Watermark Issue 24.23: We Are Family

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watermark cEntral FlOrida EditiOn

Your LGBTQ Life.

WatermarkOnline.com

We Are

FAMILY why having a family is easier than ever for central Florida’s lgbTQ couples.

daytOna bEach • OrlandO • tampa • st. pEtErsburg • clEarWatEr • sarasOta

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issuE 24.23 • nOvEmbEr 16-29, 2017

This issue features two covers!

In this issue we feature adoptive families from both Central Florida and Tampa bay.

E d L 17 si in UA 20 l ia NN IDE Ec sp R A GU OU AY LI D HO

watermark tampa bay EditiOn

Your LGBTQ Life.

WatermarkOnline.com

We Are

FAMILY why having a family is easier than ever for Tampa bay’s lgbTQ couples.

daytOna bEach • OrlandO • tampa • st. pEtErsburg • clEarWatEr • sarasOta

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issuE 24.23 • nOvEmbEr 16-29, 2017

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Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

Did you know that Metro, in its 25TH year, supports the community with over 90 services & activities?

HIV & HEP-C Medical Case Management Services (including Education & Adherence) 1. Case Management 2. Inmate Medical Case Management at Falkenburg Jail, Pinellas County Jail, Pasco County Jail 3. Specialty Care Center Medical Case Management (Hillsborough County Health Care Plan) 4. Florida Family AIDS Network (FAN) Medical Case Management (HIV positive women, youth, children and families) - Ryan White Part D 5. Minority AIDS Initiative Health Education and Risk Reduction Services 6. Minority AIDS Initiative Anti-Retroviral Treatment and Access to Services (ARTAS) 7. RE-LINK (intensive Case Management for re-entry population) 8. Peer Mentors and Advocate Services 9. Hepatitis C Case Management 10. CLEAR! Choosing Life Empowerment Action Results (one-on-one program using techniques for HIV+) 11. Linkage Navigation (linkage and follow-up to all available resources both internally and externally) 12. Nutritional Services (in process of contracting with a Nutritionist to provide additional education) HIV & Substance Abuse Prevention & Treatment Services 13. High Impact Prevention CDC (for HIV positive and high-risk men who have sex with men) 14. Targeted HIV Testing – Rapid Testing and Venipuncture (4th Gen) Testing 15. HCV (Hepatitis C) Testing- Rapid and venipuncture 16. Rapid RPR Testing (Syphilis) 17. Couples HIV Testing (Testing Together) 18. CONNECT (3 session, relationship-based intervention for HIV positive men and their partners) 19. HEART Case Management - for HIV + (Helping Enhance Adherence To Antiretroviral Therapy) 20. Every Dose Every Day (prevention for HIV+) 21. Navigation & Prevention Essential Support (NPES) Services (a service provided at HIV/HCV testing to link HIV negative clients to wraparound services and primary care) 22. Safe in the City (HIV/STD prevention intervention video to increase condom use and safe sex practices) 23. PROMISE (Peers Reaching Out and Modeling Intervention Strategies, community level intervention) 24. Condom Distribution Services 25. Closing the GAP (CTG) Minority Youth Ages 13-19 26. Bloodlines (group session and video to reach youth about prevention/transmission of HIV) 27. BART (cohort style multiple group intervention and education to reduce risky sexual behaviors in youth ages 13-19) 28. Community Outreach 29. Department of Health - HIP/MSM/Trans (testing and prevention interventions for high risk men who have sex with men and transgender persons) 30. Brief Group Counseling intervention, IMPAC+ & People Like Us Meet (PLUM) 31. Virtual Follow-up Program 32. Minority Women’s Empowerment (through groups and support services)

33. City Mix (peer-led male group for young gay or bisexual men about safer sex) 34. Popular Opinion Leader (Community Level HIV prevention program) 35. T-Girl Group (HIV and SA prevention for high risk transgender women) 36. Young Minds (SAMHSA CSAP program for HIV and substance abuse prevention for youth and young adults ages 13-24) 37. Street Smart (weekly group sessions enhancing cognitive awareness, teaching about HIV/AIDS and building skills) 38. Safety Counts (weekly group sessions to reduce risk drug behaviors, HIV/STD prevention for minority young adults ages 18-24) 39. TOPWA (Targeted Outreach for Pregnant Women - risk reduction of HIV/substance & lower perinatal transmission to newborn infants) 40. Pregnancy Testing 41. Courage to Change (journaling activity intervention to reduce recidivism) 42. FOCUS- Frontlines of Communities in the United States - Gilead Program 43. Integrated Screening Services (incorporated into HIV testing for STD, TB, Hepatitis A/B/C, nPEP and PrEP screenings and linkage) Primary & HIV Medical Care (Outpatient/Ambulatory) Health Services 44. Ryan White HIV treatment Clinic (in partnership with CAN) 45. Primary Medical Care 46. PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) and nPEP (non-occupational Post Exposure Prophylaxis) navigation and Treatment 47. Hormone Replacement Therapy for Trans Individuals (HRT) and navigation services 48. STD Testing and Treatment 49. Well Women’s Care 50. Uninsured Patient (“UP”) Programs (providing PrEP/nPEP, STD, HRT and counseling for uninsured low income individuals) Behavioral Health Services 51. Psychiatric Medication Management 52. Mental Health & Substance Abuse Counselling (+ & -), individual, couples and groups 53. Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT)- Coping Skills Group (led by Psychiatric ARNP) 54. Positive Choices (substance abuse intervention and relapse prevention for HIV positive persons) 55. Living, Loving, Learning (mental health support group) 56. Journey of Empowerment (substance abuse relapse prevention) 57. Living Your Truth (self-awareness group for people both mental health and substance abuse) 58. Creative Recovery (creative treatment for HIV positive persons in recovery) 59. Seeking Safety (therapy sessions focused on safety in relationships, behavior and emotions) 60. Wellness Recovery Action Planning 61. Recovery Coaching 62. Many Men Many Voices (HIV/STI/Substance abuse treatment and prevention)

LGBTQ+ Community Services 63. SAFE (Supporting (young) Adults For Equality) Youth Services (social/support/drop in youth ages 13-18 who identify as LGBTQ+) 64. Trans Significant Other Group (peer support for those with significant others who identify as Trans) 65. Trans Parent Group (peer support group for parents with children who identify as Trans) 66. Trans Talk MTF (support group for those who identify as Trans Male to Female) 67. Trans Talk FTM (support group for those who identify as Trans Female to Male) 68. Trans Support Network Social (monthly social for Trans) 69. SAGE (Service and Advocacy for GBLT Elders) Services 70. Mature Women’s Group (social group for lesbians above the age of 50) 71. Mature Men’s Group (social group for gay men above the age of 50) 72. SAGE Men’s Night In (dinner and social for gay men above the age of 50) 73. Coffee Talk (social current events discussion group open to all) 74. SAGE Socials (recreational activities and events open to all) 75. Queer College Nights (social and education group for LGBTQ+ college students) 76. Outside the Binary (social/support group for people that are gender queer) 77. Pasco LGBTQ+ Social Club (for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults) 78. Domestic Violence Support Groups 79. Alzheimer Care Giver Support Group 80. Overeaters Anonymous Support Group 81. PFLAG St. Pete and Wesley Chapel (LGBTQ+ parent and ally support) 82. Wellness Services including: Buddhist Meditation, Guided Meditation, Yoga, Cruz Fit (Low impact exercise for seniors), Community Acupuncture, The Power Within (weekly group studying The Four Agreements) 83. LGBTQ+ Sensitivity Trainings (provided to staff, community, etc.)

Other 84. Free Legal Advice 85. Free Financial Planning Services 86. Food Pantry (canned goods, frozen meals, snacks and other food basics) 87. Meals (hot meals and other food provided to all clients in groups, events and activities) and Personal Hygiene Bags including personal care items (soap, shampoo, feminine hygiene products; given to clients in need monthly) 88. Housing and Financial Assistance (available to HIV positive clients through Angel Funds- fundraising dollars used for medication copays, bus passes, and more) 89. Household items, and Clothing (distributed to HIV positive clients through Metro’s Thrift Store; $25.00 gift certificate every 6 months) 90. Pharmacy (on site Pharmacy) 91. Pharmacy and Medication Assistance services (pharmacist is on staff and provides medication education to patients/clients and consults with medical providers regarding regimens)

85% are grant funded. All other activities rely on donations and fundraisers. Thank you for your support!

HIV MEDICAL CARE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY AIDS NETWORK CLEARWATER 2349 Sunset Point Road #405 • (727) 216-6193 NEW PORT RICHEY 4747 US Highway 19 • (727) 494-7625

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health, wellness, & community SAINT PETERSBURG 3251 3RD Avenue North • (727) 321-3854 TAMPA 1315 East 7TH Avenue #201 • (813) 232-3808

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

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departments 6 // mail 7 // publisher’s desk 8 // orlando news 10 // tampa bay news 12 // state, nation & world news 19 // talkinG points 35 // community calendar 37 // tampa bay out + about 39 // orlando out + about 40 // tampa bay marketplace 41 // weddinG bells/ announcements 42 // orlando marketplace 46 // last paGe

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our philosophy for fostering is simple: We do what’s best for the child as if they were our own child. That’s it.

— nathan WIlSon, oRlanDo FoStER PaREnt

on the cover

PAGE playinG house:

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PAGE WE ARE FAMILY:

21

Families come in all colors, shapes and sizes. We look at some of these modern families living here in Central Florida and Tampa Bay Photos by Jake Stevens

scan Qr code For

watermarkonline.com

Fun Home’s Kate Shindle talks about being Alison Bechdel in the show’s national company tour.

watermark i ssue 24 .23 // november 16 - november 29, 2017

award winners

victory party

Fit to print

we three voices

PAGE The MBA honors the best in Central Florida’s LGBTQ business community at the 2017 Pride Gala Awards.

PAGE St. Petersburg re-elected Mayor Rick Kriseman to another term after a hard fought campaign in the battle of the Ricks.

PAGE

PAGE

read it Online!

In addition to a Web site with daily LGBTQ updates, a digital version of each issue of the publication is made available on WatermarkOnline.com

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Steve Blanchard looks at the topic of sexual harassment and assault in the LGBTQ community in his new column.

15

The Three Baritones reunite as a part of Opera Orlando’s stunning rendition of Puccini’s La Boheme.

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givE us a FOllOW On tWittEr and instagram at @WatErmarKOnlinE and liKE us On FacEbOOK. watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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5

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On Equality Florida’s Todd Richardson sharing his story of being discharged from the United States Air Force because he is gay:

“I have known Todd Richardson for decades.

To me, he has always supported and defended our community. He has always been our honorable soldier.”

—Todd Kachinski Kottmeier

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Watermark’s Facebook On Kim Davis seeking re-election in Kentucky and possibly being challenged by one of the gay men she denied a marriage license to:

“Run bro, do it. We will support you. Woohoo!”

On a father accused of killing his 14-year-old son for being gay:

“I am a father of a gay teen son and when I read this I was heartbroken.

I would tell any parent who has a gay teen son: your responsibility of loving them does not stop.

Unfortunately, there are still many parents who cannot accept having a gay child. There are no words to express over this murder.”

—Nat Jo

“So sad, heartbroken.”

—Dale Hammel

On Jenny Durkan being elected as the first lesbian mayor of Seattle:

“Go Seattle!”

—KY Lugo

On the photos from Volusia Pride:

“Was a great day. Better and better every year.

Thanks to all those who devote their time and support the event and our community!”

—John Grande

—Marybell Ortiz

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

On the University of West Florida investigating anti-LGBT flyers around campus:

“This is basically south Alabama. They still hate gays, blacks or anything but Bible belt bigots like themselves. Good people that go up there are shocked by the backwardness.”

—Scott Morse

On House of Cards employees alleging sexual misconduct against Kevin Spacey:

“Crickets...”

—Ed Carter

On the Westboro Baptist Church’s protest getting counter-protested by the T-Rex’s of Orlando:

“They deserve anything that we do to them.”

—Lucas Barszcz

“Be still my T-Rex heart.”

—Amy Thompson

On multiple allegations coming out about Kevin Spacey:

“What a shame. I had such a respect for Spacey, aside from him being in the closet. He was or is such a talent. Sucks that this is what has become of a lot of respected men.”

—Christopher Pineda

On a restaurant marking restrooms with “before” and “after” photos of Caitlyn Jenner:

“I think it’s hilarious. Why are we upset about this?”

—Adam Davis

“Yes, it’s funny. Get over it.”

—Abe Gott

On Egyptian lawmakers introducing an LGBT criminalization bill:

“Guess I’m never going to Egypt after all.”

—Shawn Connelly

publishEr’s

rick claggett publishEr

Rick@WatermarkOnline.com

t

desk

hanKSgIvIng haS a long

history of being my least favorite holiday.

The reason is simple: turkey sucks! There, I said it. It’s ok to have a different opinion, but I’m right. No offense to my mother, but it’s always dry. It isn’t her fault. There isn’t enough water in the ocean to make turkey moist. My childhood memories of Thanksgiving involve two ounces of turkey swimming in four cups of gravy. Not even gravy could save Thanksgiving.

There is one exception to this rule and that is the Thanksgiving sandwich at PomPom’s Tea House and Sandwicheria. They have locations in both St. Pete and Orlando, so check it out. This is not a paid advertisement nor do I expect free sandwiches in return.

It’s just that good and needs to be mentioned in any discussion I have about Thanksgiving. I digress.

watermark staFF

As I got older, the list of what I didn’t like about Thanksgiving grew. This includes the big Thanksgiving Day Parade. Parades need to be fun in order for them to be useful. Pride parades are exciting with the dual purpose of activism and celebration. The Thanksgiving parade is a three-hour commercial for whatever station is hosting it.

Sure, it’s got balloons, but when the

wind picks up, cute little Snoopy turns into deadly Cujo. Although I am a huge Broadway fan, the lip syncing performances don’t do it for me. I know, nobody can sing in those freezing temperatures. Even the people watching it on the streets look miserably cold.

Once Santa rolls through in the big parade, we get introduced to my next Thanksgiving pet peeve: football. People say baseball is boring, yet they can watch football for an entire day. Snooze! In order to get through it I pretend they are all at a K-Mart on Black Friday and the football is the blue light special.

Finally, when it’s time to eat you have to say what you are thankful for. What a pain, right?

I’m pretty sure when I was a kid I said I was grateful for the Smurfs.

Basically, I just wanted to eat so I threw something out there to move it along.

Clearly, I am the Thanksgiving Scrooge. That’s how things were until one Thanksgiving a few years back. Everyone gathered at my house: my parents, my brother’s family and my roommate’s family.

Since it was my house, it was my rules. I limited viewing time on the parade, turned the Hallmark channel on the main TV and banned gratitude speeches to kick off dinner.

My dad wasn’t having it, though.

By this point he had been very ill for years and was only getting worse.

He had a hard time moving about and his speech was often slurred and hard to understand, typical of people suffering from liver disease.

Regardless of his ailments, he stood up to tell everyone what he was grateful for that year: simply to be alive and to be with family. You can tell it was coming from the heart.

He didn’t know how many more Thanksgivings he would have with us and wanted us to know how important these moments were to him. Dad was rushed to the hospital that night and we worried we might lose him. Luckily, we

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

were able to spend a few more Thanksgivings together.

It’s funny how a single moment can bring a lifetime of change, making pet peeves seem so petty.

In honor of my dad, we will spend Thanksgiving every year letting each other know what makes us most grateful. I’ll prance around the kitchen stressing over whether the food will turn out perfectly. We will watch the Thanksgiving parade because my roommate loves it, and I’ll razz her about it a little. I’ll even have football on the TV so my brother can enjoy his traditions.

Most importantly, we will just be together as a family.

There is much to celebrate in these pages of Watermark. In Tampa Bay we look at Mayor Rick

It’s funny how a single moment can bring a lifetime of change, making pet peeves seem so petty.

Kriseman’s re-election and preview the upcoming Transgender Day of Remembrance. Orlando news recaps the Metropolitan Business Association Pride Gala, as well as introduces you to the Glass Knife and #FiveFilms4Freedom. Our entertainment section features Fun Home at Straz and La Boheme at Opera Orlando. Watermark’s Last Page dives into the life and passion of sales director Danny Garcia.

For months now we have been working on a story that demonstrates the love within LGBTQ adoptions and fostering.

Holly V. Kapherr gives you a front row seat to some of these forever families and the impact they have made on each other’s lives.

We strive to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue.

orlando oFFice 414 N. Ferncreek Ave. Orlando, FL 32803 TEL: 407-481-2243 FAX: 407-481-2246

tampa bay oFFice TEL: 813-655-9890 FAX: 813-849-2986

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

contributors StEvE BlanchaRD

is a former Watermark editor turned Media Relations Coordinator at Moffitt Cancer Center. He returns with his viewpoint column, Fit to Print. Page 15

Ryan WIllIamSjEnt is a

Contributing Editor with the New Civil Rights Movement. He lives in St. Petersburg with his husband and their two dogs. Page 10, 29

holly v.

KaPhERR

is a food, travel and lifestyle writer and editor born and bred in Orlando, Florida. Her work has appeared in local, regional and national publications. Page 21, 41

sabrina ambra, scottie campbell, krista ditucci, miGuel Fuller, divine Grace kirk hartlaGe, samuel johnson, jason leclerc, stephen miller, maia monet, david moran, GreG stemm, dr. steve yacovelli, michael wanZie, ryan williams-jent

photoGraphy brian becnel, nick cardello, anGie Folks, bruce hardin, julie milFord, travis moore, chris stephenson, lee vanderGriFt, tinkerFluFF

distribution lvnliF2 distributinG, lisa jordan, jill bates, ken carraway 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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7

central florida news

Winter Park’s newest eatery The Glass Knife opens with an official cake cutting Jeremy Williams

W

INTER PARK, Fla. | Winter Park’s newest gay-owned eatery The Glass Knife held its grand opening Nov. 10.

Founder and owner Steve Brown was joined by The Glass Knife’s executive chef Stuart Whitfield, leadership from the City of Winter Park and members of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce for the commemorative cake cutting and grand opening.

The Glass Knife is a bakery and cafe specializing in decadent cakes, artisanal doughnuts, elegant desserts and an array of sweet treats. They also offer a “savory menu” which includes breakfast and lunch sandwiches, salads, chicken pot pie, waffles and more.

The cafe’s name comes from Brown’s mother, Jacque, developing a passion for collecting Depression-era glass knives.

The Glass Knife has an exclusive brewing partnership with the Onyx Coffee Lab and will offer their line of coffees, along with a selection of teas, wine, champagne and craft beer.

The Glass Knife is open seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., with breakfast served daily from 7:00-10:30 a.m.

British LGBTQ film event #FiveFilms4Freedom held at The Abbey Jeremy Williams

O

RLANDO | The British Council and the British Film Institute teamed up for #FiveFilms4Freedom at The Abbey Nov. 9.

The program was a collection of short films, five in total, that tell the LGBTQ experience.

The five films selected were Crush (directed by Rosie Westhoff), Where We Are Now (directed by Lucie Rachel), Heavy Weight (directed by Jonny Ruff), Still Burning (directed by Nick Rowley) and Jamie (directed

by Christopher Manning).

The event began with speeches from keynote speaker State Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith and Orlando filmmaker Vicki Nantz.

Orlando was the first stop on a multi-city tour the program is making throughout November.

Each stop will include the screening of the five films, an LGBTQ panel discussion and a networking reception.

More information on each of the films presented and on #FiveFilms4Freedom you can visit BritishCouncil. org/FiveFilms4Freedom.

8

Take the Stage:

Jorge Estevez (L) and Miss Sammy host the 2017 MBA Pride in Business Awards Gala.

Photo by Jake Stevens

Award-Winning Community MBA celebrates 25 years at annual Pride Gala Business Awards Jeremy Williams

O

RLANDO | The Metropolitan Business Association celebrated 25 years, as well as the recognition of being named the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber of the Year, at their annual Pride Gala Business Awards for 2017 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando Nov. 4.

The community was dressed to the nines as they honored the best in LGBTQ business in Central Florida.

Hosting again this year was the dynamic duo of WFTV’s Jorge Estevez with the one and only Miss Sammy. The two brought plenty of laughs and charm, along with some pretty good dance moves.

New Business of the Year went to the certified electrical specialists at CDW Electrical Services, Inc. CDW posted their gratitude to the community on their Facebook page.

“We are truly honored, humbled and grateful to be a part of this great organization with all the

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

wonderful people who we call family,” they wrote.

Small Business of the Year went to the media production house and brand consulting firm edgefactory.

Brian Cole, edgefactory’s president and CEO, accepted the award saying, “As long-time members and contributors to the MBA and the greater Orlando community, edgefactory could not be more thrilled to accept this recognition.”

The Nonprofit of the Year went to the collective of LGBTQ organizations known as the One Orlando Alliance. The One Orlando Alliance is a coalition of more than 30 Central Florida LGBTQ organizations.

The One Orlando Alliance was also granted $1,000 from Come Out With Pride on stage while accepting the award.

There was a tie for the first time in the category for Business Leader of the Year. This year, the award was shared between Jennifer Foster of Foster Productions, Inc., and Carlos Carbonell of Echo Interaction Group.

Foster was unable to attend the

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event but also took to Facebook to express her gratitude for the honor.

“Honored and humbled don’t measure up to expressing my gratitude for the recognition,” Foster wrote.

Foster wrote that winning the award with her friend Carbonell was “icing on the cake” after the One Orlando Alliance was named Nonprofit of the Year. Foster and Carbonell were the co-conveners of the One Orlando Alliance.

In other awards, Business Owner of the Year went to Clayton Reynolds, president and CEO of Suite Management Corp. Suite Management Corp specializes in the management of homeowner and condo associations. The Corporate Ally of the Year was awarded to the law firm Akerman LLP. In addition to the awards voted on by an independent panel, the MBA selects recipients of the Community Champion and Volunteer of the Year awards.

State Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith was named MBA’s 2017 Community Champion for his tireless work on behalf of District 49 and all of Central Florida.

Founder and chair of the T-Network, Jennifer Kurzawa, was named Volunteer of the Year. The T-Network is Orlando’s Transgender Professionals Resource Group.

Stuart Milk, longtime LGBTQ advocate and nephew to the legendary Harvey Milk, was honored with the Debbie Simmons Community Service Award.

HEALTH

AND

SEX BELONG TOGETHER

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CONNECT

Know your status. And be ready for what’s ahead.

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9

tampa bay news

Gone, not ForGotten: st. petersburG transGender day oF remembrance viGil to honor lives lost in 2017 ryan Williams-Jent

FoRWaRD:

S

t. PEtERSBURg | St. Petersburg residents are preparing to honor 25 lives lost to anti-transgender violence in 2017, in what organizers of this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil are calling “the largest number of murders to date.”

The claim is no exaggeration. In all of 2016, according to the Human Rights Campaign, advocates tracked at least 23 deaths related to known anti-transgender violence—two fewer than the 25 known lives lost in 2017 thus far.

The vigil is a part of the national Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual observance on Nov. 20 that honors the memory of the lives lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. It first began in 1998.

“This is a day to remember, memorialize and honor those within the transgender community who have lost their lives due to hate and bigotry,” says local gender therapist Tristan Byrnes. “It’s a day to bring together the transgender community and its allies to bring awareness to this important cause and to end the needless loss of life.”

Byrnes is one of the organizers of this year’s vigil, which will begin at St. Petersburg’s Sunshine Senior Center on Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. Candle-clad attendees will trek from the center to a memorial on the steps of St. Petersburg’s City Hall. Organizers advised candles will be provided, but noted that attendees should bring their own, if possible.

The memorial will feature members of the transgender community, its allies and local leaders.

Currently scheduled to speak are Tristan Byrnes, Gina Duncan, Rev. Elder Dr. Candace Shultis, Dayna Walker, Taylor Burts and trans youth Ren, with the memorial ending at 8 p.m.

“This is a time to honor the lives led by amazing human beings and to bring awareness to the unfortunate hate that surrounds us,” says 6S Boutique owner and vigil organizer Andrew Citino, “as well as the love and support that there is for trans people.”

In solidarity, Watermark honors the lives lost this year. May Mesha Caldwell, Sean Hake, Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, JoJo Striker, Tiara Richmond, Chyna Doll Dupree, Ciara McElveen, Jaquarrius Holland, Alphonza Watson, Chay Reed, Kenneth Bostick, Sherrell Faulkner, Kenne McFadden, Kendra Marie Adams, Ava Le`Ray Barrin, Ebony Morgan, TeeTee Dangerfield, Gwenevere River Song, Kiwi Herring, Kashmire Nazier Redd, Derricka Banner, Scout Schultz, Ally Steinfeld, Stephanie Montez and Candace Towns each rest in power.

10

Under re-elected Mayor rick kriseman, St. Petersburg received a perfect score in the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index for its third consecutive year.

Photo courtESy rIck krISEMan

st. Petersburg Moves Forward Mayor Rick Kriseman wins re-election campaign ryan Williams-Jent

S

t. PEtERSBURg | On Nov. 7, with a turnout of 27.02 percent of the city’s registered voters, St. Petersburg re-elected incumbent Mayor Rick Kriseman.

Of the 172,750 ballots cast, Kriseman received 34,531, or 51.64 percent of the vote. Behind him, former St. Petersburg mayor Rick Baker received 32,341 votes, or 48.36 percent.

The race for St. Petersburg’s mayor, decided after a tense primary season and election in which Kriseman edged out Baker by a mere 70 votes, was officially non-partisan. In today’s polarized political climate, however, it was anything but.

As Watermark has reported, Kriseman is an outspoken Democrat and a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ community, something he gladly discussed with us ahead of the election. It’s the re-elected mayor’s dedication to equality which helped land St. Petersburg a perfect score in Human Rights Campaign’s

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Municipal Equality Index for a third consecutive year.

Baker, by contrast, is a Republican who has frequently been at odds with the LGBTQ community. Under his leadership, St. Petersburg’s Human Rights Ordinance was repealed, and he was an early opponent of St. Pete Pride. Baker did not respond to our multiple requests for comment.

Within an hour of the polls closing across the city, Baker conceded to Kriseman, though senior campaign officials for Kriseman’s team indicated Baker made no congratulatory call to the city’s re-elected mayor. “We ran a very vigorous race that we can be very proud of,” Baker addressed supporters. “We were honest in our dealings, although we were vigorous, and we left nothing on the field.”

“Unfortunately, we fell short tonight,” he continued. “While I am saddened for the city we love, St. Petersburg is a wonderful place with really great people.”

Following Baker’s concession, Kriseman delivered a victory speech to an enthusiastic crowd and intermittent chants of “four

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

more years.”

“We can now move forward,” Kriseman said. “We can now finish what we started, and fully attain our vision of being a city of opportunity where the sun shines on all. It’s time for this community to come together, because we are, in fact, stronger together.”

Unlike Baker, the mayor opted to mention his opponent by name, advising that the two “waged a tough battle against each other” in a “clash of philosophies and visions for our city.” He admitted that while it wasn’t always pleasant, he believed the two could work together to put the city first. “And if we can do it,” he said, “then every citizen of our great city can do it.”

Kriseman discussed his hopes for the future, calling on residents to imagine “the message we can send to the rest of the state and the country.”

He noted that on climate change, clean energy, inclusivity and campaign finance reform, St. Petersburg is already seen as a leader.

The mayor’s words were more than victory rhetoric. On election night, former vice president Joe Biden congratulated him, calling Kriseman an incredible leader to his community.

Both Biden and former president Barack Obama had endorsed the mayor ahead of his re-election.

“I’m so proud to be your mayor,” Kriseman’s victory speech concluded.

“We call ourselves the Sunshine City for a reason. We embrace light and love here. That is evident to me every single day, but especially tonight.”

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11

state, nation+world news

in other news UWF investigating anti-LGBT flyers around campus The University of West Florida is investigating several anti-LGBT flyers that were distributed throughout the campus. The flyers were posted in a large area of the Pensacola campus overnight Nov. 7, and were primarily affixed to building doors leading to lecture halls. UWF spokeswoman Megan Gonzalez says the school is in the middle of the investigation, but they believe a national organization targeted the university. Based on the initial investigation, Gonzalez says there’s no reason to believe such a group exists on campus.

Jenny Durkan elected as first lesbian mayor of Seattle Former U.S. attorney Jenny Durkan won a competitive race Nov. 7 to become the next mayor of Seattle, making her the city’s first lesbian mayor and Seattle’s first female mayor in nearly a century. Durkan won the election taking 60.6 percent of the vote compared to the 39.4 percent won by her opponent, Cary Moon. Durkan said her campaign “was never about any candidate.” Prior to her campaign, Durkan was appointed by former president Obama to serve as U.S. attorney for Western Washington, making her the first openly gay U.S. attorney in the country.

nevada man accused of killing 14-year-old son for being gay A Nevada man is accused of killing his 14-year-old son for being gay. Henderson police report that 53-year-old Wendell Melton shot and killed his son, Giovanni Melton, Nov. 2. Wendell and Giovanni were arguing when Wendell pulled the trigger.

Wendell called the police and was booked at the scene. Court documents reveal that Wendell had a history of threatening his family with guns he possessed illegally. Sonja Jones, Giovanni’s former foster mother, believes that Giovanni was murdered because of his sexual orientation.

Florida’s Competitive Workforce Act is back with bipartisan support Jeremy Williams

T

hree Florida legislators have again filed the Competitive Workforce Act, an update to the state’s Civil Rights Act of 1992 which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of groups protected against discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Florida law currently offers these protections based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, disability status, national origin, age and marital status.

Senator Jeff Clemens (D- Lake Worth) filed Senate Bill 66 and Representatives Ben Diamond (DSt. Petersburg) and Rene Plasencia (R- Titusville) filed House Bill 347 on Nov. 09.

“Now more than ever, we need our elected leaders to not only say they stand with us, but to demonstrate through action that they stand with us,” said Hannah Willard, senior policy director for Equality Florida, in a statement. “Last year, a near majority of the Republican-dominated Florida legislature signed on as cosponsors of the Florida Competitive Workforce Act, marking unprecedented progress

towards full legal protections for LGBTQ Floridians.”

With no statewide law yet on the books, many cities and counties in Florida have taken it upon themselves to add sexual orientation and/ or gender identity to their local nondiscrimination protections.

Twelve counties, along with 33 cities and towns in Florida currently prohibit discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity in both the private and public sector, with another dozen counties, cities and towns offering a part of those protections.

Florida’s Competitive Workforce Act has been introduced in some form every legislative session since 2007 but has died in committee each time.

Wins for trans candidates seen as nationwide clarion call Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

h

istoric wins by transgender candidates Nov. 7 are being widely interpreted to have nationwide implications, although LGBT political observers have different takes on what those conclusions are.

The most high-profile win was transgender journalist Danica Roem’s victory in Virginia over Del. Bob Marshall, who has a decades-long history of anti-LGBT views and this year introduced a bill that would have banned transgender people from using public restrooms consistent with their gender identity. She’ll be the first openly transgender person elected

and seated to a state legislature in the history of the United States.

Other highlights include Andrea Jenkins, a poet and activist, and Phillipe Cunningham, a former special education teacher, winning seats on the Minneapolis City Council. Both are the first openly transgender people of color to win elections in the United States and the first out transgender candidates elected to a city council in a major U.S. city.

Meanwhile, Tyler Titus won election to the Erie School Board in Pennsylvania, Lisa Middleton won election to the Palm Springs City Council and Stephe Koontz won a spot on the Doraville City Council in Georgia.

Logan Casey, who’s transgender and a research associate at the Harvard Opinion Research Program, said the wins are important on their own for transgender visibility.

“With so few transgender people in office, everyone is important,” Casey said.

Combined with other wins for diversity, such as the election of a Sikh mayor in New Jersey, Casey said the transgender victories demonstrate identity politics might not be a losing ticket as critics have claimed.

“We’ve heard a lot of conversation in the last year in particular about the idea that too much focus on identity politics loses elections for Democrats in general,” Casey said. “I think that this is a really strong signal that this is probably not the case. We’ve seen lots of different types of candidates — not just trans candidates, but other ones running all across the country — being successful and speaking openly about the various aspects of their identities, and winning their elections.”

march, many said they were frustrated with the law but also hoped it would soon change.

Tish Anand wore a wig that he said was inspired by the Disney Channel character Hannah Montana.

He said he would sing and dance, as long as he didn’t trip over his heels, but was frustrated with authorities.

Manak Matiyani, one of the organizers, said his wealth and education allowed him to live as openly gay but it was much harder for those with less privilege.

Indian law makes gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Matiyani said the law is often used by the police and community members to threaten people or extort money from them.

In 2009, the New Delhi High Court declared the law unconstitutional. But that was overturned four years later when India’s Supreme Court decided it should be a decision for the parliament, not the judiciary.

Kentucky clerk Kim Davis to seek re-election

Hundreds join pride march in India, where gay sex is illegal

Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, will run for re-election in 2018 facing voters for the first time since her protest against marriage equality provoked a national uproar. Davis could face a familiar foe: a gay man to whom she refused to issue a marriage license who’s seriously considering running against her. “I think I could win,” said David Ermold, an English professor who was among the many who sued Davis in 2015. “I don’t think that she has learned anything from the experience at all.” Filing for Kentucky’s 2018 election cycle opened Nov. 8.

Wire Report

12

H

undreds of gay rights activists and supporters, many wearing colorful costumes and holding balloons, marched through India’s capital Nov. 12 in celebration but also defiance in a nation that continues to outlaw homosexual acts.

As people chanted and marched to the beat of drums during New Delhi’s 10th annual Queer Pride

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Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

viewpoint

steve blanchard

Fit to print

I

When �lattery turns into harassment Don’t FolloW PoP cUltURE.

I’m so out of the loop that if I watch any show with “celebrity” or “stars” in the title, I’m asking my friends who’s who in the lineup of famous faces.

But there is one celebrity name in the headlines that caught my attention: Kevin Spacey.

Recently, actor Anthony Rapp (of Rent fame and now a regular on the new Star Trek: Discovery) claimed that Spacey made inappropriate sexual advances toward him at a house party when Rapp was still in his mid-teens. After the public accusation, Spacey came out of the closet to the surprise of, well, no one, in a possible attempt to distract from the scandalous headline. However, more accusations flooded in from Hollywood and from the set of Spacey’s hit Netflix show, House of Cards.

It has been debated whether it was appropriate for Spacey to come out at the same time he was addressing allegations of sexual harassment and assault, but what seems to be missing from many of the headlines is the sexual harassment and assault that so many gay men see every day.

Let me be clear: sexual harassment and sexual assault are never okay, regardless of the genders or sexual orientations involved. This does not ignore the accusations made by many women that powerful men crossed the line. Fortunately, women are speaking out. No one seems to be talking about the sexual harassment that is everywhere in the LGBT community.

I am a people watcher.

And I invite you to try it yourself.

Next time you go to a bar, take a minute to scan the room. Watch some of the mini-dramas unfolding around you. I am certain that more times than not you will see someone fighting off unwanted sexual advances.

I’m no prude and I’ve enjoyed my share of both flirting and being the target of someone’s flirtations. It’s flattering and is a definite ego boost.

Where is the line between flattery and harassment?

There’s a time when the joy of being noticed turns into frustration and maybe even fear that the inappropriate behavior can’t be stopped.

Are the unspoken signals of “enough already” the same in the gay world as they are in the straight world? Honestly, I don’t know the answer to that.

I do know that sexual harassment is much more common in the LGBT community than many of us would like to admit. It’s under-reported and many are ashamed to say they were a victim.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 44 percent of lesbians and 61 percent of bisexual women experience rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner. Among gay men, 26 percent are victimized in the same way and 37 percent of bisexual men reported the same experiences.

The CDC also reports that 40 percent of gay men and 47 percent of bisexual men have experienced sexual violence other than rape. The numbers among transgender individuals is even more horrifying.

I remember back when I was a full-time employee of this very newspaper and covering an event at a now-closed bar in Pinellas County. One of the performers, in drag, happened to be a friend of mine. As we chatted, a

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

drunken patron approached her, flirted for a few minutes and then followed up with a few unwelcomed gropes.

Within seconds, the funny flirtations turned into harassment. Despite my friend’s quick condemnation

deeply rooted problem.

Is it because gay men of my generation didn’t have a lot of role models as we were coming of age?

Too many gay men before us were lost to the AIDS epidemic, so having an

is a hard line defining where flirtation ends and harassment begins. It’s a case-by-case basis. When the target of someone’s affection says he is uncomfortable or doesn’t return the advances, it’s time to stop

of the advances, a few of my other friends and I had to step in.

That’s an extreme example, but too many of us see it every time we go out. And it’s not always strangers who cross that line. I’ve had acquaintances who I’ve known for years get out of line after that magical number of drinks. It’s easy to dismiss it as a drunken mistake, much as Spacey did when Rapp’s initial allegation was published, but there seems to be a more

older gay role model was almost unheard of. Our role models were the sexy men of television and movies who always got the girl. I’m not blaming pop culture for our lack of manners, but who didn’t imagine sexy James Bond putting the moves on us the way he did his lucky female costars?

Those women didn’t mind his inappropriate flirtations, so why should someone at the bar take offense to similar advances?

I don’t believe there

the flirtation. Those who are targeted, regardless of the environment, need to speak up and say when they are uncomfortable.

Those of us who witness victims of sexual harassment or assault need to stop remaining silent. Stand up for those being victimized.

You may not only save them from an uncomfortable situation, you may also save their life.

It’s easy to dismiss it as a drunken mistake... but there seems to be a more deeply rooted problem.

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15

WHAT IS GENVOYA®?

GENVOYA is a 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years and older who weigh at least 77 pounds. It can either be used in people who are starting HIV-1 treatment and have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements. These include having an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) for 6 months or more on their current HIV-1 treatment. GENVOYA combines 4 medicines into 1 pill taken once a day with food. GENVOYA is a complete HIV-1 treatment and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses, you must keep taking GENVOYA. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

What is the most important information I should know about GENVOYA?

GENVOYA may cause serious side effects: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. GENVOYA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV and stop taking GENVOYA, your HBV may suddenly get worse.

Do not stop taking GENVOYA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys.

If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking GENVOYA. • Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

The most common side effect of GENVOYA is nausea. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away.

•

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•

Who should not take GENVOYA?

Do not take GENVOYA if you take: Certain prescription medicines for other conditions. It is important to ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with GENVOYA. Do not start a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider.

• The herbal supplement St. John’s wort.

• Any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection.

•

•

What are the other possible side effects of GENVOYA?

Serious side effects of GENVOYA may also include: Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking GENVOYA.

•

•

•

All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection.

All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Other medicines may affect how GENVOYA works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Ask your healthcare provider if it is safe to take GENVOYA with all of your other medicines.

If you take antacids. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or after you take GENVOYA. If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if GENVOYA can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking GENVOYA. If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about GENVOYA, including important warnings, on the following page.

Ask your healthcare provider if GENVOYA is right for you.

GENVOYA.com

GENC0142_B_9-25x10-1_Watermark_Skylar_r1v1jl.indd 1-2

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

S

P

T H p

GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

e

t

n e,

n

SHOW YOUR

POWER

Take care of what matters most—you. GENVOYA is a 1-pill, once-a-day complete HIV-1 treatment for people who are either new to treatment or people whose healthcare provider determines they can replace their current HIV-1 medicines with GENVOYA.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

11/8/17 1:07 PM

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

17

IMPORTANT FACTS This is only a brief summary of important information about GENVOYA® and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

(jen-VOY-uh) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT GENVOYA

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF GENVOYA

GENVOYA may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. GENVOYA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking GENVOYA. Do not stop taking GENVOYA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

GENVOYA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About GENVOYA” section.

• Changes in your immune system.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

The most common side effect of GENVOYA is nausea.

These are not all the possible side effects of GENVOYA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking GENVOYA. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with GENVOYA.

ABOUT GENVOYA GENVOYA is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 77 pounds and have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. GENVOYA can also be used to replace current HIV-1 medicines for some people who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL of virus in their blood), and have been on the same HIV-1 medicines for at least 6 months and have never failed HIV-1 treatment, and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements.

• GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others.

Do NOT take GENVOYA if you: • Take a medicine that contains: alfuzosin (Uroxatral®), carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®, Tegretol-XR®, Teril®), cisapride (Propulsid®, Propulsid Quicksolv®), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45®, Migranal®), ergotamine (Cafergot®, Migergot®, Ergostat®, Medihaler Ergotamine®, Wigraine®, Wigrettes®), lovastatin (Advicor®, Altoprev®, Mevacor®), lurasidone (Latuda®), methylergonovine (Ergotrate®, Methergine®), midazolam (when taken by mouth), phenobarbital (Luminal®), phenytoin (Dilantin®, Phenytek®), pimozide (Orap®), rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater®, Rimactane®), sildenafil when used for lung problems (Revatio®), simvastatin (Simcor®, Vytorin®, Zocor®), or triazolam (Halcion®).

• Take the herbal supplement St. John’s wort.

• Take any other HIV-1 medicines at the same time.

•

GET MORE INFORMATION • • •

This is only a brief summary of important information about GENVOYA. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.

Go to GENVOYA.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 If you need help paying for your medicine, visit GENVOYA.com for program information.

BEFORE TAKING GENVOYA Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.

• Have any other medical condition.

• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with GENVOYA.

HOW TO TAKE GENVOYA • •

GENVOYA is a complete one pill, once a day HIV-1 medicine.

Take GENVOYA with food.

GENVOYA, the GENVOYA Logo, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, SHOW YOUR POWER, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Version date: April 2017 © 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. GENC0142 06/17

GENC0142_B_9-25x10-1_Watermark_Skylar_r1v1jl.indd 3

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Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

5

talking points You know and he knows transgender people have fought and died for this country. They are serving in uniform with distinction right now. The suggestion that transgender Americans are unfit to serve is insulting and wrong.

—hIllaRy clInton, SPEaKIng aBoUt PRESIDEnt tRUmP’S tWEEtS callIng FoR a tRanS mIlItaRy Ban, In hER SPEEch at thE hUman RIghtS camPaIgn natIonal DInnER oct. 28.

christOphEr plummEr tO rEplacE

KEvin spacEy in gEtty Film

I

TRANSGENDER

n an unprecedented move, Kevin Spacey is being cut from Ridley Scott’s finished film All the Money in the World and replaced by Christopher Plummer just over one month before it’s supposed to hit theaters. Plummer is commencing reshoots immediately in the role of J. Paul Getty. All of Spacey’s scenes will be reshot, co-stars Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams are expected to participate. Scott, who is known to be an efficient director, is intending to keep the film’s Dec. 22 release date.

The film chronicles the events surrounding the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and his mother’s attempt to convince his billionaire grandfather, J. Paul Getty, to pay the ransom.

ACTORS havE bEEn cast in

RYAN MURPHY’S

nEW Fx sEriEs

POSE,

singEr/sOngWritEr tEddy gEigEr annOuncEs thEy arE transgEndEr

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6 TRANSGENDER CHARACTERS currEntly appEar in primEtimE prOgramming On all cablE nEtWOrKs. —glaaD annUal REPoRt on lgBtQ InclUSIon

inger/songwriter Teddy Geiger has announced they are transitioning from male to female. Geiger, 29, revealed the news in response to a fan who asked on Instagam, “Tell us, why do you look different lately?” “Okay… because u asked nicely… I am transitioning,” Geiger replies. The day after the announcement Geiger posted a selfie captioned, “Woke up to so much love. I have the best friends” in response to fans’ support. Geiger is known for their 2006 single, “For You I Will (Confidence).” Since then, Geiger has written chart-topping hits for One Direction and Shawn Mendes, including “Stitches,” “Treat You Better” and “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back.”

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

starbucKs’ hOliday campaign includEs lEsbian cOuplE

S

tarbucks is getting into the holiday spirit with an inclusive and diverse holiday campaign featuring a lesbian couple. In the ad “Giving Good Starts with You,” a scene features a lesbian couple sharing a steamy cup of coffee and leaning in for a kiss. The inclusive ad also features a mixed-race couple holding hands and smiling, a girl drawing a picture to show her grandmother over the computer and a father helping his daughter hang an ornament.

Starbucks ditched its classic red holiday cups this year for white cups covered in doodles of gifts, a Christmas tree and hands holding coffee.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

sarah hyland says hEr MODERN FAMILY charactEr halEy is bisExual

I

f it were up to Sarah Hyland, Haley Dunphy would be bisexual on Modern Family. A fan tweeted Hyland to ask if Haley is bisexual.

“I don’t know what the writers would say? But I confirm,” Hyland tweeted back. So far, Haley has only dated men on the series including Dylan (Reid Ewing), Andy (Adam Devine) and weather forecaster Rainer Shine (Nathan Fillion).

Hyland went back to Twitter to emphasize that Haley’s bisexuality is just her opinion and has not been confirmed or considered by the show. “Just to clarify, I haven’t been told nor is there anything written that would indicate Haley is bisexual,” she wrote. “That’s just my personal opinion!”

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

in-dEpth: adOptiOn

mEEt thE PaREntS: Joshua Melendez (L)

and randy lowe are the proud fathers to Jacob and robert (and their dog Peaches). Photo by JakE StEvEnS

We Are

FAMILY

why having a family is easier than ever for central Florida’s lgbTQ couples.

W

holly V. Kapherr

hEn RanDy loWE mEt joShUa

Melendez five years ago, both men were entering their 50s. “I just kind of assumed that having a family wasn’t going to be an option for me,” says Randy, who runs the event coordinating business Lowe and Behold, and had recently lost his partner, Jason, to brain cancer. At the time, Joshua had been taking care of two young boys occasionally on weekends to give their single mother a break to run errands or have a moment to herself.

Randy loved having the boys around. It was then that the couple realized they wanted kids. “I thought, ‘Wow. This is really beautiful to have these little boys with us,’” says Randy.

He decided that if he and Joshua ended up together, he wanted to pursue options to have a family of his own.

After a year, Joshua and Randy moved in together and started the process to become foster parents.

Five years later, Joshua and Randy are fathers to two little boys they fostered and later adopted. Their home and hearts are full.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Adoption and fostering by LGBTQ couples became legal in Florida in 2010, the last state to overturn gay adoption bans. The law was signed in 2015. Since 2010, hundreds of couples have been able to foster and adopt thousands of children in need, according to Equality Florida.

There are 594,000 same-sex couples in the United states, and 20 percent of those couples have children. Sometimes the children are biological or biological from a previous marriage. But as of the 2010 U.S. census, 4 percent of those children are adopted.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

According to AdoptUSKids.org, there are 14,000 children in foster care in the state of Florida, and same-sex parents are four times more likely to be raising an adopted child than hetero couples.

The couples in this story are both LGBTQ and straight, and so are their children. Stretched from Orlando to St. Petersburg, their stories show that blood is no longer thicker than water, and the ties that bind are the colors of the rainbow.

cOntinuEd On pg. 23 | uu |

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| uu | LGBT Adoption from pg.21

Starting from scratch

W

hen Randy and Joshua decided they wanted to start a family, a friend told them to consider fostering.

“We started the PRIDE classes with about 60 other people. Only 20 of us actually made it through the classes. Even less than that probably got certified as foster parents,” says Joshua, reflecting on he and Randy’s journey to become parents themselves.

PRIDE classes (Parent Resource for Information, Development and Education) are the required courses to attend to be considered for foster family certification. “For 13 weeks, it was intense,” says Randy, “and you could just see on people’s faces that, man, this just wasn’t gonna be for them.”

The PRIDE classes cover home safety, child psychology and other important topics for prospective foster and adoptive parents, especially those who have never lived with children before.

After that, home study is required. “They get into your life,” says Randy. “They want to know everything about you. So, we were fully transparent.” Randy disclosed his previous drinking problem, and feels that his sobriety has been a mental preparation for parenthood.

During the home study, multiple agencies perform random visits to your home and ensure it’s a suitable environment for a child.

“Some people just aren’t cut out to have the health department come knocking at 10 o’clock at night and start rummaging through your refrigerator looking for expired food,” says Randy. “They come around and poke in the front yard to make sure the septic tank is fine.”

Joshua says, “It took about a year, but after that craziness is over it’s the best thing in the world.”

Randy and Joshua entered the foster care system with the intent to adopt. They wanted to grow to love a child—preferably a little girl named Mikaela, according to Randy—and become fathers the first go-round. It didn’t so much work out like that, though.

“This is where the story gets wonderful, but you just don’t know what is going to happen, no matter how hard you plan,” says Randy. The most important

Adding to the equation

One piece J of advice I got from another foster parent was this: ‘Just tell the child’s parent that you are gonna love that child as much as he or she does. And that’s all you’re going to do every day.’

—Randy Lowe function of a foster parent, according to Joshua and Randy, is to love your foster child as much as you can until their parents can get their act together and be a parent again. “We knew that— but I don’t think we really heard it,” says Randy.

The agency called Randy at work and told him that he and Joshua had been approved. Also, they had an immediate placement for them: two twin 14-day-old baby boys. “The case worker got out of the car with two baby carriers. Then, she basically said ‘Good luck!’ and there we were with two precious bundles. Our whole life just changed.”

After fostering the babies for a few weeks, the twins went to live with their grandmother, who had been advocating to take them since birth. Joshua and Randy were crushed. Then, two boys, two-year-old Robert

and newborn Jacob, were placed with them almost immediately after. “Our case worker told us that it was pretty much a sure bet that we’d be able to adopt them,” says Randy.

The father of the two boys was on a plan to get his life back together within six months.

That kept getting extended, and the boys remained with Randy and Joshua. The men built a relationship with the boys’ father and offered him any help he needed in order to see the children. “One piece of advice I got from another foster parent was this: ‘Just tell the child’s parent that you are gonna love that child as much as he or she does. And that’s all you’re going to do every day.’” That’s what Randy told the children’s’ father.

Joshua and Randy spent four years fostering Jacob and Robert and building a home with them—

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

even with the understanding that it could all be taken from them at any time. “It was torturing me because Robert was so happy.

He went from the angriest little boy to a happy, happy child,” says Randy. “It was miraculous.” With the help of counseling, Robert learned to control his anger with breathing and communication.

One day in January, after months of back and forth about whether the boys’ father would be able to have his kids back, the father called Randy one day when he was setting up for an event.

“He said, ‘Randy, I want you to adopt the boys.’ I passed out,” he says. “I told him that must have been the hardest decision he’s ever made as a man. But I also said, ‘We are going to love those boys. And you are going to be so proud of them. You made the best decision for your boys.’”

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

essica and Jessie Seldin (yes, they are both named Jessica), both aged 44, went to Boston to tie the knot in March of 2011.

Jessica already had two adopted daughters from her previous straight marriage, Zoe and Isabella, who Jessica adopted from Ukraine. “I went through infertility issues and we were just out of money,” says Jessica.

“It came down to either a gamble (IVF) or a sure thing (adoption).

We went with the sure thing.”

Jessica’s marriage dissolved when her younger daughter, Zoe, was five years old. A year later, she met Jessie at a bar in Ybor City. “It went quickly, as it usually does with lesbians,” says Jessica.

“We totally U-Hauled it.” Her daughter, Isabella, who was 11 at the time, had already decided she liked girls instead of boys. Jessica says, “Bella knew she was gay before I knew I was gay.”

When Jessica and Jessie decided to get married, they wondered what it would be like to incorporate Jessica’s daughters into their lives and how they would react if the women got married. For all their wondering, it worked out beautifully. “Bella was thrilled to have a house full of girls,” says Jessica. Zoe, now 14, didn’t take it so lightly at first.

“She asked me, ‘So, that means you’re a lesbian?’ I said yes. And then she put down her sandwich and said, ‘I’ve lost my appetite’ and went into her room,” says Jessica. About 15 minutes later, Zoe came out of her room and finished her sandwich, she and Jessie have been close ever since.

Jessica always maintained a very open relationship with her daughters about their adoption.

“They didn’t look like us, so that was a giveaway, especially Zoe, who is biracial,” says Jessica. She maintained a verbal relationship with both girls’ birth families— both Isabella’s birth parents in Ukraine and Zoe’s mom, who until her recent death, lived in Orlando.

“Parenting with another woman is not much different—we will fill ‘roles,’” says Jessica. “I am the heavy and Jessie is the ‘go ask your mother’ type. But she does more of the day-to-day tasks that my ex wouldn’t have done like pack lunches and drive the girls to events and activities.”

Because Jessica has two adopted daughters of her own, Continued on pg. 25 | uu |

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

| uu | LGBT Adoption FrOm pg.23

she wasn’t daunted when it was time to decide to build their family further. She and Jessie are now foster parents for two girls, aged 11 and 12, who had been removed from the home of one of Jessie’s family members.

“The girls’ father’s family is very religious and they were not OK with the girls coming to a same-sex home,” says Jessica. “But they have adjusted to being with us very quickly.”

The girls have already asked Jessica and Jessie if they could stay if their parents don’t work their plans. The women said yes.

“We have never felt discriminated against here in St. Pete. It is such a loving an accepting community,” says Jessica.

Isabella is currently a student at USF. When she was a senior in high school preparing for her Bright Futures Scholarship, she chose to volunteer with Metro LGBT Centers, a community-based organization that offers physical health and mental wellness services to queer youth in the Tampa and St. Pete area.

“Because she came from such a supportive home, she was so surprised at these kids and the lack of support from their parents. She ended up dedicating more than 500 volunteer hours to Metro,” says Jessica. Isabella also worked with St. Petersburg District 5 Commissioner Steve Kornell to pass a ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth.

a hOmE FOr lgbtq yOuth

A

ccording to the Human Rights Campaign, LGBTQ youth are vastly overrepresented in the foster care system. There are more than 400,000 children and young adults nationwide in foster care, and the percentage of youth in foster care who identify as queer is larger than the general LGBTQ youth population.

Unfortunately, queer youth also report being mistreated and abused in the foster system in greater number than straight youth. Currently, 20 states have non-discrimination laws or policies for foster care to protect LGBTQ youth from bigotry and maltreatment in the system.

FUll hoUSE: Jessica and Jessie Seldin are parents to two adopted daughters and two foster daughters. Photo by JakE StEvEnS Thirteen of these states protect sexual orientation and gender identity. The remaining seven protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation only.

Florida is in neither of those categories.

That’s why, when Christina and Nathan Wilson of Orlando were asked to foster an African-American boy who had started dressing in female

clothing and identified as gender-fluid, they were up for the challenge.

Christina and Nathan met in seventh grade were married after college. They tried for four years to have a child biologically, but “it was near impossible,” says Christina.

“We immediately thought to go to fostering,” she says. They had been fostering animals for a long time prior to the decision, so the leap wasn’t huge.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nathan is a private investigator, a detail he likes to share with the kids they foster to communicate that, when they get to his house, they’re not going to get away with much. Christina works for Community-Based Care of Central Florida, which administers Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties’ child services to more than 3,000 vulnerable children.

The couple is currently in the

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

process of adopting one of the eight children they have fostered.

“We were so overwhelmed at first,” says Christina. “We don’t have kids of our own. But we learned to trust our instincts.”

Nathan agrees, “Our philosophy for fostering is simple: We do what’s best for the child as if they were our own child. That’s it.”

They focus on fostering

cOntinuEd On pg. 27 | uu |

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my tWo DaDS: Jacob and robert (pictured) were fostered for four years by their dads, Joshua and Randy, before they were able to be adopted by them. Photo by JakE StEvEnS

| uu | LGBT Adoption FrOm pg.25

teenage boys, a population that’s particularly vulnerable to abuse, neglect and falling through the cracks in the child welfare system. “It is really a struggle to place teenage boys with either foster or adoptive homes. People are scared to foster them. But we both only had brothers growing up, so we are in a position to know what to do when there’s a problem,” says Nathan.

The couple says the whole process of fostering was a whirlwind, but once the kids started coming to their home, they realized that every child was different and would have unique needs.

That was particularly true with Jamie*, who was a few months away from turning 18 when they met him. Jamie had previously been homeless and was working in a strip club. According to Zebra Coalition, 26 percent of LGBTQ youth who come out are told by their parents to leave home.

Often, they don’t know of anywhere to go.

Jamie, who also suffered from mental health

disorders, was living in a group home that was kicking him out because he had set the kitchen on fire. “We didn’t care about the problems he had. We just wanted to love him,” says Nathan. “We tell case workers not to tell us about the kids’ problems. Just tell us what we need to know to make it through the night.”

Jamie preferred to dress in women’s clothing and was experimenting with his gender fluid identity. “We didn’t have any experience with that,” says Christina, “but you never know until you try.”

Jamie adjusted well to living with Nathan and Christina. According to them, one of the biggest challenges was finding clothes that would fit with Jamie’s gender fluid style.

“Nathan told the agency that it was non-negotiable.

Jamie had to have money for the clothes he needed to live true to himself,” says Christina. “We had so much fun. He could fit into cuter clothes than I could!”

Nathan recalls, “I told them, ‘I’m paying for it, but I expect reimbursement.”

Nathan and Christina took Jamie to events where he could interact with other gender fluid and transgender peers. “He didn’t have anyone to hang

out with,” says Christina.

“He didn’t have a peer group.” The couple was happy to help Jamie find his way in the world.

Now, Jamie is living on his own. “He’s struggling,” says Christina, “but he comes and stays with us during the holidays and comes for dinner. He refers to us as his mom and dad.”

The Wilsons are in the process of becoming a specialized therapeutic foster home through Devereaux, the foster agency they work with.

These special foster homes specialize in offering services to the LGBTQ youth community as well as other higher-need populations.

“People are amazed that we focus on teenage boys,” says Christina. She advises anyone thinking about fostering children to just jump in. “Go to a training session and see if it’s something you’d be interested in.”

Nathan agrees. “We’ve heard ‘I could never do it’so many times. Don’t put your artificial roadblocks in place. At the end of the day, it’s what’s best for the kids.” *Name changed to protect identity.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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lEaDIng thE Way: The National Tour Company of Fun Home,

led by kate Shindle (C). The Tony-award winning musical was the first Broadway production to feature a lesbian protagonist. Photo by Joan MarcuS

arts and EntErtainmEnt

GAYFORPLAY

Kate shindle on playing out author alison bechdel in Fun Home’s national tour

K

ryan Williams-Jent

atE ShInDlE IS an aUthoR,

activist, actor and ally to the LGBTQ community. She’s also the youngest-ever president of the Actors’ Equity Association, the labor union fighting for the fair treatment of over 50,000 theatre industry professionals, and is only the third woman to hold the title.

Last year, Shindle broke ground in another way when she began touring the country as Alison Bechdel, the lead in the Tony-award winning Fun Home. The show, based off of Bechdel’s graphic memoir of the same name, is the first Broadway production to feature a lesbian protagonist.

Fun Home will make its Tampa stop at the Straz on Nov. 28, and Watermark caught up with its

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

star to talk playing gay in today’s political climate, her activism and even her time as Miss America. (By the way, she was crowned Miss America in 1997.)

WATERMARK: as miss amErica, yOu advOcatEd FOr hiv EducatiOn and prEvEntiOn. What lEd yOu tO dO that?

KATE SHINDLE: Mostly it was getting involved as a volunteer for an AIDS organization. When

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

I started volunteering, there was a lot of awareness out there. There were a lot of red ribbons, but less action.

What arE yOur currEnt thOughts On thE mattEr?

People are living healthier and longer lives than they did 20 years ago when they were diagnosed, but it’s still a very real threat. It’s

cOntinuEd On pg. 31 | uu |

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Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

| uu | Fun Home FrOm pg.29

something that we know how to prevent and we are still reticent to talk about the exact kinds of programs that keep people safe from spreading HIV. We’re not out of the woods, for sure.

What arE yOur thOughts On tOday’s pOlitical landscapE?

It’s been a really interesting year touring Fun Home across the country. It is such a litmus test in so many ways for how communities feel about LGBTQ issues. There’s a line in the show where a character’s referred to as “butch,” [and] there are some places where we’ve played that you can tell that the audience doesn’t quite know what to do.

My biggest concern right now is that we’re polarized in a way that I believe is new.

There’s a moment late in the show where in certain parts of the country we’ve actually had people leave. thEy actually lEavE?

There’s a song by “Small Allison,” who is a child, about the “butch” woman I mentioned. And she sings a song about how there’s something familiar about this person [that] she can’t quite articulate. It’s an amazing and pure moment, and we’ve had people leave after that, and it’s surprising to me on so many levels.

It’s not a child singing about sexual attraction to a grown woman, and I don’t think it’s really a song about an attraction at all. But even if it was, I was 5 years old when I had my first crush on a boy, and everyone thought it was adorable. If I had woken up when I was 5 years old and it had been a girl instead, would people have walked out on me?

When we started the tour, it was several weeks before the election and we were all pretty sure we knew how it was gonna turn out. Now… that was incorrect. We’re going to need to get back to listening to each other a lot more. On all sides, frankly, if we’re gonna put Humpty back together again.

PolItIcS In Play: “It’s been a really interesting year touring

Fun Home across the country,” Kate Shindle, who plays out author Alison Bechdel, said of today’s political landscape. “It is such a litmus test in so many ways for how communities feel about LGBTQ issues.”

Photo by Joan MarcuS

yOu’rE a lOngtimE advOcatE FOr thE lgbtq cOmmunity. What’s it liKE tO JOin it On stagE playing an Out lEsbian?

It’s amazing, and I want to tread carefully on this one because I am straight, and I don’t want to say anything that could be construed as disrespectful. Alison Bechdel is so many things, and only one of them is a lesbian. It’s an important part of her life, a very prominent part of her career and her art. But I also have to play all the other parts of Alison: The cerebral part, and the part that’s trying to get to the bottom of this mystery of what happened to her father, and the artistic part of her.

I’m sure that there are plenty of people who quite rightly would like this role to have gone to someone who has lived that “coming out” experience. But I’ve tried to do my best, and to be respectful of my own limitations of understanding. thErE Was sOmE OnlinE cOntrOvErsy abOut yOur charactEr’s WardrObE changE FrOm thE brOadWay vErsiOn. sOmE Fans claimEd alisOn had bEEn “dE-butchEd.”

It just baffles me that anybody would think that [I] would sign on to [play] Alison Bechdel and say, “you know what, I think we should femme her up a bit.” Like, no, no, no.

Truthfully, it’s exactly why I always ask press teams never to lead with “Miss America.”

Because I know there are stereotypes and assumptions that are just second nature to a lot of people. In my observation, that anonymous blogger saw that in my bio, saw the costume was different and decided to write that Alison Bechdel was less butch because “Kate Spindle sucks.”

I really wanted to wear [the original costume] because it’s so iconic. And nobody came out and said “wow, that looks awful on you,” but judging by the speed at which other [costumes] started showing up in my dressing room, I kind of put two and two together.

Why shOuld pEOplE SEE FUN HOME?

It’s a story about a family that looks perfect on the outside, but on the inside there’s a lot of things they should be talking about but aren’t.

It’s a piece of theatre about the fact that people need to be free to recognize and live their true identity and that bad things can happen when they don’t feel that they’re free.

Fun Home will play the Straz Center’s Morsani Hall, Nov. 28-Dec. 3,Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.Tickets are $26-$88.

For more information, please visit StrazCenter.org.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

20% OFF ALL PRESCRIPTION EYE WEAR AND PLANO SUNGLASSES *RESTRICTIONS APPLY

Dr. Mark E. Perry OD Dr. Karen Perry, OD FAAO 400 N. Bumby Ave, Orlando FL 32803

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Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

31

Orlando Gay Chorus

Christmas presents

Memories

December 9, 2017 7:30 pm December 10, 2017 4:30 pm The Plaza Live, Orlando, Florida

Get your tickets today!

Go to www.orlandogaychorus.org The Orlando Gay Chorus is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and humanitarian organization operating under d Fl Florida id statutes. t t t statutes

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

music

We Three Voices

The Three Baritones reunite as a part of Opera Orlando’s stunning rendition of Puccini’s La Boheme

(above)

Tis the Season:

The Three Baritones (L-R: Nathan Stark, Gabriel Preisser and Brian James Myer) are together again this holiday season in Opera Orlando’s La Boheme.

Photo courtesy Opera Orlando

M

Jeremy Williams

ark Twain once wrote, “I have

attended operas whenever I could not help it.”

It is an art form that is rarely given its due in the mainstream and ignored by those who write it off as dull or boring, often without ever having attended a performance.

For those who have been too intimidated to give opera a try, Opera Orlando is launching their new season with one of the genre’s most beloved classics.

“If you are seeing an opera for the first time, La Boheme is the opera to go and see,” says Nathan Stark, one of the show’s performers. “It’s what they call verismo opera, meaning realism. It’s a story that people relate to and there are characters in the opera that people know and that they will see themselves in. It’s an easy story to follow and it is a really great introductory opera.”

La Boheme premiered back in 1896 and is the most famous opera by

legendary composer Giacomo Puccini.

“Puccini is one of the greatest opera composers of all time,” says Brian James Myer, another of the show’s performers. “Of the top 10 operas performed around the world, half of them are Puccini operas. He is a master of not only creating beautiful music but of dramatically tying that music into a story.”

La Boheme, which is the most frequently performed opera in the world, is an Italian opera centering on the passion and romance of young artists in Paris. Poet Rodolfo (played by Ben Gulley) and artist Marcello (played by Opera Orlando’s executive and artistic director

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Gabriel Preisser) are trying to make it in this bohemian lifestyle as they and their friends struggle to pay their rent.

The story sees both Rodolfo and Marcello finding love with Mimi (played

by Cecilia Violetta Lopez) and Musetta (played by Bridgette Gan), respectively.

La Boheme may sound strangely familiar to you.

“If you don’t know the story of La Boheme but are fans of musical theater it is essentially the story of the musical Rent,” Stark says. “It’s about young love, and this rendition isn’t just about the two main characters, Mimi and Rodolfo. It’s about everybody; how there are different types of love and how love emerges in all sorts of ways. Sometimes love doesn’t last long but it can be very intense.”

Jonathan Larson’s Broadway hit Rent was the 1996 modern retelling of the famous, 100-year-old opera, but the story is familiar for more than that.

“La Boheme is the quintessential love story,” Myer says. “It is an opera, even if you’ve never seen it before, which will automatically feel familiar to you.”

Just as Larson did with his award-winning musical, Opera Orlando’s stage director Robert Neu is updating his version of La Boheme. He is keeping the story in Paris but moving it from the 19th Century to the 1920s.

“The ‘20s were a very socially progressive time,” Myer says. “There was a certain element of freedom that existed, especially in Europe and in Paris, which did not exist 20 or 30 or 40 years later.”

Europe in the ‘20s was a time of great sexual exploration and living life to the fullest, themes which Neu wanted to take advantage of in his version of La Boheme. “[In the opera] we are living in a time period where sexual orientation was not that big of a deal,” Myer says. “You have these main couples who have this intense and passionate love, and then you have the characters of Colline and Schaunard (played by Stark and Myer, respectively).

They are usually played as the buddies and they are just around to lighten up the mood and keep everything lively. In this production we have kind of pulled these two characters out of the background and we highlight their relationship with each other and what the times were like in the ‘20s. [Robert] wants to include as

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

many different types of people and as many different expressions of love in this production as he can, and as we would have seen in the time period.”

La Boheme is a kind of reunion for Stark, Myer and Preisser. The three of them, collectively known as The Three Baritones (a play off the popular opera trio The Three Tenors), have done several concerts together, even completing an album last year.

“I had for many years wanted to do a Christmas album,” Stark says. “I wanted it to be something really fun and unique.

I’ve known [Gabriel]for many years from working with him at Kentucky Opera about a decade ago and met Brian about two years ago at Opera San Jose. I knew I wanted to do something that involved these two guys.”

Myer and Preisser were on board immediately.

“I only just met Gabe last year,” Myer recalls. “It was funny because you always think ‘Oh, he’s a friend of a friend so I’m sure we will probably get along,’ but from the moment I met [Gabriel] I felt super comfortable with him, like I had known him for a long time. The three of us when we get together—it is a lot of personalities, I’ll tell you that.”

The Three Baritones got together in Orlando last year to record their Christmas album.

“It took us about seven or eight months to get everything arranged and put together, and we actually recorded it here in the middle of August. We were singing Christmas songs about winter and snow and we are actually sweating our asses off,” Stark says, laughing.

“Gabe knows everyone here in Orlando so he set everything up for us. It was just a wonderful experience,” Myer says. “Nate and I weren’t sure what we were getting ourselves into, but when we showed up everything was perfect.

We each brought something to the table that helped to craft this album and it was better than I think we could have ever imagined it would be.”

The Three Baritones took the opportunity of being in the same opera to get together for a concert earlier this month, hopefully with more concert dates in the future. They are open for anything that helps to bring the friendly trio back together.

“When you come to the show you will see the three of us acting on stage not too far off from how we act in everyday life with each other,” Myer laughs.

Opera Orlando’s La Boheme plays Nov. 17-19 in the Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available at Dr.PhillipsCenter.org. The Three Baritones: Christmas Around the World is available on most music streaming services now.

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READ IT ONLINE! Your table is ready!

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Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

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community calendar

EvEnt plannEr

arts+entertainment

cEntral FlOrida

cEntral FlOrida

QLatinx Happy Hour mixer FRIDay, nov. 17, 5:00-8:00 P.m. thE vEnUE, oRlanDo

La Boheme, Nov. 15-19, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando.

407-718-4365; OperaOrlando.org

Come out and join QLatinx for a happy hour mixer at The Venue Nov. 17. The special event, hosted by Neema Bahrami and the QLatinx crew, will feature amazing cocktails, raffle prizes and more. You can also test your luck and skill at a game of poker with Sai. For more information or to RSVP, visit QLatinx.org.

Miss vicky turns 70, Nov. 17, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com Moscow State Symphony orchestra, Nov. 17, Peabody Auditorium, Daytona Beach. 386-671-3461; DaytonaBeachPeabody Auditorium.org tolkien It off: a burlesque tribute to the Lord of the Rings, Nov. 17, The Venue, Orlando. 407-412-6895; TheVenueOrlando.com A Christmas Carol, Nov. 17- Dec. 3, Cocoa Village Playhouse,CocoaBeach.321-636-5050; CocoaVillagePlayhouse.com

xmas at 20 dave koz is joined by friends david benoit, rick braun and Peter White for his 20th anniversary christmas tour at the King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne Nov. 27, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota Nov. 28 and at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater Nov. 29. Photo courtESy davEkoZ.coM

Daddy Long Legs, Nov. 17-Dec. 17, Winter Park Playhouse,WinterPark.407-645-0145; WinterParkPlayhouse.org

burlesque after dark: the Mix, Nov. 24, The Venue, Orlando. 407-412-6895; TheVenueOrlando.com

light up ucF, Nov. 17-Dec. 31, University of Central Florida, Orlando. 407-823-6006; LightUpUCF.com

Walt disney World’s candlelight Processional at EPcot, Nov. 24Dec. 30, American Gardens Theater, EPCOT Center. 407-939-5277; DisneyWorld.Disney.go.com

18th annual taste of orlando, Nov. 18, Waterford Lakes Town Center, Orlando. 407-737-2866; WaterfordLakesTownCenter.com

cocoa beach art Show 2017, Nov. 25-26, Minuteman Cswy, Cocoa Beach. 321-749-7874; CocoaBeachArtShow.com

valentina at P house, Nov. 18, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com

home for the holidays, Nov. 25, Bob Carr Theater, Orlando.

407-896-6700; OrlandoPhil.org

the Gaga ball: the live concert tribute Experience, Nov. 18, Southern Nights, Orlando.

407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsOrlando

dave koz & Friends 20th anniversary christmas tour, Nov. 27, King Center for the Performing Arts, Melbourne. 321-242-2219; KingCenter.com

Marc anthony, Nov. 19, Amway Center, Orlando. 844-854-1450; AmwayCenter.com

tampa bay

Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns, Nov. 21-26, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando. 844-513-2014; ,DrPhillipsCenter.org

Much Ado About Nothing, Nov. 8-Dec. 10, American Stage Theatre Company, St. Petersburg.

727-823-7329; AmericanStage.org cirque dreams holidaze, Nov. 17, The Lakeland Center, Lakeland. 863-834-8100; RPFundingCenter.com

backwoods bears anniversary, Nov. 17-19, Sawmill Resort, Dade City. 352-583-0064; FLSawmill.com Paul anthony duo - blues, bourbon & bbQ, Nov. 18, Punky’s Bar and Grill, St. Petersburg.

727-201-4712; PunkysBar.com Straight no chaser, Nov. 18, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org randy newman, Nov. 19, Capitol Theatre, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RuthEckerdHall.com national theatre live presents No Man’s Land, Nov. 19, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa.

813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org Winter village at centro ybor, Nov. 19-Dec. 17, Centro Ybor Courtyard, Tampa. 813-241-8838; Ybor.org/events SaFE youth Friendsgiving, Nov. 20, LGBT Welcome Center, St. Petersburg. 727-201-4925; LGBTWelcomeCenter.com transgender day of remembrance vigil, Nov. 20, Sunshine Senior Center, St. Petersburg.

813-530-9231; Facebook.com/ St.PeteTDOR

monDay, nov. 20, 7:30-9:30 P.m.

UcF REFlEctIon PonD, oRlanDo The Transgender Day of Remembrance, or TDoR, is an annual observance, held on Nov. 20, that honors and remembers those lives lost to transphobia violence. Join members of the Multicultural Students Center at the University of Central Florida Reflection Pond for a candlelight vigil. They will have guest speakers as well as read the names of those in the transgender community who we lost to violence in 2017.

For more information, visit SJA.SDES.UCF.edu/MSC.

lindsey Sterling: Warmer in the Winter christmas tour, Nov. 24, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org lowry Park Zoo’s christmas in the Wild, Nov. 24-Dec. 30, Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa. 813-935-9486; LowryParkZoo.org Fun Home, Nov. 28-Dec. 3, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org dave koz & Friends 20th anniversary christmas tour, Nov. 29, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater.

727-791-7400; RuthEckerdHall.com

tampa bay

Trans Fashion expo SatURDay, nov. 18, noon-6:00 P.m. mEtRo WEllnESS & commUnIty cEntER, tamPa Metro Wellness & Community Centers is teaming up with Tampa Veteran Affairs to show support for the transgender community with a Trans Fashion Expo Nov. 18 at the Tampa Metro Community Center at 1315 7th Ave. There will be clothing, accessories and workshops available for all gender identities and all fashion styles.

Contact Metro at 727-321-3854 for more information.

sarasOta

sarasOta A Christmas Story, Nov. 14-Dec. 10, Venice Theater, Venice. 941-488-1115; VeniceStage.com Evita, Nov. 18-Dec. 30, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Sarasota.

941-351-8000; AsoloRep.org dave koz & Friends 20th anniversary christmas tour, Nov. 28, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota. 941-953-3368

To submit your upcoming event, concert, performance, or fundraiser visit watermarkonline.com.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Transgender Day of remembrance

equality Florida suncoast Celebration SUnDay, nov. 19, 5:00-8:00 P.m. mIchaEl’S on EaSt, SaRaSota Join Equality Florida at Michael’s on East in Sarasota as they celebrate the community’s progress and learn what is ahead on the journey to full LGBTQ equality. The event will feature live music by A Deeper Shade of Soul, open bars, delicious food provided by Michael’s on East and a State of the State address by EQFL CEO Nadine Smith.

Honorees for the evening will be Marcia Foote and Donna Hanley. Ticket information is available at EQFL.org.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

35

profitable custom picture frame and mirror shop

for sale

Located in the same St. Petersburg, FL., location for 10 years at Tyrone Blvd N and 66th St N. More than 2,000 cars a day park in this shopping center.

All equipment necessary to operate this business is included in the sale: Computerized Lifesaver point of sale system, computerized Wizard mat cutter, Universal double miter saw, Miter Mite VN144 joiner, VacuSeal 4468H drymounter, two work stations, Silent air compressor, 2000 GMC Savana delivery van, all existing stock.

Training and some owner financing may be available to purchaser with good credit. SBA eligible.

Sale price: $159,900 Net $80,000+ Books and records available to qualified buyer.

SERIOUS, QUALIFIED INQUIRIES ONLY.

Call Dan at 727-542-2000

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

overheard

tampa bay Out+abOut

mcbittEr

F

olloWIng RIcK KRISEman’S RE-ElEctIon on Nov 7, local business owner Kevin McBride, in self-described mourning, shut down his men’s clothing store to determine if he wanted to continue to live in St. Petersburg.

Potential patrons were greeted with a sign on McB’s, a “high-end men’s resale shop,” which advised the store was closed until further notice.

“I am so sad. Mourning,” it read. “McB needs time to figure what… is going on in this town.”

Should patrons that voted for Rick Baker wish to privately shop, it advised, they could contact McBride directly. “We will no longer be buying any clothing til we figure out if we still want to live here,” the sign concluded.

Days later, McBride posted a YouTube video on “Kriseman’s Cronies,” in which he detailed his experience of being “attacked by the GAY community.” In it, the vocal Donald Trump supporter criticized the LGBTQ community and claimed he was being discriminated against following a plethora of negative reviews for his business on social media.

“Ever since you had your independence and got accepted, many years back, you went on with it,” McBride said, just after detailing his so-called support of the LGBTQ community. “You kept pressing forward, and you’ve been greedy and selfish, and you keep moving forward.”

“Once you got your equal rights and started being respected and accepted into our lives, you went on with more and pushed,” he continued.

“I don’t know if it was, you watched the red carpet shows… or E! channel. But you’re just constantly complaining and pressing for more.”

McBride ended his video by advising those leaving negative business reviews should be jailed, claiming members of the LGBTQ community were “gay-ist, kind of like a racist,” and asking viewers to read the Ten Commandments.

“McB out,” he concluded, with his business potentially joining him.

lOss OF a lEgEnd

t

amPa Bay PERFoRmER anD local lEgEnD Aspen Love was laid to rest on Nov. 11 at Smith’s Funeral Home in St. Petersburg.

Community members mourned the loss of their friend and sister, quickly announcing multiple celebrations of life and benefit shows to help with expenses. Hamburger Mary’s Clearwater, along with Empath Partners in Care, announced that the Nov. 13 Drag Queen Bingo will be held to remember the performer, with proceeds from the event being donated to Love’s family.

The Flamingo Resort will hold a Celebration of Life to honor the performer on Nov. 15 at 8 p.m., and Enigma will hold its “Celebration of Love” on Nov. 17 from 9 p.m. – 12 a.m. “Join us as we pay our respect to Miss Aspen Love and raise funds to help with her final expenses,” Enigma announced. “Area entertainers are joining forces and donating their time to put on a wonderful show at 9:30.”

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all hanDS on DEcK: Quench’s Show Director Eden deck strikes a pose ahead of her second week of winning Tampa Bay Drag Race at Flamingo on Nov. 10.

Photo by ryan WIllIaMS-JEnt

2

gala gREat: ashley brundage receives the Robert Pope Distinguished Leadership Award at Metro Wellness & Community Centers’ Great Gatsby Gala on Nov. 11, honoring its 25th year. Photo

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by ryan WIllIaMS-JEnt

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SaShay aWay: Mio hikaru, trixi allShade and apollo Feelin lePaige (L-R) face elimination during Flamingo’s first week of Tampa Bay Drag Race on Nov. 4. Photo by ryan WIllIaMS-JEnt

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long may ShE REIgn: Stephanie Stuart takes home the crown after being named Miss Quench 2017 during the bar’s annual pageant on Nov. 12. Photo courtESy

StEPhanIE Stuart

5

gEt REal: Eric casaccio (L) poses with vocalist Jennifer real following her performance at The Queens Head on Nov. 10.

Photo courtESy ErIc caSaccIo

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FIRSt tImER: veronica calvillo, daphne Ferraro, Marc calvillo and Justin Geleta (L-R) celebrate Veronica’s first time watching a drag show at Enigma on Nov. 11. Photo

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by ryan WIllIaMS-JEnt

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SUnDay FUnDay: Mark West bias (L) and bryan chant pose for a selfie on Sunday, Nov. 12, at Hamburger Mary’s Ybor.

Photo courtESy bryan chant

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nEon REalnESS: Ed adams serves the crowd his best neon at Enigma on Nov. 10. Photo

8

by ryan WIllIaMS-JEnt

7 watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

37

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Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

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overheard

OrlandO Out+abOut

i Want my minJ-tv

D

id you catch Sunday’s (Nov. 12) episode of TNT’s Good Behavior? If you did, you would’ve seen a familiar self-proclaimed Glamour Toad, Central Florida’s very own Ginger Minj/Josh Eads.

In a previous overheard, we mentioned Ginger’s non-stop work load which included a busy touring schedule, local production of Avenue Q, movie shoot with Jennifer Aniston in the upcoming film Dumplin’ and wrapping up on a second album.

Ginger somehow managed to appear on a recent episode of Good Behavior with RPDR alum, Sharon Needles. TNT’s Good Behavior stars Michelle Dockery who plays a con-artist. In this recent episode, Michelle’s character, Letty, poses as a female impersonator working at a drag bar. If you missed the episode, you can watch it online at tntdrama.com.

2

all rOads lEad tO thE vEnuE

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6

D

ESPItE all thE majoR conStRUctIon in the surrounding streets, the Venue remains open. A while back, we mentioned a big construction project that was coming to Virginia. After the clearing of some buildings things kind of lagged, but it seems they’ve certainly picked up. Blue and the staff at the Venue are still going on with the show despite the parking lot currently being inaccessible. Plan ahead to find parking or just take an Uber or Lyft.

dancing King

W

Ftv’S joRgE EStEvEZ REtURnED to thE DancE, DREam, InSPIRE FUnDRaISER at the Walt Disney World Resort for their “All-Star” edition. He was once again on top of the leader board, scoring three 10s from the judges. Estevez took first place along with his dancing partner, Brooke Reyes of Arthur Murray’s in Boca Raton. John Dowless placed second and WFTV’s Nancy Alvarez placed third.

Proceeds from this toe-tapping event support the work of Community Based Care of Central Florida, which helps protect and serve local children who are victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment. Thanks for being light in the loafers Jorge, you’ve done us proud! It’s worth noting, Jorge also won in 2013.

mOdEl bEhaviOr

I

hEaRt mEDIa’S PRIDE RaDIo oRlanDo IS looKIng for models of all genders, shapes and sizes to participate in the upcoming Pose for Pride. The open call is for participants 18+ and will be held on the fourth floor at iHeart Media offices on Monday, November 20th from 5-8pm.

Pose for Pride will be held at the Aloft Downtown on December 14th and will benefit the Zebra Coalition. For more information and your chance to strut your stuff on the runway, contact PoseforPride@PrideRadioOrlando.com.

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courtESy MIraclE oF lovE

Photo by danny GarcIa

SEEIng RED: The folks from Miracle of Love show off some of the art at Project Red: An Art Experience at the Parliament House Nov. 8. Photo

on thE RaDIo: (L-R) c-lane, Shawn Wasson and Sabrina ambra at a live broadcast of The News Junkies at Ace Cafe in Orlando Nov. 3.

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Photo by JaSon donnElly

Photo by JErEMy WIllIaMS

BlUE’S hoUSE: blue Star (L) and rob Ward are all smiles with a confused Weego in the background at The Venue in Orlando Nov. 6.

3

FIlm BUFFS: (L-R) heather Wilke, Jonny ruff, rosie Westoff, terry decarlo, William huelsman and Sherri absher mingle before the start of the #FiveFilms4Freedom event at The Abbey in Orlando Nov. 9.

Photo by rIck claGGEtt

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BoSSom BUDDIES: Jorge Estevez (L) and Watermark founder Tom Dyer celebrate another successful Pride Gala by the MBA at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando Nov. 4.

Photo courtESy toM dyEr

gala galoRE: austin Sledge (L) and codie James looking fancy at the Equality Florida Greater Orlando Gala at the Orlando Museum of Art Nov. 3.

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taKES thE caKE: (L-R) The Glass Knife’s owner Steve brown, General Manager brian cannon and Executive Chef Stuart Whitfield show off the company vehicle at the new eatery’s media preview in Winter Park Nov. 8.

Photo by JErEMy WIllIaMS

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WhItE aS SnoW: Miss Sammy channels her inner Disney princess for the MBA’s Pride in Business Gala at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando Nov. 4.

Photo by JakE StEvEnS

8 watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

39

T A M P A

attOrnEy

B A Y

M A r K E T P L A C E

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Head to Watermarkonline.com and click on the Digital Publications link to a read a digital version of the printed newspaper!

Crossroads Center next to Ross

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

announcements

WEdding bElls

max and Christopher Freestone Indian Shores, Florida

enGaGement date:

Contigo Fund’s Marco antonio Quiroga was selected to receive the Reed Erickson Trailblazing Leadership Award at the Pride in Philanthropic Awards.

April 21, 2014

weddinG date:

local birthdays

November 1, 2014

venue:

Club Med Sandpiper Bay, Port St. Lucie, FL

Flowers:

red and white roses

colors:

red and white

attire vendors:

Men’s Wearhouse

cake bakery:

Publix

cake Flavors:

Vanilla cake with strawberry filling

photoGrapher: Max’s sister, Victoria Freestone

conGratulations

Sarasota husbands dan and Steve Warren will celebrate their 29th anniversary together on Thanksgiving Day. They celebrate their third year of being married officially on Jan. 15, 2018.

Photo by vIcotrIa FrEEStonE

W

hEn maX anD alan mEt

in college, they had no idea they’d walk down the aisle five years later.

“He was just instantly engaging,” says Max of his new husband, Christopher. “What I didn’t know is that we’d ever get engaged,” he says. Max and Christopher met at the University of South Florida in October of 2009. Max was studying finance and Christopher was undecided.

Christopher was at The Local Draught House with friends.

“I saw Max walk in and knew I had to talk to him,” says Christopher.

He’d been told by his friend, Megan, that a guy was coming she wanted him to meet. “I didn’t know this was the guy, but you can’t imagine how excited I was when I found out it was him.”

Max’s affinity wasn’t mutual right away. “I had just gotten out of a long relationship. It started in high school and had ended really badly. I wasn’t ready to start dating again,” he says. Max made that abundantly clear to Christopher, who wouldn’t be deterred. He asked Max to go with him to a friend’s Halloween party the next weekend. “I didn’t want to,” says Max. “But I thought Chris

was nice, so I went along with it.”

After the party, Christopher walked Max to his car. “I knew what was going to happen,” says Max. “We had so much fun at the party; it was inevitable. But I wanted it to be on my terms, which was basically the opposite of my previous relationship.”

As Christopher leaned in to kiss Max, Max kissed him first.

“I was obsessed with Max; I’m not ashamed to admit,” says Christopher. “But in that moment, the obsession just melted away into something more. It was so comfortable.”

The pair has traveled all over the world together – travel is one of their greatest passions and they try to see a new place whenever they can. “We had talked about getting married as soon as the SCOTUS ruling came down,” says Christopher. Like the rest of their relationship, Christopher was the one to make the first comments about getting engaged. Again, Max wanted it to be on his terms.

“It was a no-brainer that I’d pop the question while we were on

vacation,” says Max. He shopped for a ring and took it with him on a weekend in Mexico.

The two stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, just 45 minutes south of Cancun. “The adults-only section of the hotel is called ‘Heaven,’” says Max. “I wanted to tie that in somehow.”

One night, the couple had just finished dinner and Max brought Christopher to the middle of the lobby. Max told Christopher that being with him was just like heaven. There were some other guests in the hotel lobby, and when Christopher said yes, everyone cheered.

Wedding planning was fairly simple, as they chose to get married at the all-inclusive Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Port St. Lucie. “We just picked out what we wanted, paid the bill and showed up,” says Max. Neither of the men were interested in a big wedding, so together with about 25 friends, they stood on the beach and said “I do” on November 1, 2014.

“It was the most incredible thing to have our closest friends and family surrounding us in that moment,” says Christopher.

The Closing Agent and The 49 Fund founder barry Miller, Watermark contributor anna M. Johnson (Nov. 16); Sarasota diva Angelique Monet AKA ray Sickles, MBA Orlando executive director kellie rae Parkin (Nov. 17); Lithia equestrian expert James Meeks, Orlando Gay Chorus tenor and sky hostess todd Michael hayes (Nov. 18); Orlando Gay Chorus belter Pattie noah, local photographer brian becnel, the Venue’s Jackie lewin, real estate agent neil Payne, former Watermark intern valentina Sofia, Sarasota hairstylist Frank Piscopo (Nov. 19); Orlando hair artist dale dees, St. Petersburg Equality Florida spokesperson todd richardson, make-up artist timothy Spivey, Honey Pot show director toby brees (Nov. 20); Enigma St. Pete bartender Michael ackeret, Tampa Bay concert aficionado dwayne McFarlane (Nov. 21); Orlando activist nicki drumb, Keller-Williams realtor Steve Glose, Tampa swimwear designer la’daska Mechelle, charity-driven Ybor resident Mike hammonds, Tampa Hospice’s admissions manager Peter Shute, Pom Pom’s Orlando server alexis astolfi (Nov. 22); Tampa actress lauren clark, Tampa Bay sisters member John Miller, State Rep. linda Stewart (Nov. 23). Watermark proofreader and Orlando lawyer Ed blaisdell, drag legend Gidget Galore AKA rich kuntz (Nov. 24); Pulse owner barbara Poma (Nov. 25); St. Petersburg nurse Ed briggs, Pandora Events CEO alison burgos, Newsweek reporter and former Watermark intern christal hayes (Nov. 26); St. Petersburg actor ken basque (Nov. 27); former HRC president Joe Solmonese, Tampa Bay chef Paegechafin(Nov. 28); St. Petersburg actor and former Grand Central Station owner kris doubles, Tampa softball bear bubba de, Orlando actor MJ lewis, Tupperware queen dixie longate, St. Petersburg celebrity chef Jeffrey Jew (Nov. 29).

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.

—Holly V. Kapherr

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.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

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thE last pagE

Photo by JakE StEvEnS

Danny Garcia SALES DIrEC TOr

aGe: 38

hometown: Miami

identiFies as: Gay

out year:

“I

autobioGraphy title:

“That’s so Danny!”

says Sales Director Danny Garcia. “There was a job opening at a time when I felt like I needed a change, so I seized the opportunity.”

hobbies:

Local road trips, theme parks, museums and movies

Danny’s history with Watermark dates back to his mid-teens. He was attending a local teen club when the DJ made some derogatory remarks towards the LGBTQ community.

Danny felt compelled to write about the experience in a letter to the editor of Watermark. The letter was printed and the radio station hosting the event made the DJ apologize to Danny personally.

“Watermark made me feel empowered,” he says. “I knew I felt something was wrong and Watermark gave me the power to express it.” This sentiment is also Danny’s favorite thing about working for Watermark. “Watermark empowers the entire community to have a voice.”

Shortly after his letter was printed, Danny walked into the Watermark office to drop off some promotional material for a friend’s band. When then-owner and publisher Tom Dyer heard Danny was in the office, he asked him to join the team of freelancers. To this day Danny is an integral part of Watermark’s social team. He can be seen at many events taking pictures and representing the news magazine.

Danny’s favorite events to cover are local Prides. “We work all these events, so as much as I enjoy them, they’re still work! But I love St. Pete Pride, Come Out with Pride and Tampa Pride.”

When in the office, Danny describes his job as “selling ad space and assisting the sales team in reaching their goals.”

In reality, he is tasked with

1993

hire date:

March 2014

proFessional role model:

Tina Fey

46

havE a hIStoRy WIth WATERMARK,”

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

being responsible for all sales and income into Watermark. He handles this burden with drive and a good sense of humor. Danny’s passion for Watermark and his community is immeasurable. It is matched only by his willingness to get involved and make everyone around him the best they can be.

“I have many favorites when it comes to our LGBTQ community,” Danny states. “But what really stood out was how we all came together, including our LGBTQ allies, after the tragedy at Pulse. It seems like that unity has continued a year later.”

Dating, on the other hand, is something Danny thinks the LGBTQ community could improve upon. “It seems like the art of dating has been lost. Can you tell I’m single?”

Danny asks. “We are too reliant on technology and don’t have conversations anymore. You connect online, you hook-up or you meet, you get married. There’s no in between.”

Danny has a good deal of advice for his younger self as well. “Get involved, don’t hold grudges, stand up for yourself, save money and keep an open mind! Oh yeah, and enjoy your 28-inch waist while it lasts!”

Watermark is the collective product of a team of incredibly hardworking individuals.

Over the next series of issues, we’re using this space to introduce each member of our staff and contributors to you. When you see us out and about in the community, stop and say, “Hello.” We’d love to meet you.

Reach local LGBT communities across the nation.

Start connecting with over a million loyal readers in print and online across the country.

212-242-6863 info@nationallgbtmediaassociation.com www.nationallgbtmediaassociation.com

Atlanta | Boston | Chicago | Dallas/ Ft Worth | Detroit | Los Angeles | Miami/ Ft Lauderdale | New York | Orlando/Tampa Bay | Philadelphia | San Francisco | Washington DC

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 16 - Nov emb er 29, 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 3

47

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