [involved] would listen to me. Where was the hard evidence, the proof, that this was senior housing? ” Barnum points out that Gofrank was treated unfairly in the layout of the development deal, all while trying to do everything he could to accommodate the neighborhood. “Ron has worked hard to be a good neighbor,” Barnum says. “He spent $100,000 to put in sound resistant windows and doors. He put urethane foam in the attic to deaden sound transfer. But it wouldn’t matter if people were sitting on patios above the bar. It would be just like what is happening in downtown St. Pete.” A lack of support from the St. Pete City Council is also one of the reasons Barnum feels Gofrank had no choice but to sell. “Amy Foster is the one who I am disappointed in,” Barnum says. “She asked ‘Well what do you think we can do about it?’ She was sympathetic, but at the same time, she was one of the ones who trumpeted [the development]
It was a slice of life of not just the community but of St. Pete as a whole.
—Jeff Klein
when the project came up.” Foster is the city council representative for District 8, home of Georgie’s and the Kenwood area. Foster’s office was contacted for comment and sent the following statement: “The Burlington Place development began meetings with the Historic Kenwood Neighborhood Association, Georgie’s and other key stakeholders a full year prior to my taking office in January 2014. Did I bring forward this project? No, but I do support it (just as I also support Georgie’s Alibi). With people spending over 50 percent of their income on housing, affordable rents are a problem
across our country and locally. Green Mills, the developers of Burlington Place, has worked with all stakeholders to meet the needs of our community. The urban setting and mix of uses are one of the attractive qualities of the City of St. Petersburg.” “It is common and desirable for businesses and residences to coexist within close proximity,” the statement continued. “Green Mills offered to include sound mitigation features within Burlington Place to help reduce potential noise complaints from residents. The property will be marketed to seniors, and they have even met with Metro Wellness about targeting gay seniors with
watermark Your lgbt life.
limited income. Georgie’s Alibi has played a significant role in many LGBT lives in St. Petersburg. It is sad to see them close, but their closure has nothing to do with the community planned next door. Mr. Gofrank has also made an impact in our community through his support of our police officers and numerous nonprofits, and I thank him for all he has done for the City of St. Petersburg.” The Burlington Place application to the city was filed Dec. 18, 2014. The city council approved Burlington Place as a project Jan. 22, 2015. Foster added that the sale of Georgie’s has until January 2016 to be finalized and is contingent on
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receiving tax credits, so there was no reason for Georgie’s to close immediately, unless they were closing for other reasons. “I think we could have tried to stop it,” Barnum says. “It put pressure on Ron when he got this offer. Even if he kept the property, he’d be beating a dead horse. He wouldn’t have parking; people would complain about noise. The city council knew this was going to be a hardship, and while they were sympathetic, they didn’t stop anything.” Barnum stresses that while selling was painful for Gofrank, he feels even more remorse for what it has done to Georgie’s loyal employees. “We never argued there wouldn’t be issues involving noise, parking or congestion,” Barnum says. “We know it is an issue. But, again, it’s just like downtown; they take places that made the city come alive and want to tame them to make residents happy. So when this project was approved and the consensus was, ‘Tough, you have to deal with it,’ that was what pushed us to do this.”
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arts anD entertainment Photographer Jess t. Dugan’s remarkable portraits of masculinity in the LGbt community enlighten and inspire
Billy Manes PHOTOS By JESS. T DuGAn
T
THE
here’s an almOst
jarring sense of intimacy as you wander through photographer Jess T. Dugan’s Every breath we drew exhibit sparsely occupying the center of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College. All the white spaces separate the moments. Faces, eyes especially, greet the viewer, and, without a word uttered, people in portraiture open themselves up to judgment and understanding. It’s a bit of “#nofilter” exuberance, though the filter is Dugan herself.
EYES
The exhibit, ostensibly about confronting notions of masculinity and how they play out in the LGBT community, is the brainchild of Dugan, who has been widely praised for her technique and ability at capturing moments and souls and all of the things that make art so evocative. “I think my process is very slow and it’s very transparent. I usually spend about an hour talking to somebody,” she says, sitting at a table in a hidden back room of the museum. “And then I spend 45 minutes to an hour making the portrait. But I also mean slow in that I’m not like, ‘snap, snap, snap.’ It’s more like, ‘OK, we’re going to set up a photo here; do this. How does it feel if you sit like this? And I’ll say, ‘OK, that’s good, that’s working. That’s not working. Let’s try something else.’ So by the time I actually press the shutter, the person totally knows what they are getting.” That attention to detail has won Dugan, at a sprightly 29 years old, huge high-art acclaim. Following her studies at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and subsequent degrees from Harvard University and Columbia College Chicago, she has rightfully ascended into the gallery world the nation over, including permanent installations at Harvard and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, among a litany of others.
HAVE IT
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Emmett, 2013 “I’m less interested in ‘Does somebody have to be feminine? Does somebody have to be masculine?’ And I’m more interested in loosening our death grip on what it means to be feminine or masculine, and widening parameters for gender expression and gender identity and sexuality, and making that all much more fluid.”
Colby, 2012 Alex, 2012 “Eye contact has always been really important to me, because I think it facilitates that connection… but I also think, on another level there’s been so much abuse of power in photography. And for me, that’s a way to also let the people that I’m photographing present themselves to you. So it’s not that it totally takes away my role as the maker, but my show is not voyeuristic. You’re not walking in and peeping into the lives of all of these people. You walk in and you are suddenly in a relationship with all of these people and you are part of it and I think that is quite significant.”
“I very intentionally put people in intimate spaces with my subjects. We’re in their bedroom, we’re in the kitchen, we’re in this moment with them. And obviously that is something that I facilitate as the photographer, but then by extension, I want to place my viewer in that position. So I want people to sit down and think, ‘Wow, I’m in this very intimate moment with this person that I may or may not have come into contact with otherwise.’”
Nino, 2012
Ryan and Josh, 2013; Laurel, 2013 “I try to make portraits that go beyond the surface and go beyond that moment. So what I was always looking for is that moment when someone lets their guard down and really was present with me emotionally. My reason for loving that so much is it allows you to engage with that person on a deeper level. It’s not like you’re saying, ‘Oh, look at this person doing this thing.’ It’s more psychological and about their internal identity. And how that matches the external is obviously part of it, because it’s visual medium.”
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“It starts with who I’m interested in photographing. In previous bodies of work, for example, I said, ‘I’m photographing trans men.’ So it was sort of obvious whether you fit or not. And with this body of work I was much more interested in, or was mostly drawn to, people who really embodied this assuredness in themselves, especially when their identity went somewhat against the status quo. So it was this combination of strength and vulnerability that I was really drawn to.”
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| uu | Jess T. Dugan from pg.37
Self-portrait (bath), 2012 “The self-portraits are really important, in part because it implicates me as being in the dialogue as well as in this community—and it shows that my interest in this comes out of my own identity in a lot of ways. But I also think it flips; it changes how you view some of the other portraits, too. I think especially for me it was significant for some of the portraits of men… I like the viewer on some level thinking of me behind the camera. It plays with certain expectations or certain thoughts about how these moments would take place.”
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Esvan, 2013
Tariq, 2012
“I seek out people to photograph who I think are beautiful in some way, and find something in them that I relate to or that I admire. But it is very much real people. There’s no character. There’s no makeup. There’s no any of that. I actually believe pretty strongly in the, what’s the phrase, the profundity of the every day. Finding something profound in these very basic moments and the deeply human experience of living is profound on its own. We don’t need to amplify it with special effects.” watermark Your lgbt life.
“My mentor in grad school was [photographer] Dawoud Bey. He works a lot with African-American communities. It’s something we’ve talked a lot about. When you’re photographing within a community that’s marginalized, you have this added baggage and responsibility, and people place more pressure on you in a way. Your pictures of the trans community suddenly have to speak for trans identity, whereas pictures of straight people don’t. No one assumes they speak for all straight people; they accept them as individuals… that ’s something I’ve had to negotiate. I’m aware that you can’t just pretend you don’t have that responsibility, but you also don’t want to. I don’t want to make work that’s exploitive, but I also don’t want to sugarcoat things. I want to make work that’s very real and there’s a variety of experiences within the LGBT community.”
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In person, Dugan carries her humility with a dagger of intellect on its side. She’s unassuming but certainly aware of what she is doing. She exhibits her own sort of masculinity, though she says that she is not in transition, even when many of her subjects are. Her partner, Vanessa, a tall blond drink of pixie beauty, was in town for the September opening that Watermark attended and is a frequent subject in Dugan’s work. (Watermark is sponsoring the exhibit, which runs through January with an artist’s lecture on Nov. 5.) Perhaps more impressively, Dugan herself poses in sometimes compromised, always real, positions for her own photography. It’s as if she’s allowing her subjects to see that she, too, is willing to let her guard down, to not control the message exclusively from the artist’s gaze. She speaks openly about the abuses of photography in marginalized communities. “I consider myself part of the trans community, but I am not fully transitioning, and so I feel at home in this more androgynous space,” she says. “I do think my work within transgender communities is definitely made easier by me having somewhat of a trans identity, although I would say that I don’t share the experience with every single person I’m photographing.” But through most of the Every breath we drew exhibit— which boasts an accompanying photography book—it’s not so much the gender identities on display as it is the attitudes caught in moments caught on film. “There’s something I find really powerful in slowing down a moment,” she says. “So much of our culture is so fast and so, like, immediate visual consumption. And so part of what makes my pictures successful is that they kind of slow down time and they distill it more, and it becomes something more rooted. It’s not something passing.” Dugan and CFAM were kind enough to share the following images with Watermark, presented here with statements from our interview with Dugan. “One of the main things that I want to communicate is that loosening our expectations around gender and sexuality doesn’t just affect trans people and LGBT [people]. It affects everybody.”
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10/10/14 3:45 PM
theater
Priscilla, Queen of the Cruise
Award-winning costume designer Tim Chappel takes drag fashion on the high seas print anything we want.
Oh, okay. I was dating a producer while I was at university studying fashion design. He said, “You should come work on my show during school holiday,” so I started working in costumes for TV and never looked back. And that was your foot in the door.
[Laughs] Got my foot in the door; I got something into something. Yeah, but that’s how I got into costume design. You know, it’s better than fashion because there is always such a huge variety of things you’re doing. There’s a lot of travel involved, and it’s great being a part of that creative process, watching an actor transform in front of your eyes into the character. It’s pretty satisfying. You are best known for the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. How did you get involved with that production?
I was actually making costumes for drag queens at the time, and Stephan Elliott, who was the director of Priscilla, had seen the costumes I did and knew I would be cheap so he asked me to join the film.
(ABOVE)
DANCING QUEENS:
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert The Musical’s performers sing and dance their way onto the Norwegian Cruise Line’s Epic starting Oct. 19. Photos courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line
T
Is that how you first met [Priscilla co-costume designer] Lizzy Gardiner?
Jeremy Williams
How are you enjoying yourself in Tampa?
he queens are trading in the
mighty tour bus in the Australian Outback for a cruise ship on the Atlantic as the musical sensation Priscilla, Queen of the Desert opens on board the Norwegian Epic cruise ship leaving out of Southampton, England, Oct. 19 for a final destination in Barcelona. The musical, which is based on the 1994 Oscar-winning film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, played on Broadway in 2011 and 2012 where it won a Tony award for the same thing that earned the film its Oscar: those fabulous costumes.
Tim Chappel is one half of the dynamic costume design team who brought home the Oscar and Tony for Priscilla. The Aussie native chatted with Watermark while in Tampa, home to the headquarters of the Norwegian Cruise Lines, working on the costumes for the new production.
watermark Your lgbt life.
I love Tampa. I love the humidity here; it feels exotic. It feels wild here with the swamps and water everywhere. I saved a huge turtle off the road the other day. It is incredible. So how did you get involved in costume design?
Well, should I tell you the real story? It’s probably not printable [laughs].
It’s ok, we’re an alternative magazine, and we can
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No, I met her while working on costumes together on a soap opera called A Street. You won the Oscar with her for Priscilla in 1995. What was that experience like?
The funny thing was, at the time, we were told we were very unlikely to win. The other people in the category were very famous and were kind of due for an Oscar, so we were actually the odds-on, least favored to win in Vegas. So that was amazing winning it, but it was amazing because before that. I had no plans of moving to America
Continued on pg. 46 | uu |
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VP15 WM ad_Layout 1 9/23/15 6:43 AM Page 1
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Old Fort Park • New Smyrna Beach Under the old oaks with 40+ vendors
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Group Blessing for ALL marriages 1:45 pm • performed by UCC Pastor Rev. Dr. Diane Langworthy
Davey Leatherwood Singer/Songwriter • 1 pm
get On the Bus: Chappel has steered Priscilla through each genesis, designing the costumes from film to stage to cruise line. PHOTOS COuRTESy Of nORWEGIAn CRuISE lInE
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Leave your handprint or special message on a giant canvas
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| uu | Priscilla
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Male impressionists • 3 pm
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frOm Pg.45
and then, after the win, I moved to Los Angeles and had an instant career. It was the same with Lizzy. It was a crazy experience. I’ll tell you one of the best things: If you’re ever going to win an Oscar, try and do it with somebody else. That way you get that time on stage when the other person is talking to appreciate the moment. The funny thing is while Lizzy was talking, I was looking out at the audience and expecting to see a lot of bored faces waiting for you to get off the stage so they could get on with the Best Picture, but it’s not like that at all. They were all so excited. I remember looking out and seeing Oprah and she was smiling and Tom Cruise was smiling and all these people looked so happy. I thought I was going to explode, it was so much fun. sO where DO yOu keeP yOur Oscar?
Volusia Flagler
Rainbow Alliance 46
watermark Your lgbt life.
I gave it to my mom to look after. It’s with my brother’s billiard trophies. Out Of the success
Of PRiCiLLA the film, PRiSCiLLA, QuEEN of ThE DESERT: ThE MuSiCAL was bOrn anD yOu anD lizzy came back tO DO the cOstumes anD wOn the tOny. hOw DiD that exPerience Differ frOm winning the Oscar?
It was good to show the first one wasn’t a fluke. I don’t think there are any more awards for us to win; I think we swept them all as far as costume design goes. The Tonys were nowhere near as fun as the Oscars though. When I did look out at the audience, then they all did look really bored. yOu’ve wOrkeD a lOt in televisiOn, incluDing DANCiNG WiTh ThE STARS.
That’s my guilty pleasure; it is so much fun. Live TV has a real energy to it. I prefer working with live shows, because it happens and then it’s gone. You just live in that moment. You just really have to appreciate it because once it’s finished, it’s finished. whO’s the mOst Difficult PersOn yOu have haD tO wOrk with?
Lainie Kazan is a totally insane “see you next
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Tuesday.” The woman is truly insane. She was the most horrible person I have ever worked with. You know, generally the bigger the start the nicer they are. The people who give you the most trouble are the people whose star is either waning or rising, who are insecure about their position. I’ve worked with people like Sandra Bullock and Pamela Anderson and they are always so nice. what’s next fOr yOu after PRiSCiLLA?
I’m going back to Australia to work on Little Shop of Horrors next, and then back to L.A., where I’ll be doing another season of Dancing with the Stars. i reaD sOmewhere that yOur nickname is the “breast man.” where DiD that cOme frOm?
I have no idea where that started. When I was in L.A., I was just really good at boobs. I seem to have worked with every actress that has great boobs: Selma Hayek, and, of course, Pamela Anderson. I’m just good with boobs—real or fake.
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Sept 25 - Oct 25 Presenting Sponsor
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watermark Your lgbt life.
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Produced by
event Planner
arts+entertainment
community calendar
OrlanDO
OrlanDO
Bubbles and Blackjack Benefitting the Ronald McDonald House, Oct. 9, The Mezz, The Abbey, Orlando. 407-704-6261; AbbeyOrlando.com
come Out With Pride friday, Oct. 9, 8:00 p.m. saturday, Oct. 10, 9:30 p.m. hamBurger mary’s and lake eOla, OrlandO
Park Avenue Sidewalk Sale, Oct. 9-11, Park Avenue, Winter Park. 407-644-8281; ExperienceParkAvenue.com
Come Out with Pride kicks off Oct. 9 with Pride on Church Street featuring live entertainment, music, food and Hamburger Mary’s dynamic duo of Ginger Minj and The Minx. On Oct. 10, the festival and parade (presented by Macy’s) surrounds Lake Eola. The night finishes up with dinner & fireworks on the promenade at Lake Eola. For more information go to www.comeoutwithpride.com.
2015 Zebra Run 5K, Oct. 10, Lake Eola Park, Orlando. 407-228-1446; ZebraRun.com Orlando Philharmonic: The Hot Sardines, Oct.10, Bob Carr Theater, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org Pride with Jordin Sparks, Oct. 10, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-452-7571; ParliamentHouse.com Ghost, Oct. 10, TheBeacham, Orlando. 407-246-1419; TheBeachham.com Pride Cookout, Oct. 10, Southern Nights, Orlando. 407-412-5039; SoutherNightsOrl.com PRIDE Kat Deluna live in Concert, Oct. 10, Pulse Orlando. 407-649-3888; PulseOrlandoClub.com The Central florida Jazz Society October concert, Oct. 11, The Abbey, Orlando.407-704-6261; AbbeyOrlando.com
PriDe sParkler American Idol winner Jordin Sparks headlines the official Come Out With Pride after party at Parliament House Oct. 10. PHOTO COuRTESy Of WIKIPEDIA
latin food and Wine festival, Oct. 18, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 407-428-5870; LatinFoodAndWine.com
John Cleese & Eric Idle, Oct. 14-15, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RuthEckerdHall.com
Movies Out loud: Leprechaun in the Hood, Oct. 14, TheAbbey, Orlando. 407-704-6261; AbbeyOrlando.com
Annual Gala Benefit, Oct. 21, Winter Park Playhouse, Winter Park. 407-645-0145; WinterParkPlayhouse.com
fantasy fetish fest, Oct. 1518, Flamingo, St. Petersburg. 727-321-5000; FlamingoFla.com
Bat Boy: The Musical, Oct. 15-Oct. 31, The Abbey, Orlando. 407-704-6261; AbbeyOrlando.com
tamPa bay
14th Annual Taste of Thornton Park, Oct. 15, the fountain in Thornton Park, Orlando. 407-448-0859; ThorntonPark.org John Cleese & Eric Idle. Oct. 16- 17, Walt Disney Theater, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org Winter Park Benefit Shop 80th Anniversary Celebration, Oct. 17, Winter Park Welcome Center, Winter Park. 407-644-8281; CityOfWinterPark.org
A night at the Oscars - The florida Orchestra, Oct. 9, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org Second Saturday Art Walk, Oct. 10, St. Petersburg. 727-518-5142; StPeteArtsAlliance.org Mel Brooks… Back in the Saddle Again!, Oct. 14, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org Silence! The Musical, Oct. 14, 2015—Nov. 15, 2015, Jaeb Theater, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org
The naked Magic Show, Oct. 16, Ferguson Hall, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org fIVE by fIVE art exhibition, Oct. 16, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa. 813-421-8380; TampaMuseum.org 4th Annual Big Gay Gardens Day, Oct. 17, Busch Gardens, Tampa. 888-800-5447; SeaWorldParks.com Broadway Ball After Dark, Oct. 17, Carol Morsani Hall, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org Pinkalicious Party, Oct. 17, Flamingo, St. Petersburg. 727-321-5000; FlamingoFla.com
tamPa bay
Kick up Your Heels… Again! sunday, Oct. 11, 6:30- 9:00 p.m. metrO wellness & cOmmunity center, st. petersBurg Join Metro and SMART Ride 2015 team members for an amateur drag show to benefit the Tampa Bay Area Cyclists SMART Ride team. Come see top notch entertainment by these talented performers and make sure to get tickets for the raffle. All funds raised will benefit local HIV/AIDS organizations. The SMART Ride is an annual event where participants bike from Miami to Key West to raise awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS organizations.
sarasOta
ViVa Tampa Bay Hispanic Heritage festival, Oct. 18, Centennial Park, Tampa. 813-407-6866; AllAmericanMusicEvents.com A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Oct. 20—25, Carol Morsani Hall, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org
sarasOta Shen yun Orchestra, Oct. 13, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota. 1-800-826-9303; VanWezel.org The Color Purple, Oct. 14-Nov. 21, West Coast Black Theatre Troupe, Sarasota. 941-366-1505; WestCoastBlackTheatre.org Beauty and the Beast, Oct. 14, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota. 1-800-826-9303; VanWezel.org
sarasota Pride saturday, Oct. 17, 12:00- 6:00 p.m. jd hamel park, sarasOta Come celebrate with the city of Sarasota and Equality Florida for a day of fun, sun and Pride. After a year full of historical moments, it is time to come out and celebrate with friends. There will be food, venders, and live entertainment. And while you are there, be sure to ask an Equality Florida volunteer about the Florida Competitive Workforce Act and what you can do to help.
OrlanDO
26th Annual Headdress ball saturday, Oct. 17, 5:00 p.m.- 1:00 a.m. The Hope and Help Center hosts the 26th Annual Headdress Ball, Central Florida’s premier blacktie gala. The Headdress Ball is Hope and Help’s cornerstone fundraiser and is a veritable who’s who of Orlando. Enjoy elegant cocktails and dining, followed by an outrageous show certain to dazzle with the “Colors of the World.” For ticket and event information visit www.headdressball.org.
To submit your upcoming event, concert, performance, or fundraiser visit watermarkonline.com.
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overheard
tamPa bay Out+abOut
janet-cOncert-t-shirt-tamPa
j
anet jacksOn came tO tampa and all she got was this T-shirt, and she could not have been more excited about it. While performing on stage at the Amalie Arena during her “Unbreakable World Tour,” a fan threw a T-shirt on stage. Now gifts being thrown on stage by adoring fans are nothing new to Ms. Jackson, but this one left her visibly giddy as she opened up the shirt, and it read Penny-Charlene-Cleo-Justice, those being the first names of her iconic characters from Good Times, Diff’rent Strokes, Fame and Poetic Justice. The T-shirt was designed by St. Petersburg artist Chad Mize, who was unable to attend the concert, and was tossed on stage by his friend Ryan Prado. The T-shirt design, which lists four similar people, places or things, is becoming quite iconic itself with the World Tour shirt (ParisLondon-Tokyo-St. Pete) being all the rage last year. The design even made appearances at this year’s TIGLFF events with the Sundance-CannesToronto-TIGLFF t-shirts. HIGH FASHION!
can the real ybOr city Please stanD uP?
H
OllywOOd is cOming tO yBOr… well, sOrt Of. The rights to Tampa Bay writer Dennis Lehane’s novel, Live by Night, were bought by Oscar-winning writer/ director/actor/producer/Batman Ben Affleck who will turn it into his next project. The story is set in Ybor City during the 1920s and ‘30s and is about a Boston thief’s rise to power as a Gulf Coast rum runner. Don’t dust off those acting chops just yet though my local performers. While the story takes place in the bay area, the lack of state tax incentives for movie productions has caused Mr. Affleck to head north some 270 miles to Brunswick, Georgia where he is building a fake Ybor City for the film. If you build it, they will come and come he will. The set designers have been busy building since early September preparing for Batman Ben’s arrival to begin shooting the first week of November. Sorry real Ybor and thanks Obama… oops, we mean thanks Rick Scott!
balance in tOylanD
s
anta’s little helpers ain’t gOt nOthing On Balance tampa Bay! Balance Tampa Bay proved they are the community heroes we need when they joined The Toymakers Sept. 26 to paint wooden toys which will be donated to local children’s hospitals and other agencies that care for children in need. The Toymakers, who have been doing this since 1982, receive no compensation for their time and work with all donated supplies. All the toys that they build are designed with safety in mind and contain no nails, screws, staples or sharp corners. The little elves of Balance Tampa Bay painted just over 2,500 toys in less than three hours. Check out Toymakers.org to see the beautiful work they did and to see how you can donate supplies and/or your time.
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unBreakaBle seams: St. Petersburg artist and designer Chad Mize (L) and friend Ryan Prado wear replicas of the t-shirt Mize designed for, and Prado gave to, legend Janet Jackson while she was in Tampa for her “Unbreakable World Tour” Sept. 25. PHOTO COuRTESy Of RyAn PRADO
2
sweep me Off my sKaTes: Anthony Citrola (L) takes a seat on Jeremy Wade neiman in between laps at United Skates of America for Pride Skate in Tampa Sept. 24.
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PHOTO COuRTESy Of JOSH SHIPP
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might as well jump: Tampa Bay’s Dancing with the Stars couple Sarah from the Fred Astaire Dance Studio and Equality Florida’s todd Richardson had all the right moves at the charity competition at TPepin’s in Tampa Oct. 3. Photo COuRTESy Of TODD RICHARDSOn
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standing with planned parenthOOd: Florida representative candidate Mike Reedy stands with supporters of Planned Parenthood at a rally in Tampa Sept. 29. PHOTO COuRTESy Of MIKE REEDy
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tiglff is the new Black: TIGLFF’s KJ Mohr (L) and Orange is the New Black star lea Delaria ready themselves to meet and greet their fans at The Palladium in St. Petersburg Oct. 3. PHOTO By nICK CARDEllO
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painting the tOys in rainBOw: Balance Tampa Bay joins forces with The Toymakers to paint wooden toys for local children in need at the Francis House in Tampa Sept. 26.
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PHOTO COuRTESy Of PAul GOnyA
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are yOu ready fOr sOme fOOtBall: Tampa Bay Bucs’ fans get some tailgating in before the Pride game against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Oct. 4. Photo COuRTESy Of PORTIA WEISS
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and here we gO: Eduardo ferrer (L) and TIGLFF Treasurer Ben Tozour welcome guests to the festival’s opening night film, “Kiss Me, Kill Me,” at The Palladium in St. Petersburg Oct. 2. PHOTO By JEREMy WIllIAMS
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8 7 Oc tOb er 8 - Oc tOb er 21, 2015 // Issue 2 2. 21
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Accessible:
Oc tOb er 8 - Oc tOb er 21, 2015 // Issue 2 2. 21
overheard
OrlanDO Out+abOut
Disney DaDs
a
few issues agO we mentiOned a phOtO spOt at epcOt that featured what appeared to be a Gay couple and their child. We received confirmation it wasn’t placed solely during Gay Days, as it still stands there to this day. Despite being very LGBT friendly, Disney wasn’t necessarily known for putting LGBT families in the spotlight as much as it’s done recently. In a recent online ad for Disney Springs (the rebranded Downtown Disney), a Watermark reader reposted the ad sharing his joy of seeing what appears to be a gay couple and their child sitting down to eat at a restaurant. Now, a national commercial dubbed the “Family Happens Here” campaign features several diverse families. At the start of the commercial, there’s an image of two hands coming together as they walked: a man in a light green shirt and someone in a pink shirt. Halfway through the commercial, the same two men are seen with their kids. Despite the subtle hints of these LGBT family, we’re happy to see these images becoming the norm. Now, when are we getting a Disney animated film about two princes or two princesses in love & living happily ever after?
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take it Or leaf it
i
n march we mentiOned hOw envirOnmentalist and district 4 sOil and water supervisOr eric rOllings was working alongside City Commissioner Patty Sheehan and Mayor Buddy Dyer were part of a group that were trying to conserve and preserve Constitution Green, a small plot of land in Downtown Orlando. The area was privately owned and was rumored to be up for sale to a local condo developer. Through the hard work of all the individuals and the large number of signatures raised, success was reached when Mayor Dyer signed a letter of intent to purchase the land for an estimated $3.4 Million. An additional focus for Eric now is to make Orlando a Foam (container) Free Zone with his NoFoamZone.com campaign.
OrlanDO city has winning balls
O
ne full week BefOre cOme Out with pride, Orlando City Soccer hosted their first ever LGBT Pride night. With a pre-party on Church Street station Soccer fans intermingled with some first timers out to support a Pride event. The block party at Church Street consisted of restaurant and bars like Hamburger Mary’s to Harry Buffalo opening their doors to the purple clad fans. They offered outdoor bars, a DJ, corn-hole games and special pride theme merchandise for sale. Quite a few attendants had never been to an Orlando City Game and mainly came to celebrate Pride. The fast paced and exciting game resulted in a 2-1 win for the Orlando City Lions over the Montreal Impact.
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DREW SIZEMORE
COuRTESy AnDREA HAyS
hOld On: Hamburger Mary’s Broadway Brunch regular performers and Parliament House staffers meet Wilson Phillips Sept. 29 at Eat to the Beat with Wilson Phillips at Epcot Center. PHOTO COuRTESy
2
pride On the Beach lgBt: Allies Jack and Margo Dixon brave the heat to celebrate at Space Coast Pride, Sept. 26. PHOTO By DAnny GARCIA
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ruBBing elBOws: Orlando realtor David Dorman (left) takes in a San Diego sunset with Rick Davidson, CEO of Century 21, at the C21 Leadership Conference Oct. 3. PHOTO By SCOTT PEnyAK
4
Older and wiser: lindsay Kincaide, HIV program coordinator at The GLBT Center, talks HIV to the crowd at The Center’s National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day Health Fair Sept. 18. PHOTO By KEn TERREll
medal fOr the mOuse: The Walt Disney Company is presented with the 2015 Outie Workplace Excellence of the Year Award at the Dallas at Out & Equal Workplace Summit Oct. 6. Photo
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rhythm natiOn: (L to R) Dan Bray, Thearon Scurlock, John Ruffier and Shawn Raider are “Together Again” for the Sept. 23 Janet Jackson concert at Amway Center. PHOTO COuRTESy THEAROn
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SCuRlOCK
7
cOast with the MOsT: (L to R) Heather Mcfarland, Aaron Karnes and Holly Mcfarland hit the street party at the Space Coast Pride Festival at EGAD Square & Civic Center. PHOTO By DAnny GARCIA
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fair pay fight: Carlos Guillermo Smith, candidate for House District 49, advocates for a higher minimum wage at the Fight for 15 Rally Sept. 28 at Sedanos on Curry Ford Road. PHOTO By IDA VISHKAEE
ESKAMAnI
8 watermark Your lgbt life.
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100 South Eola Drive, Orlando, FL
You’re Invited
Friday, November 6, 2015 8pm - 11pm We hope you will join us for this fabulous evening featuring live music, exciting entertainment, delicious hors d’oeuvre, open bars, and a State of the State address by Equality Florida co-founder and CEO, Nadine Smith.
Tickets $100 or $50 with valid student ID. Sponsorship opportunities begin at $500. To RSVP and for more information on sponsorship visit eqfl.org/orlandogala. For questions, call 407-376-4801. PRESENTED BY PO BOX 20786, TAMPA, FL 33622-0786
Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. All net proceeds directly benefit Equality Florida Institute, a tax exempt 501c3 non-profit organization. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR THE EQUALIT Y FLORIDA INSTITUTE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN FLORIDA (1.800.435.7352). REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION #CH7992.
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announcements
weDDing bells
scott Guira, 34, and John Partain, 36
congratulations
from Lakeland, Florida
years togetHer:
12 years
engagement date:
January 16, 2015
wedding date:
January 16, 2016
wedding venue:
The ceremony will be at the Lake Mirror Theater in downtown Lakeland, and the reception will be at the Magnolia Building in downtown Lakeland.
wedding planner:
The couple have been planning their wedding with the help of Scotty lazenby, Erin lazenby and the talents of Patrick Patterson Graphic Design.
“i
lOve scOtt’s passiOn fOr
life. With Scott, failure is never an option,” John says. “He does everything wedding caterers: 110 percent. He gives himself—all of himself— Fresco’s to everything he does, and that’s one thing I wedding tHeme/ absolutely love about him.”
colors:
“A One-Night Only Performance of John and Scott Tie the knot”—with their colors being mint and warm gray, and a Frenchinspired theme.
first song:
“after all” by peter Cetera and Cher
interesting fact:
They both enjoying giving back to the community.
John Partain, who is the Florida marketing manager for Verizon Wireless, met Scott Guira, a Publix Super Markets manager, in 2004. They were young and ambitious, and very attracted to each other from the start. “I was out with some friends for an evening in Tampa, and John was out with some friends also,” Scott says. “We just started talking and didn’t make the connection that night, but somehow, by coincidence, everything kind of worked out where we ended up meeting up again later on.” Scott’s first impression of John was he was really cute and had pretty eyes, and he just kept smiling. John thought Scott
was distinguished, genuine and handsome. They are both happy that, even though they didn’t make a romantic connection that night, they ended up staying in touch, spending more time together and developing their bond into a loving relationship. “It just started from dating and through spending more time together through various dates, we got to know each other more and found out we have a lot in common,” John says. “We both have a very strong work ethic, and we both felt very strongly about family. We both had a lot of things that we wanted to accomplish. We were in our 20s and still young.” “What we’ve learned from each
other, from being in a relationship, is that the people that you are when you begin a journey together is not who you are the entire time,” John says. “I think there is a chance to grow, and it’s important that you learn how to grow together—that comes from learning from each other and never being afraid to dream together.” And as the years passed, John says he knew that Scott was the one but didn’t think too much about marriage due to the fact in Florida, and still many parts of the U.S., LGBTs weren’t afforded the same rights as heterosexual couples. When same-sex marriage became legal on January 6, John thought he and Scott could finally get married. With their anniversary fast approaching on January 16, John figured it would be perfect because they had previously discussed the importance of keeping their same anniversary date because they’ve been together for so long. John also noticed January 16, 2016, was a Saturday, which he thought would be a perfect day to have the wedding. Scott and John spent the day at Epcot, had dinner at Monsieur Paul, and then, with the help of his friends who were cast members, John asked Scott in the garden of the French Pavilion of Epcot’s World Showcase for his hand in marriage. Overwhelmed, Scott immediately said “yes.” “He’s somebody who is going to be that person that’s always there—for his family, for his friends, for anybody that’s close to him or needs him,” Scott says. “He’s always willing to reach out and be that person, jump to their aid and help take care of them. I think there’s nothing more endearing than a loving spirit.”
Civil Rights Attorney Mary Meeks and filmmakerVicki nantz celebrated their 17th anniversary Sept. 23. Watermark’s sales manager Mark Cady and partner Carlos Archilla celebrated 5 years together Oct. 1. Mary Birchler and Kimberly Boshears of Spring Hill celebrate 23 years together on Oct. 9. Phish Phest Entertainment celebrates 14 years in business on Oct. 15. St. Petersburg couple Thomas Ziri and Jeffrey nicolaus celebrated 17 years together on Oct. 3. Grace Restoration Church in Lakeland celebrates its five year anniversary on Oct. 16.
local birtHdays
D’Squared Productions’ Douglas White (Oct. 8); Parliament House’s Robert Arroyo (Oct. 11); Orlando DJ and magician VJ nick Comis (Oct. 12); Freelance writer Michael Kilgore and GaYbor entertainer and Tampa institution Joey Brooks (Oct. 14); Art curator Mendi Cowles and Tampa retiree Howard Hawk (Oct. 15); Orlando Fringe producer Michael Marinaccio, Handsome Suncoast softballer Michael Monnich and Orlando attorney Mary Meeks (Oct. 16); Tampa political campaign guru Mitch Kates, singer Sunshine Matthews, Lakeland-based Geico expert Barry Stemle, Ybor City’s King Corona Cigar expert Willy Emerson, Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph (Oct. 17); Family Equality Council’s Tatiana Quiraga, DJ Cubby Pat O’Rourke, UCF LGBTQ advocate David Moran and South Florida Gay News publisher norm Kent (Oct. 18); St. Pete’s Everest University admissions specialist Mike Callahan, Tampa photographer and graphic artist Byron Schaerr and Orlando make-up artist Scott Juszczak (Oct. 19);Chris Hamlett Quality Analyst, EMBARQ, Florida hospital intern and sexy Pulse dancer louis Velasquez, and Flamingo Car Club president Robert “Tiny” nasworthy (Oct. 20); DJ Ants Adam Brenner (Oct. 21).
do you Have an announcement? Having a birtHday or anniversary? did you get a new Job or promotion? See your news in Watermark! Send your announcement to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com or go to WatermarkOnline.com/Submit-a-Transition.
—Samantha Rosenthal
it’s tHat easy!
Do you have an interesting wedding or engagement story you’d like to share with Watermark readers? If so, email the details to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com for consideration as a future feature on this page.
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uprisings “You know, nothing wrong with taking your time. What’s important is getting it right. … It really is great how long you’ve supported gay marriage.” “I could have supported it sooner.” “Well, you did it pretty soon.” “Could’ve been sooner.” “Fair point.”
Back-and-forth between presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and her comedic doppelganger Kate McKinnon on the Oct. 3 episode of Saturday Night Live.
Screencapture from Hulu.com
Photo from wikimedia commons
E
JOLLY WORKER
verybody’s favorite Pinellas County Congressman David Jolly, R-Indian Shores, is pulling out his ruler to slap the wrists of the Senate and the House for being terrible at representing the people in this socalled representative democracy. His aims aren’t necessarily apolitical, seeing as he’s a noted supporter of the Jeb Bush (JEB!) presidential campaign. Specifically, he’s taking a jab at the lack of presence from co-headlining elected congressmen, including, gasp, Marco Rubio, SaintPetersBlog.com reports. “This ‘try-nothing’ Congress needs a reality check,” Jolly jollied. “A work week in Washington should be no different than a work week in every other town across the nation.” Jolly is actively pursuing a perch in the U.S. Senate against Lt. Gov. CarlosLopez Cantera (among others) in a bid to shame Washington and all of its terrible behavior.
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Photo from wikimedia commons
PLANNED PAYMENT
S
cary head of wax and head of Florida Gov. Rick Scott isn’t caving to the pressures from Cub Scout John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council. Stemberger, who has never met a story about helping others that he didn’t want to dress up for in order to dislike, has been banging the drum of the falsified Planned Parenthood videos that circulated all the way up to presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina’s transom of doom. At any rate, Scott’s office reported last week that it would not be cutting the Medicaid distributions to Planned Parenthood (a tiny $45,000) even though Stemberger insists that Scott has a “moral, ethical and now fiscal obligation” to cut the cord (cough). Scott, of course, was one of those governors that played investigator on Planned Parenthood, only to find out that he was wrong.
Photo from Facebook
T
TREE HUGGERS
hough the details are confusing (as most development and/ or city deal details are), we can only smell the positive in Orlando’s deal to save its historic Constitution Green Park and that crazy tree that covers it. Constitution Green seems a lot like a public park, especially when you consider that its featured tree grew itself into the greenspace ground in some crazy work of botanical physics, it was (or is, for now) owned by a citrus-growing family called the Carusos, who recently hinted at development for the area. The city will pay more than $3 million from its Community Redevelopment Agency coffers and hand over some bartering tool (a bank) in order to save face and space. Hooray for giving trees!
watermark Your lgbt life.
SHIT HAPPENS
I
Billy Manes
t shouldn’t be a political banner for the requisite public waving in front of a coming election—a disturbed gunman follows in the footsteps of all of all of the disturbed gunmen before him and arbitrarily takes the lives of nine individuals ranging in age from 18 to 67 in what can only be described as a massacre on the campus of Umpqua Community College in Oregon on Oct. 1—but it has become one, regardless of from which side of the aisle you’re armchair quarterbacking the decline of western civilization. In the aftermath of the latest campus terrorist attack (and yes, that’s exactly what it was), politicians were once again called to task, once again asked for answers, on exactly how it is that we comfortably walk this tangent bridging mental health and forced death into one blur of public-relations horror. “Stuff happens,” presidential hopeful and gaffe-master Jeb Bush opined, according to the Tampa Bay Times via the Washington Post. Bush went on to compare mass shootings to gates around swimming pools and, oh, how much will those cost reasonable citizens to save their children. In other words, more gun laws? What will that do to my NRA report card come next November? An equally callous Sen. Marco Rubio, who is also trying to climb his way up the executive branch and into the White House, chimed in thusly: “These gun laws just aren’t effective at preventing this. Gun crime is committed by criminals, criminals ignore the law. For years, those funded by the National Rifle Association have been playing this deflection game while simultaneously supporting the proliferation of firearms in the name of safety. Even after the deaths of these students and staff in Oregon, even after the deaths of children in Newtown, Mass. a few years earlier, the cheat sheet of talking points remains the same for the Charlton-Heston colddead-hands brigade. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. We need to do more about mental illness, but we needn’t spend any more public dollars to do so. Not to dance on any graves here, and there are graves that this writer crouches upon now and then (one in particular that is littered in shrapnel that should never have been scattered), but the fact that we still have to have this conversation about gun control. Promisingly, Democratic hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley have come out with plans to diminish the violence. O’Malley is proposing a ban on assault weapons outright and the potential of criminalizing gun trafficking. Clinton is taking a regulatory approach to dealers and threatening executive action should the gun-loving congress not agree. Republican punch line Donald Trump and his hair, however, continue to say, “guns, no guns, it doesn’t matter.” Stuff happens? Stuff needs to be fixed.
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VOTE NOV. 3RD
“TOGETHER,
WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD A BETTER ORLANDO.” The Fight for Equality: Buddy is leading the fight for equality, because he knows that in order to attract the bright entrepreneurs of tomorrow’s economy, Orlando needs to be an inclusive city where everyone feels welcome regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation. He will continue to build a safer, stronger, more inclusive city we can all be proud to call home.
Stand Up Orlando: Last year, Buddy launched Stand Up Orlando, an
anti-bullying initiative that ensures our community continues to be a place of belonging, acceptance and respect for all people.
Promoting Inclusiveness In City Hall: Orlando is a leader in antidiscrimination. Buddy fought to make gender identity a protected class in our city, has officiated same-sex marriages and is proud to help Orlando obtain the maximum score of 100 in the Municipality Equality Index that measures a city’s inclusiveness for the gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
@buddyfororlando
Buddy Dyer for Orlando
#BuddyforOrlando | #OrlandoProud | www.BuddyforOrlando.com | Paid by Buddy Dyer for Mayor.
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