Watermark Issue 25.11: In the Beginning by Watermark Publishing Group

watermark Your LGBTQ Life.

ISSUE 25.11 MAY 31 - JUNE 13, 2018

WatermarkOnline.com

pride previews: GULFPORT’S PRIDE POLK PRIDE

in the

Beginning WITH CHANGES TO ORLANDO’S BIG GAY WEEKEND COMING IN 2019, WE LOOK BACK ON THE HISTORY OF GAY DAY AT THE MAGIC KINGDOM AND HOW WE GOT FROM THERE TO HERE

dAYToNA bEACH • orlANdo • TAmpA • ST. pETErSburg • ClEArWATEr • SArASoTA

What is BIKTARVY®? 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.

BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults. It can either be used in people who 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. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about BIKTARVY? BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects: } Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV and stop taking BIKTARVY, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

Who should not take BIKTARVY? Do not take BIKTARVY if you take: } dofetilide } rifampin } any other medicines to treat HIV-1

What are the other possible side effects of BIKTARVY? Serious side effects of BIKTARVY 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 BIKTARVY. } 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 BIKTARVY. } Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death.

} 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 effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (5%), and headache (5%). Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking BIKTARVY? } 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, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements. BIKTARVY and other medicines may affect each other. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist, and ask if it is safe to take BIKTARVY with all of your other medicines. } If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if BIKTARVY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking BIKTARVY. } 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.

Ask your healthcare provider if BIKTARVY is right for you.

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

2BVYC0024_BFTAF_B_9-25x10-1_Watermark_KeepEmpowering_r1v1jl.indd 1-2 watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

Get HIV support by downloading a free app at MyDailyCharge.com

KEEP EMPOWERING. Because HIV doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t change who you are. BIKTARVY is a 1-pill, once-a-day complete HIV-1 treatment for adults who are either new to treatment or whose healthcare provider determines they can replace their current HIV-1 medicines with BIKTARVY.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

BIKTARVY.COM

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

5/24/18 10:37 AM

IMPORTANT FACTS

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

(bik-TAR-vee) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY

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

BIKTARVY can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” 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 effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (5%), and headache (5%). These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.

ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults. It can either be used in people who 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. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains: • dofetilide • rifampin • any other medicines to treat HIV-1

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY Tell your healthcare provider all your medical conditions, including if you: • Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection. • 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, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. • Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that interact with BIKTARVY.

HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more. • Go to BIKTARVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5. • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit BIKTARVY.com for program information.

BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, DAILY CHARGE, the DAILY CHARGE Logo, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. Version date: February 2018 © 2018 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0024 05/18

4BVYC0024_BFTAF_B_9-25x10-1_Watermark_KeepEmpowering_r1v1jl.indd 3watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

5/24/18 10:37 AM

departMents 7 // puBLisher’s desk 8 // centraL fLorida news 15 // taMpa Bay news 20 // state news 22 // nation & worLd news 31 // taLkinG points 59 // coMMunity caLendar 61 // taMpa Bay out + aBout 63 // orLando out + aBout 64 // taMpa Bay MarketpLace 66 // orLando MarketpLace 69 // weddinG BeLLs/ announceMents 70 // Last paGe

PAGE

It became newsworthy immediately because of the public relations nightmare it created for Disney… they were not thrilled when they realized this was going to be a thing every year. They love it now… but back then, not so much. —Michael wanzie on the BeGinninG of Gay day at MaGic kinGdoM.

on the cover

PAGE

PAGE IN THE BEGINNING:

With changes coming to next year’s Big Gay Weekend, we look back at the history of Gay Day at the Magic Kingdom.

scan Qr code for

waterMarkonLine.coM

one puLse, one Love:

Two years later, community members honor and remember those affected by the Pulse tragedy.

waterMark i ssue 25.11 //May 3 1 - j une 13 , 2018

proud to Be

positive LivinG

risk-y Business

this oLd hoMe

PAGE Polk County prepares to celebrate the fourth annual Polk Pride.

PAGE Columnist Greg Stemm recalls how Pride made him a “gay activist.”

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

Comedian Kevin Allison brings his live podcast “RISK” to Tampa and Orlando.

Mad Cow Theatre’s “Fun Home” explores sexual identity and family tension.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

publISHEr’S

rick Claggett publISHEr

Rick@WatermarkOnline.com

desk

’M pretty sure i was 16 the

first time I went to Gay Day at Disney. I was only out to my mom and a handful of friends back then, so it was a little awkward when my brothers and I rolled up on the second annual Gay Day at Disney. It became a tradition in my family that when one of the brothers graduated high school, we’d celebrate with a trip to the Magic Kingdom—just us boys. Turns out that celebration always happened on the first Saturday of June. We didn’t know what that day meant to so many people, but we picked up on it pretty quickly.

I remember being petrified my brothers would figure out somehow I was gay, as if just being in close proximity with so many LGBTQ people would cause me to grow a boa and hum the ABBA anthology. I also remember experiencing immense joy and

comfort. It was scary being gay in the early ‘90s, not to diminish the struggle today’s 16-year-olds face with their own coming out. But that one day, every year, was a day of happiness in the happiest place on earth. It was a day to

waterMark staff Founder and Guiding Light: Tom Dyer Tom@Watermarkonline.com Owner, Publisher, Editor: Rick Claggett • ext. 110 Rick@Watermarkonline.com Business Manager: Kathleen Harper • ext. 101 Kathleen@Watermarkonline.com

be normal, to be together and to be visible. It took a lot of bravery for people to don their red shirts in those early years. That’s probably what I love most about it. I often wonder if the organizers of that very first day had any idea the magnitude of what they were doing, or more personally, the impact it would have on my life. A lonely kid who just happened to wander into a place where he found out he wasn’t alone. That magical day has turned into almost a week-long celebration with well over 100,000 people from all over the world converging in our backyard to celebrate who they are. It’s inspiring to see and it’s inspiring to know that it started with a small group of local friends who just wanted the world to know we are all just like everybody else. Somewhere along the way, it seems as if we may have lost sight of that original intent. The bigger the week got, the more money was at play and the more players there were in the game. Many promoters have come and gone throughout the years, but it’s the most recent announcement that GayDayS, Inc. will be moving their location and event to a new venue and date that has caused—or shed light on—much confusion surrounding what is commonly referred to as “gay days.” When someone asks me what I am doing for gay days, I’ll tell them my usual: staying at the host hotel, going to Typhoon Lagoon and working. This is both accurate and inaccurate. It’s correct in the sense that what we think of as gay days week includes all of those events, but it’s confusing because all of those events are not hosted by the organization GayDayS Inc., which has a copyright on the name Gay Days. So, when you hear Gay Days is moving it sounds like the whole week is changing, but it

is actually the GayDays Inc. host hotel and events that are moving. Still confused? I don’t blame you. Hopefully Jeremy Williams breaks it down in our In Depth section in a manner that helps clear it up for you. He takes a historical look at where the day started, where the week is and what the future hold for all those involved. I have worked with all parties involved in this week of celebration and I wish them all success and prosperity in what they do. After all, at its core Gay Day at Disney and the events

It took a lot of bravery for people to don their red shirts in those early years. That’s probably what I love most about it.

that followed are a result of the ground work by our local community for the betterment of our community. It’s always been that for me and it needs to stay that way for the next LGBTQ 16-year-old who happens to wander into it. In addition to our coverage of Orlando’s big gay weekend, Watermark outlines the efforts to commemorate the two-year mark of the deadly attack at Pulse. In Tampa Bay news we talk Gulfport’s Pride and Polk Pride. For Arts & Entertainment we bring you a look at Mad Cow Theatre’s “Fun Home” and take a look at out comedian Kevin Allison’s award-winning podcast in Tampa and Orlando. Our Last Page introduces you to what makes Viewpoint columnist Sabrina Ambra tick. We strive to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue.

orLando office CFL Bureau Chief: Jeremy Williams • ext. 106 Jeremy@Watermarkonline.com Tampa Bay Bureau Chief: Ryan Williams-Jent • ext. 302 Ryan@Watermarkonline.com Proofreading: Ed Blaisdell

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taMpa Bay office 2529 Central Ave. St. Petersburg, FL 33713 TEL: 813-655-9890 FAX: 813-849-2986

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

contriButors GreG steMM

lives in Gulfport, Fla., and has worked as a freelance writer for several local publications. He is a founding member of St. Pete Pride and active politically in Tampa Bay. Page 25

Michael wanzie is

an Orlando-based playwright, actor and ordained minister. He is most recognized for his direction of productions in the Orlando area. Page 27

aaron drake

is a contributor to Creative Loafing, South Florida Gay News and ManAboutWorld. He loves getting lost in other countries and his German Shepherd. Page 69

saBrina aMBra, scottie caMpBeLL, MiGueL fuLLer, divine Grace, kirk hartLaGe, saMueL johnson, jason LecLerc, stephen MiLLer, Maia Monet, david Moran, GreG steMM, dr. steve yacoveLLi, MichaeL wanZie

photoGraphy Brian BecneL, nick cardeLLo, anGie foLks, Bruce hardin, juLie MiLford, travis Moore, chris stephenson, Lee vanderGrift, tinkerfLuff

distriBution 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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central florida news

puLse events ListinG for centraL fLorida Watermark Staff

rlando | During the first few weeks of June, many organizations will be holding events and offering services in honor and remembrance of those 49 lives lost at Pulse on June 12, 2016. We have compiled a list of many of the events below. This is by no means a complete list and we will be posting this compilation of events on our website at WatermarkOnline. com. Please feel free to share any events we missed in the comments section on our Watermark Facebook page or on our website events listing.

NEVER forGet: The

Pulse memorial (pictured) will be one of several locations with events June 12.

LGBTQ+ advance Directive and Will Clinic

Friday, June 1, by appOintment Only tHe legal aid SOCiety OF tHe Orange COunty bar aSSOCiatiOn, OrlandO

In remembrance and honor of the victims of the Pulse tragedy and their families, The Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association and its community partners are offering a free event for the LGBTQ+ community. Volunteer attorneys will prepare simple wills, durable power of attorney, healthcare surrogate and living wills free of charge. To schedule an appointment call 407-841-8310, ext. 3167.

stay Proud, Be Loud

tueSday, June 5, 3:00-8:00 p.m. parliament HOuSe, OrlandO

The Matthew Shepard Foundation and MillerLite invite you out for their third “Stay Proud, Be Loud” community discussion on hate crimes. They will discuss Pulse, the hate crime rate in Central Florida and the work they are doing in their 20th anniversary year to combat hate in America. The event will be two parts with a panel discussion starting at 3:00 p.m. and a reception following at 5:00 p.m.

an evening with Judy and Dennis shepard

wedneSday, June 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m. HOme OF pHil kean and brad grOSberg, OrlandO

This year marks two decades since the tragic murder of Matthew Shepard and the national attention his death brought to hate crimes against LGBTQ people. The onePULSE Foundation teams up with the Matthew Shepard Foundation for this intimate conversation with Matthew Shepard’s parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard, and Pulse owner Barbara Poma. Tickets are $175 each and are available by searching the event name at Eventbrite.com.

second annual CommunITy Rainbow Run Saturday, June 9, 7:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. wadeView park, OrlandO

The onePULSE Foundation will host the CommUNITY Rainbow Run in partnership with the DeVos Sport Business Management Program at UCF. An estimated 1,500 runners

CoNTINuEd oN pg. 11 | uu |

pHOtO by dylan tOdd

One Pulse, One Love Two years later many groups, individuals will honor and remember those aﬀected by the Pulse tragedy Jeremy Williams

rlando | It’s been nearly two years since our community woke to the news that a gunman entered one of our LGBTQ nightclubs in downtown Orlando on Latin Night with a semi-automatic rifle and handgun. 49 patrons were killed and another 53 injured while they danced, drank and celebrated with friends and family. In the wake of the Pulse tragedy, the people of Orlando came together and showed that no matter a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, race, sex, religion or national origin we were not going to lash out and let hate win. That tradition of taking a tragedy and making it into something positive and good will continue this year as many groups, organizations and community members will honor, remember and celebrate the lives of the Pulse angels during the week of June 12. “This will be a week of reflection, as we remember our 49 angels, support our survivors and consider how we as a community continue to emerge from this tragedy,” said

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Barbara Poma, owner of Pulse and founder of the onePULSE Foundation, in a press release. “These events will focus on unity, hope and our continued efforts to fulfill our promise that we will not let hate win.” Poma and the onePULSE Foundation have partnered with many organizations including the City of Orlando, the One Orlando Alliance and the Matthew Shepard Foundation on several of the events. The Matthew Shepard Foundation will mark its 20th year fighting hate crimes this October and will present several events of its own in Orlando in June. “Being in Orlando with the Matthew Shepard Foundation brings together both communities I’ve been fighting for over the last two years,” said Sara Grossman, the Matthew Shepard Foundation’s communication manager. “After losing a close friend at the Pulse shooting shortly before joining the Foundation’s team, I had hoped we would make it down to Orlando. This is an event that has been needed and will be healing for the community affected by Pulse.” Also keeping in the spirit of not letting hate win, the One Orlando Alliance returns with “Acts of Love and Kindness,” an initiative started

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

last June 12 at the one-year mark of the Pulse tragedy. It asks members of the community, and people from around the world, to engage in volunteerism and show love by supporting those still in need. “The Pulse tragedy was the darkest day in Orlando’s history, yet hate did not win or divide. In fact, it sparked a movement of love, kindness and generosity here at home and around the world,” said Jennifer Foster of the One Orlando Alliance. “Though we can never get back the innocent lives that were forever taken from us, our community remains stronger and more united than ever before. There’s much more that we all can do to honor everyone affected and continue to create a better community.” Last year, Acts of Love and Kindness had over 2,500 people volunteer their time totaling more than 5,000 hours of service. The movement generated over a quarter of a million Facebook impressions and 5 million views on Snapchat. The organization is asking that anyone who posts about their act of love and kindness use the hashtag #ActLoveGive on social media. Churches, temples, synagogues and mosques around the world are also participating through the “49 Bells” initiative. More than 30 faith organizations will toll their bells 49 times at noon on June 12. For more information on Pulse-inspired events check out the side bar on this page or visit onePULSEFoundation.org, OneOrlandoAlliance.org, MatthewShepard.org and WatermarkOnline.com.

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For financial tips, tools and personalized banking solutions, drop by a branch or visit regions.com/LGBT.

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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central florida news “O-Town Voices” | uu | Pulse Events in CFL from pg.8

and walkers will join together at Wadeview Park for a 4.9K, Kids Fun Run and CommUNITY Festival. The race is in honor of all affected by the Pulse tragedy and the course goes by the Pulse Memorial and the Orlando Health Trauma Center. Registration and event details are available at CommunityRainbowRun.com.

The 49 Fund Scholarship Recipients Announcement Saturday, June 9, 3:00 p.m. City Hall, Orlando

In honor of the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub attack, The 49 Fund awards a $4,900.00 scholarship to 10 Central Florida students who demonstrate personal and professional development, leadership and a commitment of service to their community. The 49 Fund completed the application and interview process for the 2018 scholarships and are ready to announce the recipients. For more information on The 49 Fund visit The49Fund.org.

Sunday, June 10, 7:30 p.m. Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Orlando

First performed at the Orlando Fringe in 2017, “O-Town Voices” is a play comprised of stories, interviews and speeches from Orlando, and across the globe, collected during the weeks and months following the Pulse attack. “O-Town Voices” was created and directed by David Lee and features 18 local theater veterans, Pulse owner Barbara Poma, Pulse survivor Neema Bahrami and the Orlando Gay Chorus. Tickets and event details are available at onePULSEFoundation.org/Events.

Another Year Passes: Orlando after the Pulse Nightclub Massacre

Sunday, June 10, 12:00-5:00 p.m.; Monday-Saturday, June 11-16, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Orange County History Center, Orlando

The Orange County History Center in downtown Orlando will be bringing back its Pulse collection

exhibit starting the first weekend of Pride Month, June 2, and will have it on display through Come Out With Pride weekend, Oct. 14. The exhibit will be free of charge during the week of June 12. For more information on the exhibit call the Orange County History Center at 407-836-8500 or visit TheHistoryCenter.org.

One Orlando Alliance’s Acts of Love and Kindness Tuesday, June 12, All Day Central Florida and across the world

Acts of Love and Kindness is a movement grown out of the spirit of giving and good deeds witnessed in the aftermath of the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016. The One Orlando Alliance — a coalition of more than 30 Orlando LGBTQ+ organizations — mobilizes this movement to inspire the Orlando community and beyond to engage in volunteerism, share stories and show support through acts of love and kindness. Those participating are encouraged to share their

stories on social media using the hashtag: #ActLoveGive.

Ringing of the Bells

Tuesday, June 12, All Day Orange County Administration Office, Orlando

Join the public gathering on June 12 at noon as the First United Methodist Church in downtown Orlando will ring its bells 49 times, once for every life lost that tragic day. In a sign of solidarity, multiple churches across the U.S. and the world will join in the ringing of the bells.

Sea-to-Sea Flag and Art Exhibit

Section 93 represents a 25-foot section of the world’s largest 1.25-mile original eight-color LGBTQ rainbow flag that was constructed in 2003 in Key West, Florida. The Sea-to-Sea flag stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and required more than 2,000 people to carry it. It was created by Gilbert Baker, the original artist who created the iconic rainbow flag in 1978. Also known as “The Sacred Cloth,” it is a symbol of the worldwide LGBTQ movement for acceptance, understanding, education, solidarity and inclusion. The County will feature a small exhibit on the first floor atrium of the administration building – the banner of the 49 will by hung and Pulse-related artwork will be showcased.

Tuesday, June 12, 12:00 p.m. First United Methodist Church, Orlando

The Annual Remembrance Ceremony—A Public Community Gathering Tuesday, June 12, 7:00 p.m. Pulse Memorial, Orlando

The onePULSE Foundation will host a public ceremony where Pulse still stands, now as the interim Pulse Memorial, to remember the 49 angels. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs will join community members, survivors and first responders as they honor those we have lost. Parking and accessibility information available at onePULSEFoundation.org.

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

What is TRUVADA for PrEP?

Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP?

TRUVADA for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a prescription medicine that is used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1. To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to prevent getting HIV. 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.

Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: ® Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. If you are HIV-1 positive, you need to take other medicines with TRUVADA to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. ® Also take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about TRUVADA for PrEP? Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-negative. ® Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. If you have flu-like symptoms, you could have recently become infected with HIV-1. Tell your healthcare provider if you had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting or at any time while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. ® You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. ® If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away. ® To further help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1: ® Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. ® Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you. ® Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners. ® Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. ® If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. TRUVADA can cause serious side effects: ® Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV and stop taking TRUVADA, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

What are the other possible side effects of TRUVADA for PrEP? Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include: ® Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with TRUVADA. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking TRUVADA. ® 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. ® Bone problems, including bone pain, softening, or thinning, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones. Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA for PrEP? ® All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis. ® If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRUVADA can harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking TRUVADA. ® If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can be passed to the baby in breast milk. ® All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. ® If you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA, your healthcare provider may need to check you more often or change your dose. These medicines include certain medicines to treat hepatitis C (HCV) infection. 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 TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following page.

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

I’m active, not unaware. I know who I am. And I make choices that fit my life. TRUVADA for PrEP™ is a once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 when taken every day and used together with safer sex practices. ® TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV through sex. ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you. Learn more at truvada.com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

8/2/17 2:19 PM

IMPORTANT FACTS

This is only a brief summary of important information about taking TRUVADA for PrEPTM (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.

(tru-VAH-dah) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP Before starting TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must be HIV-1 negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-1 negative. • Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include flu-like symptoms, tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP. While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. • You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you think you were exposed to HIV-1 or have a flu-like illness while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. • See the “How To Further Reduce Your Risk” section for more information. TRUVADA may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA for PrEP is a prescription medicine used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1. • To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health. Do NOT take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. • Take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.

HOW TO TAKE TRUVADA FOR PrEP • Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1. • Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. • Use TRUVADA for PrEP together with condoms and safer sex practices. • Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About TRUVADA for PrEP” section. • 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. • Bone problems. Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP include stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. These are not all the possible side effects of TRUVADA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP.

BEFORE TAKING TRUVADA FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis. • Have any other medical conditions. • Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. • Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can pass to the baby in breast milk. 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 TRUVADA for PrEP.

HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK • Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. • Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you. • Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners. • Do not share needles or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about TRUVADA for PrEP. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more, including how to prevent HIV infection. • Go to start.truvada.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit start.truvada.com for program information.

TRUVADA FOR PREP, the TRUVADA FOR PREP Logo, the TRUVADA Blue Pill Design, TRUVADA, 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. TVDC0166 08/17

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

8/2/17 2:19 PM

tampa bay news

LGBtQ resource center ceLeBrates pride Month with events throuGh june Ryan Williams-Jent

G polk proud:

Attendees gather in the park for equality during the third annual Polk Pride in 2017. pHOtO by danny garCia

Proud To Be Polk Pride celebrates diversity in its fourth year Ryan Williams-Jent

akeland | Local advocates and allies will hold the fourth annual Polk Pride June 13-16 to celebrate LGBTQ diversity and inclusion in Polk County. “If you’ve never been to Polk Pride, you’ve never experienced the best of what Pride can be,” Polk Pride’s president Scott Guira says. “Polk Pride is an opportunity for absolutely anybody in any age group and any background to come out to a Pride event and really feel like it is welcoming and it is the right place for them to be.” Polk Pride was created in 2015 by the Lakeland Youth Alliance (LYA), dedicated to providing a safe space for LGBTQ youth ages 13-24, and PFLAG of Lakeland/Polk County. The latter is comprised of LGBTQ individuals, family members and allies who aim to provide awareness and support for those in the LGBTQ community.

“The two organizations together make up the board of Polk Pride,” Guira says, “and so really for us it was about doing more than creating a safe space. It’s about creating a safe community and having it centered as a family type event… an event that anybody could come to and find that they fit in.” As Polk Pride has done each year, a theme and color of the rainbow were chosen to represent this year’s celebration. This year’s theme is “Proud To Be,” represented by the color green. “Following the progression of the Pride rainbow of previous years, 2018’s color is green which represents nature or growth,” Polk Pride’s Dustin Shay says. “In creating our theme, Polk Pride envisioned this as sharing who we are proud to be. “Proud to be who we were made to be, proud to be who we’ve grown to be and proud to be simply who we are,” he continues. “We want this year’s theme to celebrate anyone who is proud to be who they are... a

parent, an ally, transgender, a person of color, a gay man or woman, an activist, etc. The list goes on.” Over 4,000 attendees and over 70 unique vendors were a part of Polk Pride’s third year, and Guira says the fourth year will be the organization’s largest celebration yet. It will begin with an alcohol-free “Pride for Youth” event for LGBTQ youth ages 13-20, hosted by the LYA on June 13 at St. David’s Episcopal Church. June 14 will see “Pride in Faith,” an interfaith worship service at the Beacon Hill Fellowship. “It’s a non-denominational event,” Guira says, noting it’s designed to show that local religious groups are open and affirming of Polk County’s LGBTQ community. Polk Pride’s kick-off cocktail reception will follow on June 15 at the Peggy Brown Building. “It’s open to the public and we’ll have some silent auction items,” Guira says. “We’ll have a live performer that night and it provides an opportunity for people to mingle and get to know people.” The main event will be held June 16 with “Pride in the Park” from 10 a.m. -3 p.m. at Munn Park. “We’ll have 80-plus vendors,” Guira advises, “we’ve got a variety of activities going on for every age group, we’ve got food trucks and on

ulfport | The LGBTQ Resource Center has announced a series of Pride events beginning May 31 and culminating June 24 at the St. Pete Pride Festival. The resource center is a project of the non-profit Circle of Friends, the organization which supports the Gulfport Public Library. In February, the American Library Association awarded the library with the Newlen-Symons Award for Excellence for serving the LGBTQ community for its dedication to programming and awareness. “We have a very active LGBTQ Resource Center committee so we always have programming,” the library’s director Dave Mather says, noting the committee’s desire to focus heavily on events in June. “We get anywhere between 50 and 150 people for our programs.” “We wanted to have at least one event every week during Pride month in addition to our regular programming,” Watermark contributor and LGBTQ Resource Center committee member Greg Stemm adds. “Pride Month is really when we kind of kick into high gear.” The month-long celebration will begin May 31 with the raising of the Pride flag in Gulfport. While it’s been flown above the Gulfport Public Library in the past, this year will see Mayor Sam Henderson and City Councilmember Paul Ray join in to speak at an official event. “The city of Gulfport is dedicated to supporting the LGBTQ community and promoting an all-encompassing environment for our patrons during National Pride Month,” Ray said via press release, “and all year-round.” Following the flag raising ceremony, artists will gather for the opening reception of the second annual “ArtOut” event. The show will feature work by nearly a dozen LGBTQ artists, who will attend the reception to showcase their work in oils, acrylics, photography, ceramics and more. The free show will run through June in the library. On June 7, fan favorite performer Matthew McGee will debut “Waltzing Matilda” in the city’s Catherine Hickman Theater. The all-ages country western cabaret will feature songs by country music’s biggest CoNTINuEd oN pg. 18 | uu |

CoNTINuEd oN pg. 18 | uu |

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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tampa bay news | uu | LGBTQ Resource Center from pg.15

stars and is described as an “autobiographical honky tonk revue” that’s “more ‘Hee Haw’ than CMA.” The Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (TIGLFF) will also present “Reel in the Closet” on June 14 for the resource center’s Pride installment of their monthly film series. The documentary details “the real lives of LGBTQ people from the past through hundreds of never before seen home movies dating back to the 1930s.” “It’s kind of a big deal in that it’s not something you can see in most places just yet,” Mather says of the film. “We had to reach out to the actual people who created it.” On June 19, the LGBTQ community and local faith leaders from the Interfaith Tampa Bay Pride Worship

Service will join together to discuss spirituality. “Can I Be Gay and Still Be Spiritual?” will offer Christian and non-Christian viewpoints, with short presentations about faith traditions during a “lunch and learn” program. “There’s a wide variety of different faiths represented,” Stemm says. “Each person in the panel will talk about how they’re trying to make their own faith journeys more welcoming to LGBTQ people. There will be an opportunity for people to ask questions about some relatively controversial issues.” “Obviously because we’re a public library we can’t go for one side or the other,” Mather adds, “but perspectives like that where you have a whole bunch of different perspectives [allows] people [to] take home what they want. It’s several different faiths so you get different perspectives.”

An “Open Mic and Poetry Slam” will follow on June 21 at the library, hosted by community advocate Sam Obeid. The evening will feature slam poetry, readings and storytelling, with a special guest appearance by Gulfport Poet Laureate Peter Hargitai. The month of festivities will come to a close June 24 at the LGBTQ Resource Center’s booth at this year’s St. Pete Pride Festival, but programming is year-round. “In a normal community if you wanted to find gay people you go to a bar or a Pride celebration,” Stemm says. “If you want to find gay people in Gulfport you go to the library, which is kind of a cool thing.” The Gulfport Public Library is located at 5501 28th Ave. S. For more information about the LGBTQ Resource Center and its Pride or ongoing programming, visit mygulfport.us/lgbtq-resources/.

| uu | Proud to be from pg.15 the main stage we’ve got different [types of] entertainment.” The main stage will feature drag performances coordinated by Tampa Bay entertainer Kathryn Nevets, music from St. Petersburg acoustic pop/rock duo Halcyon and more. “It’s a little bit of something for everybody,” Guira notes. Polk Pride will subsequently wind down with “Pride After Dark,” an evening of drinks, drag and dancing. The closing party will be held at the LkldLive Studio from 9:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. While Guira is excited about the event’s 2018 offerings, he’s particularly thrilled with the support Polk Pride has received from the county. “This is the first year that some of our smaller communities have made proclamations of Pride week,” he says. “So we’ve included smaller communities like Bartow, Mulberry and Haines City, which is a big deal in our community. It says a lot about

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

the growth of the perception of our community.” Guira says that reaching out to smaller communities in Polk County for Pride proclamations was “a shot in the dark” that paid off. “For the most part it’s been great,” he says, noting that the Mulberry commission approved their request unanimously. “There were some concerns raised by a few citizens,” he recalls, “but overall, those who spoke at the commission meeting were very in favor of the idea of inclusion and the city making that proclamation. It was a great, great feeling for the smallest of our communities to recognize us.” Polk Pride is “devoted to awareness, so that primarily is why we have public events in Polk County,” Guira believes. “We’re unlike any other Pride you go to. It’s got that downhome feel with big city fun. We’ve got all the great things but with a nice warm welcome.” For more information about Polk Pride and to learn more about this year’s events or entertainment, visit PolkPrideFL.com or email info@PolkPrideFL.com.

In adults with HIV on ART who have diarrhea not caused by an infection IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION This is only a summary. See complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or by calling 1-844-722-8256. This does not take the place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.

What Is Mytesi? Mytesi is a prescription medicine used to improve symptoms of noninfectious diarrhea (diarrhea not caused by a bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on ART. Do Not Take Mytesi if you have diarrhea caused by an infection. Before you start Mytesi, your doctor and you should make sure your diarrhea is not caused by an infection (such as bacteria, virus, or parasite).

Possible Side Effects of Mytesi Include:

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Mytesi (crofelemer): • Is the only medicine FDA-approved to relieve diarrhea in people with HIV • Treats diarrhea differently by normalizing the flow of water in the GI tract • Has the same or fewer side effects as placebo in clinical studies • Comes from a tree sustainably harvested in the Amazon Rainforest

• Upper respiratory tract infection (sinus, nose, and throat infection) • Bronchitis (swelling in the tubes that carry air to and from your lungs) • Cough • Flatulence (gas) • Increased bilirubin (a waste product when red blood cells break down) For a full list of side effects, please talk to your doctor. Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away. 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.

Should I Take Mytesi If I Am: Pregnant or Planning to Become Pregnant? • Studies in animals show that Mytesi could harm an unborn baby or affect the ability to become pregnant • There are no studies in pregnant women taking Mytesi • This drug should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed A Nursing Mother? • It is not known whether Mytesi is passed through human breast milk • If you are nursing, you should tell your doctor before starting Mytesi • Your doctor will help you to decide whether to stop nursing or to stop taking Mytesi Under 18 or Over 65 Years of Age? • Mytesi has not been studied in children under 18 years of age • Mytesi studies did not include many people over the age of 65. So it is not clear if this age group will respond differently. Talk to your doctor to find out if Mytesi is right for you

What is Mytesi? Mytesi is a prescription medicine that helps relieve symptoms of diarrhea not caused by an infection (noninfectious) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

What Should I Know About Taking Mytesi With Other Medicines?

Important Safety Information Mytesi is not approved to treat infectious diarrhea (diarrhea caused by bacteria, a virus, or a parasite). Before starting you on Mytesi, your healthcare provider will first be sure that you do not have infectious diarrhea. Otherwise, there is a risk you would not receive the right medicine and your infection could get worse. In clinical studies, the most common side effects that occurred more often than with placebo were upper respiratory tract (sinus, nose, and throat) infection (5.7%), bronchitis (3.9%), cough (3.5%), flatulence (3.1%), and increased bilirubin (3.1%).

What If I Have More Questions About Mytesi?

For Copay Savings Card and Patient Assistance, see Mytesi.com

If you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicine, herbal supplements, or vitamins, tell your doctor before starting Mytesi. For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or speak to your doctor or pharmacist. To report side effects or make a product complaint or for additional information, call 1-844-722-8256.

Rx Only Manufactured by Patheon, Inc. for Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. San Francisco, CA 94105 Copyright © Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mytesi comes from the Croton lechleri tree harvested in South America.

Please see complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com. NP-390-33

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

state news

south fLorida LGBtQ Groups receive MiaMi doLphins Grant Layla Ferris

fort LauderdaLe Gay Bars can Maintain Late hours after task force threatens to cLose theM at MidniGht Courtesy South Florida Gay News Staff

representatives as to why the licenses were being denied to all the gay bars in town. After Trantalis’ meeting, a statement was issued by Scott Wyman, assistant to the mayor. “Mayor Trantalis met today with the city manager and city staff to discuss the recent decision they made to not renew the extended hours licenses of several bars that serve a gay clientele,” Wyman said in the statement. “Based on the meeting, the city will proceed with renewing these licenses. This will allow the bars to continue to remain open and serve alcohol after midnight. Staff’s initial intention was to try to address concerns about police calls and code violations by holding up the annual licenses. This was not the appropriate way to raise these matters with the establishments. The Police Department and the Code Enforcement Division will now work with the bar owners directly without targeting their licensing. Mayor Trantalis has consistently maintained that City Hall must be run in a

business-friendly fashion. He also has long touted an appreciation for the city’s growing diversity. LGBT businesses and LGBT tourism are important components to our community, and Mayor Trantalis strives to ensure they are protected and nurtured.” “The provisions of the law,” Spurlock said in the initial letters, “give the city the rights to deny renewals based either on code violations or ‘excessive’ police calls to the licensed premises.” She alleged some of those conditions are at issue with at least some of the establishments. Steve Whitney, one of the owners of the Ramrod, pointed out after receiving Spurlock’s letter, “the ordinance does not even define what constitutes excessive. We got no notice or warning or request to comply, just a letter to close our doors at midnight. Not exactly the way to work with a business with someone who has partnered to promote your community for a quarter century.” Spurlock has had no commented since the mayor’s meeting.

happened at about 2:00 in the morning,” she said. “This is the kind of neighborhood where people might be a bit desperate, looking for fast cash or something to sell.” In April, a robbery was reported in the church parking lot. Pastor Woodruff attributes all of it to criminals looking for a quick buck. “When you have folks who are desperate, looking for fast cash or something to sell, anyone can be a victim.” There has also been a recent incident of graffiti being painted on the church’s brick wall in front of the church. The word ‘dick’ is still visible. “If it were a gay slur,” she said, “there are lots of other words they could have used.” The damaged, stained glass windows were handmade by local artists. They were of great sentimental value, as well as of monetary value. Each was worth approximately $3,000 when originally purchased.

All of the 14 stained glass windows were donated in memory of church members who died. A new stained glass window is in the works by the same local artist who created the one that was destroyed. It is expected to be ready by the end of the month. Nothing else of value was taken from inside the church or damaged. Church leaders are now talking about getting a new security system and installing a new light on the roof. In addition, police are driving by more to keep a closer eye on the location. The Church of Our Savior MCC is an all-inclusive Church founded over 26 years ago in Boynton Beach. The location, on Federal Highway, was originally a Pizza Hut. The church now has about 50 members. MCC Churches were the first to perform same-gender marriages and have been on the forefront of the struggle towards marriage equality in the U.S. and other countries worldwide.

st. auGustine transGender woMan trains for 545-MiLe aids/ LifecycLe ride in caLifornia

Mcc church in Boynton Beach concerned aBout vandaLs, Break-ins

iaMi | Two Miami-based LGBTQ organizations were among 11 recipients of the 2018 Football Unites Grant. The grant was created in Nov. 2017 by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and Dolphins players, a team press release states. The grant aims to strengthen and expand the impact of groups in South Florida that focus on community engagement, education and justice reform. One of the LGBTQ-focused recipients, Pridelines, is a Miami LGBTQ community center that supports, educates and empowers South Florida’s LGBTQ youth. The grant will go toward Pridelines’ CampOUT event, which is a free LGBTQ leadership development and social justice program. The overnight event, held June 14-17, features outdoor activities such as hiking, archery and canoeing. SAVE is another South Florida LGBTQ organization that received the 2018 Football Unites Grant. SAVE works to protect members of the LGBTQ community against discrimination through political advocacy, community outreach and candidate endorsements. Other grant recipients include the Community Justice Project, the Perez Art Museum, Miami’s Art Detectives program, the Trayvon Martin Foundation and more.

Kathy Ruiz

t. auGustine, fla. | Since 1993, LifeCycle raised more than $200 million and completed more than 42,000 trips on bikes down the coast of California. Last year, the 545-mile journey drew in over 2,000 cyclist and nearly 700 volunteers who raised $15.1 million for HIV/AIDS services. After only a year of cycling, 60-year-old transgender woman and St. Augustine resident Tricia Russel will be joining the LifeCycle ride as a member of the Bank of America team. She is currently VP of Business Control Management with Bank of America, as well as a member of Equality Florida, the TransAction Florida Advisory Board, the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality and LGBT Pride Leadership Council of Bank of America. Currently she’s logged 2,200 training miles and, from June 3-9, will ride to raise awareness and funding for lifesaving medical and social services for people living with HIV/AIDS or at risk of infection. Russel has already raised over $4,200, nearly halfway of her $10,000 goal. You can donate to Russel’s journey at ToFightHIV. org/site/TR/Events/AIDSLifeCycleCenter.

ort lauderdale, fla. | Once the center of nightlife in South Florida with well over a dozen gay bars, Fort Lauderdale now is the home to only five: Le Boy, Boardwalk, Mona’s, Slammers and the Ramrod. The owners and patrons of these establishments were irate after the city’s new Nighttime Advisory Task Force sent notification that they all will be closing their doors two hours earlier every weekend, at midnight instead of 2 a.m. The city’s task force, headed up for the last four months by a former assistant city manager of Key West, Sarah Spurlock, had written letters to each of the clubs refusing to renew their “extended hours license.” The bar owners were crying “foul,” and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis held a meeting with city staffers May 25 to review allegations by code enforcement

Denise Royal of South Florida Gay News

oyton Beach, fla. | Members of The Church of Our Savior Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in Boynton Beach are uneasy about recent break-ins through a side window. In the most recent incident, vandals broke a stained glass window. The same window was also smashed earlier this year in January. The church’s pastor says she does not think it was a hate crime. “I’m 99 percent sure it is not a gay thing,” said Pastor Wendy Woodruff. “Our folks are concerned about it because they feel hurt and the windows are expensive to fix.” There’s a Sherwin Williams paint store next door, which has two damaged windows directly across the broken one at The Church of Our Savior. Coincidence? Pastor Woodruff doesn’t think so. “This

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

nation+world news

in other news Mississippi city settles with LGBTQ group over pride parade A Mississippi city has agreed to pay attorneys’ fees and proclaim support for LGBTQ rights to settle a lawsuit over its denial of permission for a gay pride parade. Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill says the city will pay $12,750, which includes fees for attorneys representing Starkville Pride, the group that sued. The city reversed course and issued the permit after the lawsuit. About 2,500 people took part March 24 in Starkville’s first-ever LGBTQ pride parade. Spruill says the agreement requires her to issue proclamations supporting LGBTQ History Month in October and supporting equal citizenship under the law. She says she will also meet regularly with a liaison from the city’s LGBTQ community.

Hawaii governor bans conversion therapy on LGBTQ youth Hawaii Gov. David Ige signed into law a bill that bans therapists from offering “conversion therapy” to LGBTQ youths under the age of 18. Democratic Sen. Stanley Chang introduced the bill. The ban on what’s technically known as “sexual orientation change efforts” includes the practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression and applies to psychiatrists, social workers, marriage and family therapists and other licensed professionals. Hawaii is the 12th state to put such a prohibition in place.

CDC denies LGBTQ questions removed from survey Despite a report that the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention had removed LGBTQ questions from a federal health survey, the agency insists no decision has been made to omit the module. Bernadette Burden, a CDC spokesperson, said the agency is still working on the 2019 version of the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System, or BRFSS, but still plans to include questions allowing respondents to identify their sexual orientation and gender identity. The CDC provides the BRFSS to states to obtain data on risk behaviors and health conditions in the U.S. population. The LGBT module was used in more than 30 states and territories and provided the first representative snapshot of transgender health in the United States.

LGBTQ community cheers pope’s ‘God made you like this’ remark Pope Francis’ reported comments to a gay man that “God made you like this” have been embraced by the LGBTQ community as another sign of Francis’ desire to make gays feel welcomed and loved in the Catholic Church. Juan Carlos Cruz said May 21 he spoke to Francis about his homosexuality during their meetings at the Vatican. Cruz was the main whistleblower in Chile’s clerical sex abuse and cover-up scandal, and met last month with Francis to discuss it. Cruz, a victim of a predator priest, said he had been discredited by Chile’s bishops for being gay and told Francis of the pain their slander caused. “He said ‘Look Juan Carlos, the pope loves you this way, God made you like this and he loves you.’” The Vatican declined to comment.

More LGBTQ issues loom as justices near wedding cake decision Wire Report

ASHINGTON | A flood of lawsuits over LGBTQ rights is making its way through courts and will continue, no matter the outcome in the Supreme Court’s highly anticipated decision in the case of a Colorado baker who would not create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. Courts are engaged in two broad types of cases on this issue, weighing whether sex discrimination laws apply to LGBTQ people and also whether businesses can assert religious objections to avoid complying with anti-discrimination measures in serving customers, hiring and firing employees, providing health care and placing children with foster or adoptive parents. The outcome of baker Jack Phillips’ fight at the Supreme Court could indicate how willing the justices are to carve out exceptions to anti-discrimination laws; that’s something the court has refused to do in the areas of race and sex. The result was hard to predict based on arguments in December. But however the justices rule, it won’t be their last word on the topic. Religious conservatives have gotten a big boost from the Trump administration, which has taken a more restrictive view of LGBTQ rights and intervened on their side in several cases, including Phillips’. Several legal disputes are pending over wedding services, similar to the

Phillips case. Video producers, graphic artists and florists are among business owners who say they oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds and don’t want to participate in same-sex weddings. They live in the 21 states that have anti-discrimination laws that specifically include gay and lesbian people. In California and Texas, courts are dealing with lawsuits over the refusal of hospitals, citing religious beliefs, to perform hysterectomies on people transitioning from female to male. In Michigan, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the state’s practice of allowing faith-based child placement agencies to reject same-sex couples. The other category of cases concerns protections for LGBTQ people under civil rights law. One case expected to reach the court this summer involves a Michigan funeral home that fired an employee who disclosed that she was transitioning from male to female and dressed as a woman. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the firing constituted sex discrimination under federal civil rights law. That court is one of several that have applied anti-sex discrimination provisions to transgender people, but the Supreme Court has yet to take up a case. The funeral home argues in part that Congress was not thinking about transgender people when it included sex discrimination in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. A trial judge had

ruled for the funeral home, saying it was entitled to a religious exemption from the civil rights law. In just the past week, two federal courts ruled in favor of transgender students who want to use school facilities that correspond to their sexual identity. Those cases turn on whether the prohibition on sex discrimination in education applies to transgender people. Appeals in both cases are possible. In the past 13 months, federal appeals courts in Chicago and New York also have ruled that gay and lesbian employees are entitled to protection from discrimination under Title VII. Those courts overruled earlier decisions. Title VII does not specifically mention sexual orientation, but the courts said it was covered under the ban on sex bias. The Obama administration had supported treating LGBTQ discrimination claims as sex discrimination, but the Trump administration has changed course. In the New York case, for instance, the Trump administration filed a legal brief arguing that Title VII was not intended to provide protections to gay workers. It also withdrew Obama-era guidance to educators to treat claims of transgender students as sex discrimination. There is no appeal pending or expected on the sexual orientation issue, and there is no guarantee that the court will take up the funeral home’s appeal over transgender discrimination.

that unfolded with little fanfare in Texas, which remains shaken by a high school shooting that killed 10 people just as early voting ended last week. National Democrats were closely watching a congressional runoff in Houston and whether a liberal outsider who founded an activist group against President Donald Trump could advance to November with control of Congress on the line. Laura Moser had forced a runoff in March after finishing second to Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, a former Planner Parenthood member who the Democratic establishment viewed as their only chance of flipping a district that Republican John Culberson has held since 2001.

It was one of three House primary runoffs in Texas that are key to whether Democrats can flip can the minimum 24 GOP-held seats they’ll need to seize a majority in Congress next year. Not willing to take any chances, the fundraising arm for congressional Democrats worked to undercut Moser in a district that has shifted from a Republican stronghold to a more Hispanic, better educated battleground that Hillary Clinton narrowly won in 2016. Moser made the runoff despite the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee criticizing her for writing jokingly in 2014 that she’d rather have teeth pulled than live in small-town Texas.

Openly gay former sheriff wins Texas governor nomination Wire Report

USTIN, Texas | A Hispanic former sheriff from Dallas won a Democratic primary runoff for governor May 22 to become the first openly gay and Latina gubernatorial nominee in Texas history. Lupe Valdez advanced despite losing the support of some Hispanic activists over her record on immigration and will be a heavy underdog against Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat for governor in nearly 30 years. Valdez’s victory over Andrew White, the son of a former Texas governor, was among a small slate of primary runoffs

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

viewpoint

Greg stemm

positive LivinG Pride Made Me an Activist

reMeMBer the very

first time someone called me a “gay activist.”

Fortunately that jarring epiphany didn’t come while I was alone. Just prior to the first St. Pete Pride celebration, we founders were sitting around a table having one of our last-minute board meetings. Since there had never been a gay pride celebration of any size or merit in St. Pete before, understandably the Tampa Bay Times (actually it was still called the St. Petersburg Times back then in 2003) was following our planning process very carefully. There in black and white in front of us on the front page of the local section was just one of those in depth stories. It referred to the organizers as “a group of local gay activists.” Reading that story out loud you could hear an audible gasp from our little group. “Oh my God, they are talking about US,” I remember someone saying. Here we were planning a gay pride celebration and not a single one of us had ever thought of ourselves as “gay activists” before. Honestly it took me some time to get used to the idea, but then I realized that although I had never put that label on myself I had actually been a gay activist for years just by living my life openly. I’ve lived in St. Petersburg for 35 years and I’ve never once changed a pronoun or lied about exactly who and what I was...a proud gay man.

Becoming a founder of St. Pete Pride took my activism to a whole new level, but it was just the beginning. After I became comfortable with the activist label in the last few years, I’ve become an activist in a lot of things: climate change, income inequality, women’s rights, stopping gun violence and now unfortunately as an active member of the Resistance. I rejoined the religion of my youth which was Quakerism. It’s almost a prerequisite to being a Quaker that you are an activist. In 2003 while we were struggling to get used to the idea that other people saw us as “gay activists,” I wasn’t yet “out” about my HIV status. Never in my wildest dreams then would I have thought I would become as outspoken an activist on that issue as I have. As a 26-year survivor I feel I’ve earned my place at that table and I can thank Pride for giving me the courage to eventually take on that role. This very column is dubbed “Positive Living” for a reason...as an HIV/ AIDS activist I wanted to show by example that your life can be a positive expression of richness and fullness regardless of the challenges of living with a “positive” label. Over the years I’ve learned that being an activist isn’t always easy. Over the past 15 or 20 years I’ve fought with the mayor of St. Pete on the front page of the newspaper, stared down armed riot police as an Occupier and have given so many television, radio and print interviews that I’ve lost count; not to mention the stories I’ve authored myself. There are downsides though. I strongly suspect that one of the reasons I’m still single is that potential suitors may be put off by the idea of being intimately involved with someone who is so “out” in so many

different ways. I asked a therapist a couple of years ago if she thought I intimidated people and without hesitation she said “absolutely.” I continue to hope to find a husband who understands I can be just

because I believe it’s wrong for the celebration and wrong for St. Pete. No one seems to be talking about the fact that we went from an attendance of 150,000 the year before the move to 30,000 last year. I am. Some

Pride season again I am grateful for the nudge the celebration gave me to get so involved with the issues of our day... local, state and national. Participating in Pride is fun, but it remains at its core a political

as passionate about a man as I am about gay pride or walking with kids in the March for Our Lives. Being an activist can put you in tough positions too. I’ve felt lead to speak out against Pride itself for its wildly unpopular move of location of the parade downtown. I continue to speak out on that issue

of you have said to me “you need to get over it.” That is the wrong thing to say to an activist. True activists don’t “get over it.” They get informed, they stay the course and they don’t back down. It’s called “speaking truth to power.” Regardless of my headstrong stance on that issue, as we head into

statement of the power and vibrancy of our community. So remember this June, just by marching, exhibiting or attending you are a “gay activist” too. Welcome to the fold!

I strongly suspect that one of the reasons I’m still single is that potential suitors may be put oﬀ by the idea of being intimately involved with someone who is so ‘out’ in so many diﬀerent ways.

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viewpoint

Michael Wanzie

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF WANZIE Watermark Style Guide “Gay Correlation”—Wanzie Style

’ve been happily writing

for Watermark for some time now. With the coming of this past New Year, a message went out to all contributing writers—from the desk of the publisher of this fine publication— instructing us that moving forward all Viewpoint submissions were to have a “correlation” to gayness.

In my particular case the point was made that if I’m going to write a rant about tRump, then I need to make a point as to how and why the topic of my column should also be of concern to the gay community. I was admonished— in a totally civil manner— to do so because, in the words of the publisher, “After all, this is a gay publication.” Regrettably I never registered my gut reaction with [Watermark Publisher] Rick Claggett because I convinced myself that I should bite my tongue and fall in line like a good soldier who is grateful for the work and the platform being provided me by this genuinely nice guy, friend and owner of this paper. I say “regrettably” because Rick is finding out for the first time that I have an issue with his New Year’s directive, just now, as he is reading this copy for himself. Writer to readers (just between us): If I actually thought it to be something of truly significant importance I should of course be taking this up with my employer in person rather than here in his very own publication for all to witness but somehow this seems more fun. No, really; the truth of the matter is, ever since Rick shared with me his desire that I as a writer be certain to make that ever important “gay connection,” I have had real trouble writing my columns; or at least with writing and

submitting them on time. This one is days late. I never stopped to think about it before. I never sought to purposely make a “gay correlation” in my columns. To me the “gay correlation” was quite simply that I, the writer, was/am gay: that what you, the reader were reading automatically had a gay sensibility to it because it came from my pen and I’m a major “mo” writing from a gay mindset. I didn’t really stop to plan a “correlation” to being gay as a specified objective of the structure of my column. I just wrote whatever came to mind. And now that Rick has totally thrown me this mind fuck, I have trouble and so now THIS is what I was reduced to writing. NOTE to Watermark Owner/Publisher, Rick Claggett: If you’re going to fire me kindly have the decency to do so privately and not in print. NOTE to Readers: If you’re reading this then obviously Rick has not yet removed me from the roster of contributing writers. CORRELATION TO THE GAY COMMUNITY: This is a gay publication. I am a gay writer. The owner/publisher being referenced herein is also gay. The likelihood that most people reading this are gay is fairly high. Most gay people I know enjoy getting high. High on the list of priorities for gay people is personal expression (How I wish I had been there to see the expression on the face of said owner/publisher when he first read this column). Columns were initially erected by Romans and Greeks and we know those two societies were just lousy with homosexuals. The word “homosexual” is a hybrid of the Greek prefix for “homo” meaning “same” and the Latin root “sex” meaning “sex.” Thus the word literally translates to “same sex.” When you throw in the fact that on the Roman side the root “homo” means “human,” one can deduce the word to mean “a human of the same sex.” When you add the letters u-a-l to the end, the word becomes somewhat active in nature meaning “A human

who likes to have sex with someone of the same sex.” Sex is often practiced by gay people who in fact tend to practice it so often we have become particularly sexually proficient same-sex humans. The Human Rights Campaign Fund is an organization founded to improve the lives of those types of people who are most likely to be “correlated” to this

puffed rice treat harkening back to a time when gay people where often referred to as “puffs,” there is little doubt that the cuckoo bird is the Audubon society’s version of a sissy twink. (OK, ok, so we weren’t referred to as “puffs.” It was “poofs”, but none-the-less that Coca Puffs’ bird is gayer than a Catholic priest at an altar boy sleep away camp.)

proudly embrace almost as a mark of superiority prevalent in our tribes. “Tribes” are what many call the vast and various categories or monikers gay men adopt to separate themselves as to physical type: such as “Bear”, “Twink”, “Otter”, “Wolf”, or as in my case, “Muscle Daddy.” Sometimes the word “Daddy” is preceded by the word “Sugar” but that has less to do with

column. They also encourage the adoption of gay-inclusive policies and practices in the work place, government and in society in general. General Mills is the maker of many cereals, including the ever popular Cocoa Puffs. In addition to the obvious “correlation” between the name of the chocolaty

“Camp” or “campy” as a form of expression is dominated, if not owned, by gays. In fact it would not be unfair to say that gays have elevated “camp” to art. Artistic tendencies have long been linked to gays; first as an affront and unkind sweeping generalization about people like us, but a link which we now

physical attributes and more to do with stupidity. “Stupidity” is a gay person who supports President tRump. There you have my political rant in the form of a Greek inspired column with a “correlation” to the gay community. The column has ended. Go get a piece.

The truth of the matter is, ever since Rick shared with me his desire that I as a writer be certain to make that ever important ‘gay connection,’ I have had real trouble writing my columns.

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

FIND YOUR FLORIDA Close to everything and yet a world away!

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

talking points

OUT OF 109 MAJOR FILM RELEASES

Lena is shaking up Hollywood and breaking cultural boundaries through her innovative and authentic storytelling. Her unwavering passion for equality and inclusion makes her the perfect recipient for this year’s Trailblazer award. —Mtv/vh1/loGo General ManaGer aMy doyle, speakinG on why lena waithe is BeinG honored with the Mtv trailBlazer award

SEpHorA offErINg IN-STorE mAkE up ClASSES

for TrANS, NoN-bINArY CommuNITY

ephora is now offerinG a free Makeup and skincare class for the transgender and non-binary community. Bold Beauty for the Transgender Community is part of Sephora’s Classes for Confidence, a “90-minute, hands-on session that focuses on techniques and products that help you build confidence and celebrate your own unique beauty.” Students in Bold Beauty for the Transgender Community will “get skincare tips, find the best shades for your complexion, and create a flawless finish.” The class is led by trans-sensitive instructors. Friends, family and allies are welcome. Sephora will be donating proceeds from its SEPHORA COLLECTION Retractable Brush ($24.50) and the Sephora Stands FEARLESS lipstick ($12.50) to fund the program. In-store classes will be offered at 150 Sephora locations. There will also be a YouTube series on makeup tips.

IN 2017

FEATURED AN

LGBTQ CHARACTER. THAT’S

DOWN from 2016

WHICH HAD

23 OUT OF 125 FILMS INCLUDE LGBTQ

REPRESENTATION. —Glaad

“STAr WArS” SCrEENWrITEr SAYS lANdo IS pANSEXuAl

ccordinG to “solo: a star wars story” writer Jonathan kasdan, Lando Calrissian is pansexual. The revelation comes after Lando (played by Donald Glover) appears to have a flirty interaction with Han Solo in the trailer calling him baby. “There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee’s (portrayal of Lando’s) sexuality,” Kasdan says. “I mean, I would have loved to have gotten a more explicitly LGBT character into this movie. I think it’s time, certainly, for that, and I love the fluidity.” While some fans on Twitter were excited for some LGBTQ representation in the film other fans weren’t pleased that Lando’s sexuality would only be addressed off-screen. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is currently in theatres.

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JENNIfEr ANISToN To plAY lESbIAN u.S. prESIdENT IN NETflIX polITICAl ComEdY

ennifer aniston has Been cast as the United States’ first female and lesbian president in a Netflix political comedy, “First Ladies.” According to the Hollywood Reporter, Aniston will star opposite Tig Notaro who will play her wife and first lady. The film is co-written by Notaro and her wife Stephanie Allynne. The couple is also producing the film along with Will Ferrel and Adam McKay. Aniston will also appear in a new TV series executive produced by Reese Witherspoon for Apple’s streaming platform. Notaro’s next Netflix project, a comedy special, streams on May 22. A release date for “First Ladies” has yet to be announced.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

AdAm rIppoN WINS “dANCINg WITH THE STArS: ATHlETES”

daM rippon and his dancinG partner Jenna Johnson were crowned the winners of “Dancing with the Stars: Athletes.” The 28-year-old is the first male figure skater to receive the title. Former Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding and her partner Sasha Farber tied with Washington NFL cornerback Josh Norman and his partner Sharna Burgess for second place. Johnson and Rippon wrapped up the season with a jazz dance routine to “Anything You Can Do,” which earned them a perfect score of 30, and a freestyle dance routine to “Scooby Doo Pa Pa” by DJ Kass, with a score of 26. Those score good enough for Johnson and Rippon to secure the coveted Mirror Ball.

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in the

Beginning WITH CHANGES TO ORLANDO’S BIG GAY WEEKEND COMING IN 2019, WE LOOK BACK ON THE HISTORY OF GAY DAY AT THE MAGIC KINGDOM AND HOW WE GOT FROM THERE TO HERE

Jeremy Williams

utside of pride parades and

festivals, one could argue that no other LGBTQ event in the world is as recognizable as the one that occurs on the first Saturday in June every year at the happiest place on Earth.

Gay Day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom has gone through many changes and obstacles in its 28-year history. What began as one day at the park ballooned into multiple days of events from many groups who bring circuit parties, concerts, expos and pool parties every year that encircle the original event and carry the same message

of visibility that Gay Day at Magic Kingdom was founded on. In April, Chris Alexander-Manley, co-owner of GayDayS, Inc., announced that starting in 2019 the company GayDayS, Inc.—which is not affiliated with Gay Day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom—would be moving its events to a set of dates in August.

“GayDayS is a vacation event. I think a majority of those attending nowadays follow our lead of what dates we put out there,” Alexander-Manley said. “A majority of people are not coming in for that Saturday at the Magic Kingdom. There are some that do come every year for that, which is great, but Magic Kingdom will be open for the Saturday of our event. I always say it’s not a national holiday like Christmas or New Year’s Day that fall on the same day every year.” But according to many in the community that is exactly what it is, including many of the individuals who were there on the very first Gay Day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in 1991. For many, Gay Day is a

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sacred holiday required to be celebrated on its traditional day of the first Saturday in June.

JUST ONE DAY

Gay Day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom was the original idea of one man, Doug Swallow. “Doug Swallow was just a lovable computer geek guy,” says Michael Wanzie, a Central Florida entertainer who was at the very first Gay Day. “I don’t think we had email back then, but Compu-Who had just become popular, and Doug was a regular on Compu-Who.” Compu-Who was Orlando’s gay computer Bulletin Board System (BBS) in the early 1990s. Users, or “Whosers” as Compu-Who users

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

were called, would log on, enter one of the “chat lines” and trade messages with each other. Swallow used this early messaging system to suggest every “out” gay person should meet up at the Magic Kingdom to be visible and be seen, something that was dangerous for many to do in those days. “If you were out as a gay person, you were putting your neck out there. You were putting yourself at risk,” says Joel Strack, an openly gay Central Floridian who worked at Disney for more than 30 years. “Not necessarily at physical risk when you were at Magic Kingdom,

CoNTINuEd oN pg. 39 | uu |

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( ) (

) Â Â? Â?

Â? Â? Â ÂÂ&#x20AC;

| uu | In The Beginning from pg.35

but political and social animosity would be thrown at you just for being gay, if you identified publicly as a gay person.” Wanzie says that Swallow’s suggestion for the community to do something to be visible wasn’t meant as a form of protest. “He was just let’s go be somewhere where we can be ourselves and let people see that we’re normal people, but let them know that we are gay and we’ll do something like wear a red shirt so we can know who each other are. That was totally Doug’s idea, to make that day what it is,” Wanzie says. At the time Swallow was on the board of directors for The Center Orlando, and Wanzie was The Center Orlando’s executive director. “He was just one guy. He wasn’t representing a cause or a company,” Wanzie says about Swallow. “He started promoting it on Compu-Who, and the majority of people who came I think came because they were on Compu-Who and that’s how they saw it.” While Swallow took to Compu-Who to promote the event, others in the community assisted him the old fashion way. “Gary Allen, who was a bartender at the time at Southern Nights I think, got all excited about it,” Wanzie says. “So he and Doug printed up flyers to pass out and Gary went to different places and got bartenders to start talking it up and whatnot.” The first Gay Day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom was set for June 1, 1991, with a designated meet-up time that afternoon in front of Cinderella’s Castle just before the 3:00 parade. As the day arrived Wanzie remembers asking Swallow how many people he thought would attend. “I’d be thrilled if 300 people showed up,” Wanzie recalls Swallow saying. “I remember I went to breakfast that morning at the Grand Floridian and the whole restaurant was filled with red-shirted people eating breakfast,” Wanzie says. “We thought ‘OK so there’s at least 75 of us here.’ We went to get on the monorail and realized the entire monorail was filled with red shirts.” When the time arrived 1,500 people in red shirts had gathered in front of Cinderella’s Castle. “We were all just standing there crying as we watched a sea of red shirts build in front of the castle,” Wanzie says. “There was no money

behind it, there was no political agenda behind it. It was just let’s go out and have a good time and be seen and just finally claim the day to say ‘We have the right to be open and who we are and be in a public place.’ And that’s really all it started out to be, a grassroots thing started by this one guy, Doug Swallow.”

oNE dAY morE

Gay Day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom was a success, and it became an instant news story. The second year attendance doubled with 3,000 LGBTQ people in red shirts filling the Magic Kingdom. “After the first year, it became newsworthy immediately because of the public relations nightmare it created for Disney,” Wanzie says. “Believe me, they were not thrilled when they realized this was going to be a thing every year. They love

it now, because they know how much money it makes for them, but back then, not so much. They were handing out refunds like candy to anyone who was upset by the presence of people like us.” Strack put a group of about eight men together, all of whom worked at Disney and had volunteered on their day off to come in and let people coming for Gay Day know where to go and at what time. “There were buses coming up from Miami full of people for Gay Day,” Strack says. “As they got off the bus we would explain to them that at 3:00 we would all gather in front of the castle for the parade.” Signs and sandwich boards were placed at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom that read, “WARNING: A gay and lesbian event is taking place today at the

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Magic Kingdom. This event is not sponsored by Walt Disney World.” Disney would also give free Mickey Mouse shirts to anyone who came to the Magic Kingdom on Gay Day in a red shirt who was not gay and was upset about the event. “By the third year I was moved into management and was the go-between guy with Magic Kingdom and the Gay Day people,” Strack says. “Disney execs were convinced everyone in red shirts was going to start a protest or some disturbance at 3:00. There was a lot of paranoia on the side of Disney’s executive committee because they didn’t know how to deal with gay people. They had lots of gay people working for them but all of them behaved, so to speak, and stayed closeted.”

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Disney ended up adding more street entertainment to keep the crowds calm and occupied. “They added all these small musical groups and jugglers so that it wasn’t so obvious that there was a group of gay people in red shirts hanging around,” Strack says. Eventually, after a few years of Gay Day, Disney stopped putting out the warning signs and eventually even stopped giving refunds and free t-shirts to visitors angry about the event. While warnings from Disney went away, a Gay Day tradition was started early on by a conservative group that would rent a small plane to fly over Orlando with a banner warning tourists that gays were at Disney.

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| uu | In The Beginning from pg.39

IT’S A PARTY The first party tied to Gay Day was Thursday night at Mannequins, a nightclub at Disney’s Pleasure Island. Thursday night at Mannequins was cast member night and since many Disney cast members were LGBTQ it became an unofficial gay night. Within a few years out-of-town producers started creating circuit parties around the Gay Day event. “It later became known as ‘A Day of Magic, a Night of Pleasure,’” Wanzie recalls. “Jeffrey Sanker was a great big name in the circuit party business worldwide. He heard about Gay Day and how it was building here. I think he might have been the first person to bring an actual circuit party to that week. He’s a big name in the circuit party community, and so once he put his roots down and said he was doing a party, then all the other circuit party producers followed suit.” By the mid-to late-’90s the week surrounding Gay Day became a huge event bringing upwards of 90,000 people to Central Florida. During this time Watermark started the water park event Beach Ball, which would undergo several name changes throughout the years finally becoming Riptide. Along with all these parties, a group simply called “Friends” out of Tampa decided to book a block of rooms at a hotel and called it “Friends Hotel.” “They would get a block of rooms in a hotel on U.S. 192 or somewhere, and they I think were the first to do that, to get rooms dedicated to this event,” Wanzie says. “Then the circuit boys started getting blocks of rooms in hotels, so they were doing that too.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME

It was 1998 and with all of these events building up there was no central location where someone could go to find out what was happening and more importantly where you could get tickets for everything. Enter Tommy Manley (Alexander-Manley’s husband). Manley owned a website design firm in Orlando during the ‘90s called Active Mind. “Tommy thought, it’s crazy that this is happening and there’s no centrality to it at all,” Wanzie says. “There’s no keeper of the calendar. If you were from out of town and you decided you wanted to come to this thing you’d heard about that’s happening in Florida that’s now still

We were all just standing there crying as we watched a sea of red shirts build in front of the castle. There was no money behind it, there was no political agenda behind it. It was just let’s go out and have a good time and be seen and just finally claim the day to say ‘We have the right to be open and who we are and be in a public place.’ And that’s really all it started out to be, a grassroots thing started by this one guy, Doug Swallow. —Michael Wanzie on being at Cinderella’s Castle on the first Gay Day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in 1991.

called Gay Day in the Magic Kingdom but seems to be multiple days with multiple parties all over the town, there’s no place to go really as a resource to buy all your tickets in one place. It didn’t exist.” Swallow maintained his website, GayDay.com, and advertised everything he knew of that was happening in conjunction with the event, but he didn’t offer tickets on the site and never tried to make any money off of it. “Tommy very wisely said ‘Hey, there’s something to be made out of this. What if we could become like the central ticketing agent for it.’ So he got it in his mind that he was going to start a website and capitalize on this for profit, nothing wrong with that,” Wanzie says. Manley purchased the domain GayDayS.com which was originally

owned by The Center, according to Alexander-Manley. “The domain GayDayS.com was bought by The Center and they didn’t do much with it so Tommy approached The Center and bought it from them,” he says. Manley asked Wanzie to come on board and help him get GayDayS. com started. Wanzie had worked for British tour operators and had lots of ins with hotels and attractions. Only one problem: Wanzie didn’t know how to work a website. “I had never touched a website, didn’t know how to use it at first. I had to learn everything from scratch,” he says. “Tommy just said, ‘This is my vision, do you think you can help me?’ and I said ‘Yes’ and within a few months I had become the vice president in charge of partnership developments and

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I just got in there and I lived, ate and breathed GayDayS.com 24 hours a day.” GayDayS.com was now a thing and Wanzie got it going with a very well known Orlando institution. “I remember after Don [Granatstein] and Susan [Unger] bought the Parliament House I sold them our first high-level sponsorship for $30,000,” Wanzie says. “While [Tommy] was earning the money to keep his business going designing websites, I was doing all the stuff to start the new business GayDayS. com, which they trademarked. Unfortunately, I—when I was there—had trademarked it, I filed the paperwork for the company and trademarked the name GayDayS.com. I hate to mention that now because I think people may come and kill me,

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but at the time I thought it was for good reason.” Wanzie thought it would be a good idea, instead of renting out blocks of rooms at a hotel like the party promoters had been doing, to find a “host hotel” and do a 100 percent buyout. “I was told at every turn that it’s not done, the industry doesn’t do it, not even with the biggest conventions. Nobody gives up 100 percent of their room inventory to one group. It’s too risky,” Wanzie says. “I got it in my head that that had to be something we could overcome. We had to be able to get our own hotel. The problem was that at the time, Tommy didn’t have the type of credit to be able to get a contract for that kind of money, but the British tour companies already have these contracts with hotels where they own a block … they got the credit with the hotel … so I went back to one of the British tour companies that I worked for and said ‘Hey, do you want to partner on this? I need a hotel.’” Wanzie, with the packing of a British tour company, went to the Royal Plaza (now called the B Resort) and negotiated the first ever 100 percent buyout of a hotel’s room inventory in Central Florida. The first year of having a host hotel, GayDayS. com sold out the entire hotel of more than 300 rooms. Within two years they were able to book the hotel without the backing of Wanzie’s British tour company friends. The first few years of the GayDayS.com’s host hotel didn’t have organized paid pool parties like they do today. “There was a DJ and beach balls and flotations and what not,” Wanzie says. “It was just an amenity. But we did a Gay Days Expo, which I organized and it just took off. I positioned the company as the keeper of the calendar and the mission statement was that this would be a one-stop resource for Gay Days. After that first year people started to see us as not only keepers of the calendar but wrongly saw us as producers of the overall Gay Days event.” Wanzie left GayDayS.com after three years and Alexander-Manley came on board in 2002. According to Wanzie, Alexander-Manley didn’t understand why GayDayS.com would list events for groups who were not buying advertising from them. “After I left, they still hired me intermittently as a consultant and hired me to still come back after I didn’t work there. I came back the next year to manage the expo for them,” Wanzie says.”Chris

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[Alexander-Manley] came in and decided that they were in this to profit and were going to run it like anybody else runs a company. They weren’t going to mention any event that wasn’t their event.” Alexander-Manley says that other group’s events were, and still are, able to be mentioned on GayDayS.com, but they do require the organization to have some type of relationship with GayDayS, Inc. “If they want to piggyback onto the website that we put together every year they need to be involved with us either as a sponsor or vendor or advertiser, something like that,” he says.

A plACE for EvErYoNE

Throughout the first decade of the 2000s, with GayDayS.com now only promoting its host hotel and events, most of which focused on the circuit boys, other groups started organizing events focused on other members of the LGBTQ community. Parliament House was already starting to bring in entertainment to coincide with the weekend. In 2001, Allison Burgos started Girls in Wonderland, a series of events designed for lesbians and bisexual women. “That first year we had 800 women show up,” says Burgos. “After three years in, the women were asking for their own space and their own hotel. We created a relationship with the Marriott Courtyard at the Marriott Village, soon after that first year we sold out that hotel and then started overflowing into the other two properties, and eventually had to move because the pool party was just too big. We were turning people away from being able to enter the pool parties on Saturday, so we moved again to the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista.” The following year Orlando Black Pride was started by a club promoter named Trish and her business partner which was not tied into any Gay Day events and catered to the African-American LGBTQ population. Trish, who asked that her last name not be used in the story, says that she started Orlando Black Pride because African-American LGBTQ people didn’t see themselves in the people attending the other events and that attempts to join in with GayDayS.com events went ignored. “When the seat at the table is not offered, does it mean that you must go hungry? You create your own table, make your own event,”

Trish says. “The other groups were like ‘yeah you can come over and give us your money but we aren’t going to do anything for you or help you along with your events. It was a struggle for the first few years trying to get venues and hotels because we weren’t only gay but we were black. In the beginning we had a lot of doors slammed in our face.” In 2006, Danny Gallegos and his partner started Tidal Wave which caters to the bear community. “We always took pride in stating the fact that whether you were big

or small, smooth or hairy, it was your weekend too,” Gallegos says. “If they wanted to wear a speedo and if they were big guys, then nobody should say anything derogatory. If girls wanted to come, then no problem. We always said that no matter what anyone was welcome. And I think that’s why it’s lasted so long.” In 2009, Tom Christ and Billy Looper started One Magical Weekend. That first year, under the name Let’s Go Play, they only produced Riptide at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. Within the next

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few years they added on more events including large-scale events at Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and House of Blues. One Magical Weekend also launched a host hotel at the B Resort complete with pool parties, an LGBTQ expo and after parties.

TrAdITIoN

After GayDayS, Inc. announced it would be moving the dates of its events in 2019 social media began to explode.

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In a statement, One Magical Weekend said they—along with Girls in Wonderland, Tidal Wave, Orlando Black Pride and Parliament House—were committed to keeping their events on the first weekend of June. “What started as a small but powerful idea grew into a huge, annual LGBT+ event that received worldwide attention from the press and protesters alike,” Christ says. “It is easy to become complacent, but this event, started by a group of friends, is a milestone in our community for celebrating Pride and Equality everywhere, even the Magic Kingdom. Identified by visitors and protestors alike as ‘a place for families,’ they forgot that we come from and are families as well. The Red Shirt showed the world that we belong as well. We need the next generation to celebrate the accomplishments of those who led the way.” Alexander-Manley says he thinks it’s great the other groups are staying on the first weekend in June as that will give locals and tourists three great LGBTQ events throughout the year. “There will be something the first weekend in June, then something in August and then something in October with Come Out With Pride,” he says. “I think it’s a benefit for locals because they will have more events to go to, and definitely better for the Central Florida economy because that will be three big events that will bring in a lot of money.” While none of the organizations have announced any of the events for 2019, One Magical Weekend has called for the community to rename the weekend that centers around Gay Day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom since GayDayS, Inc. is moving, something Wanzie does not agree with. “I think fucking GayDayS.com should rename their company,” Wanzie says. “If you’re not going to have anything to do with the event, because they’re simply not. They’re simply going to be this party producer that is unrelated to this historically rooted event.” Alexander-Manley says he respects Wanzie’s opinion and he has the right to make suggestions but that Gay Days is now more than the event at Disney, it is now a citywide event. “Our company is Gay Days, Inc. and our website is GayDayS. com,” Alexander-Manley says. “And I know that a lot of locals probably do have an issue with that, but history changes.”

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ArTS ANd ENTErTAINmENT

RISK-y

Business Out comedian Kevin Allison brings award-winning podcast to Tampa and Orlando

Ryan Williams-Jent

oMedian kevin allison

knows a thing or two about coming out. As one part of the hive-mind behind MTV’s cult classic sketch series “The Stand,” Allison publicly came out in the mid-’90s. He says it was an easy decision because he knew he was gay with his first conscious thoughts. Since then, he’s dedicated his life to helping others come out, not just as a member of the LGBTQ community, but about anything—utilizing his award-winning live show and podcast “RISK.” With over two million monthly downloads, it highlights real people (and the occasional celebrity) as they share real stories in public that they never thought they’d dare to discuss. Watermark spoke with Allison ahead of the show’s Florida tour stops to talk MTV, casting local storytellers in Tampa and

Orlando and the risks behind “RISK.”

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YEArS SINCE “THE STATE” AIrEd oN mTv. WHY do You THINk IT STIll rESoNATES WITH fANS?

kEvIN AllISoN: I love that people still know “The State” and still love it. I think the reason it’s still resonant is because of what made it special in the first place: it was a group of very, very close friends. We just loved each other. We spent all our

CoNTINuEd oN pg. 49 | uu |

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| uu | RISK-y Business from pg.47

time partying together and creating work together, and for a period of eight years we were with each other almost every day. I think that’s what made it so special. We were just 11 people who had grown up watching “Saturday Night Live” in the 1970s and “Monty Python,” and just kind of through osmosis started to jam with each other based on our own sort of, “what if we did this? what if we did that?” What was your writing process like?

We didn’t have formulas or rules about how to write comedy. We were just a bunch of people who loved joking around together. I think that a lot of it was once the audience kind of got used to us, they began to feel like they were in on an inside joke amongst a bunch of clever, silly, childishly fun friends. What led you to create “RISK”?

My philosophy about creating “RISK” was that this should be a show where people should feel free to be whatever side of their personality they’re currently feeling. So if you’re feeling like breaking down crying, break down and cry; if you’re feeling like being completely inappropriate and goofy and silly, go ahead and do that. So I do that myself on the show and a lot of people tune in for the first time and they’re like, “holy shit, who is this super corny, over-the-top ridiculous guy hosting the show? I can’t stand him.” But then people listen to it and after a while, they’re like, “okay, at first I didn’t know what to make about that lunatic host, but he’s gotten really endearing to me,” y’know what I mean? There’s really something to be said about art that you have to get used to… that might throw you off a little bit at first. Once you start to come back to it and get used to it you realize, oh! There’s something really special about that. You’re getting millions of downloads now. How risky were those early days?

I wasn’t sure how long it would last or how long I could keep it going, because I had 12 years of failure behind me and I had no money when I first started. I was maxing out credit cards just to upload it, keep the website up and all that kind of thing. It was very touch and go for the first few years.

What ‘RISK’ is about is coming out about anything; anything that you’re keeping hidden away in the dark or trying to suppress, or feel like, ‘I don’t know if I can talk about this in mixed company.’ —Kevin Allison

But, we started getting these emails on a daily basis from people writing in saying like, “oh my gosh, I was feeling suicidal but then I heard your show and it really restored my faith in humanity.” Or “it made me feel like if that person lived through that I can live through this,” or “oh my gosh, I’m not such a freak after all.” Y’know, it’s funny, we run a lot of kinky stories on the show, and we’re constantly having people write in saying, “oh my gosh, I thought I was the only one who liked that.” For people who it’s really meaningful in their lives—that is worth more than any money we might make. It’s clear to fans that you’re unapologetically yourself.

Well it’s funny; I’m unapologetically myself but then I will also just completely let people know how distraught I sometimes get about hearing nasty things said about me. I’ve had a couple of check-ins on the

show itself where I’ve said, “holy shit, I just read these people saying this nasty stuff about me.” Sometimes it does get to me and other times it’s like water off a duck’s back. We’re all human. I think we all have to deal with haters. But the artists who really grow and flourish are the ones who sometimes are hurt by it but just keep going on anyway. Do you think that philosophy factored into your decision to come out so early in your career?

Y’know, it’s so funny. I am one of those rare people who knew I was gay at the beginning of consciousness. I talk about this in many of my stories, about how my first conscious thoughts that I remember having were sexual thoughts about other boys my age. In fact, the people who lived next door, they had a boy my age. We were friends when we were kids and [his

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parents] in my adulthood have been able to joke with me that, “oh yeah, we had to keep our son away from you even when you were in diapers.” Once I was about 4 or 5 years old, I started to understand what the word “gay” and “fag” meant. I started to hear those words used so much by older kids in a really pejorative, nasty, slur-ish way. I began to be terrified of what I was, y’know, I began to realize [that] what I am is hated and feared and I could lose all my friends and family if anyone ever figured this out. What was that like?

Even though I had an otherwise happy childhood, I grew up terrified about people learning this secret. And Cincinnati, Ohio, in the 1970s— it was very Republican, very Roman Catholic; it was kind of famous for being sex-negative. I grew up feeling rather suffocated, like I was very aware that there was this incredible conformity

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and suppression around sexual expression. So I think having grown up that way made me, it made such an impression on me that I think that it ultimately caused me to create the show “RISK.” How so?

What “RISK” is about is coming out about anything; anything that you’re keeping hidden away in the dark or trying to suppress, or feel like, “I don’t know if I can talk about this in mixed company.” It could be some traumatic thing that happened in your family… or it could even be something as harmless as like, believing in god. From time to time, in different contexts or circles, different things are considered taboo or too risky to talk about. So I wanted to create a show where people could just talk as honestly as they possibly could in the way that they might talk to their therapist, and really dig into some of those peak experiences in their lives where they were the most emotionally wound up [to] lay it all out for us. Do you think that’s why it works so well as a podcast?

Oh, absolutely. It’s so funny because when I created “RISK” in 2009, I had desperately been struggling for 12 years after “The State” had broken up to reestablish a career. I was getting up on stage and playing cartoonish, sketch comedy kind of characters; I was basically trying to do sketch comedy alone and it just wasn’t working. I was hiding behind these masks, and it was Michael Ian Black, who was a member of “The State,” who came to see me and afterwards said, “y’know, the stuff you’re doing is funny… but I wish you would just drop the mask and start telling some of your own true stories.” And I said, “oh, I’m too many things that people might not get. I’m too gay, yet too kinky and yet too polite and Midwestern… and yet too goofy and yet too serious sometimes. It feels like it would just be too risky.” And he said, “that’s the word. That’s the idea.”

What’s it like bringing “RISK” to places like Tampa and Orlando?

Y’know, it’s the funniest thing. Some people might not believe this, but our shows in places like Tampa and Orlando are usually a lot better than our shows in New York City or Los Angeles. People in those cities tend to be in the entertainment industry. They tend to be actors or writers, they

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| uu | RISK-y Business from pg.49

tend to have experience with public speaking and things like that. So they have some habits of putting on masks. Whereas when we come to cities anywhere else in the country, those folks are usually people who have listened to the podcast a lot. So they get it, they get how raw and real it can be. And what happens is we’ll say hey, Tampa, or Orlando, we’re coming on such-and-such a date… and we’ll give prompts. WHAT prompTS dId You gIvE for Your florIdA STopS?

Orlando, the themes that people can choose to pitch about are “Brilliance” or “Sacred” or “Corruption.” And then Tampa… the suggested themes are “Worst Case Scenario” or “Intuition” or “Dreams.” We’re not sticklers for these themes, that’s why we give people a choice, just to help people brainstorm. So Tampa is on June 8, then Orlando is on June 9. What’s most important for us is that people think of times that they were most emotional or times that felt the most meaningful. The kinds of experiences in your life that you do feel like unpacking with a therapist. WHAT’S THE SubmISSIoN proCESS lIkE?

People hear me announce this on the podcast and then they go to the submissions page at “RISK” and it tells you how to pitch a story. We’ll usually get around 20 or 30 pitches from each city and the ones that sound most interesting to us, we’ll contact those people and have them send us more. Those that we cast, we’ll have them do at least two drafts for us where they speak it into a recorder and get our notes, and get our notes again, and there’s a real relationship that’s established before the show.

WHY IS THAT So ImporTANT?

We want to make sure that a person is ready. A lot of times, people have PTSD about whatever they’re talking about… or maybe it’s too recent. Maybe they wanna talk about their mother dying

risk Maker: Comedian Kevin Allison will choose storytellers from Tampa and Orlando to share stories they never thought they’d dare discuss. pHOtO by mindy tuCker

and it only happened like three months ago. And we’ll be like, maybe next year; you have to feel all that stuff out with people. I should also point out that we also make a point whenever we’re casting the show of having a couple of stories in it that are just purely hilarious, because we like an evening to be a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride. So there’s often just as many laughs in an evening of risk as there are gasps or tears. Scary stories, funny stories, heartbreaking stories, we like you to feel like you went all over the place emotionally.

ArE THErE ANY rISkS You HAvEN’T TAkEN WITH THE lIvE SHoW ANd podCAST THAT You’d lIkE To?

Yeah, definitely. I’m always thinking of types of stories we haven’t yet run. I know that, like I talk to my therapist all the time—like am I ready to tell this story, or should I put this one off? I was married for nine years, and I’ve always wanted to tell the story of my marriage to my husband… but when you do tell stories about other people, you don’t want to hurt them in the process. I think I’ve always been worried about sharing that story because once I really get knee deep in working on it, then I’m probably gonna have to look at some parts of myself and then I’m gonna feel bad.

Storytelling is a very psychological experience. There are kinky stories of mine that I’m like, “I dunno, maybe I’ll wait 10 years on that one… that might be too weird for people,” but there’s also emotional ones. do ANY ComE To mINd?

I’m in the midst of working on my story about 9/11, because I was right down there in the financial district on that morning. I’ve always been afraid to tackle that story. When you do work on stories like that it’s like, whoa, I had forgotten. Once you really start working on a story, it’s amazing the things you start remembering. That always takes me by surprise, that details start falling back into place once you literally have to sit down and think about them. THAT’S THE rISk, rIgHT?

Exactly. I feel like we could do this show for another couple decades and never run out of new risky stuff to be sharing.

You can join Kevin Allison and local storytellers during “RISK! LIVE” on June 8 in Tampa and June 9 in Orlando. Performances will be held at The Attic in Tampa and The Abbey in Orlando. To purchase tickets for $20 or for more information about the live show or podcast, visit risk-show.com/tour.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

theater

This Old Home

Mad Cow Theatre explores sexual identity, family tension with local run of ‘Fun Home’

(above)

We three alisons:

(L-R) Raina Grabowski, Sonia Roman and Emilie Scheetz play the lead character Alison at different stages of her life. Photo by Tom Hurst

Layla Ferris

fter national tour stops in

both Orlando and Tampa from the Tony Award-winning musical “Fun Home,” Orlando’s Mad Cow Theatre is putting on a production featuring local talent starting June 1.

“Fun Home,” the first Broadway musical to have a lesbian protagonist, is an adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s 2006 graphic memoir. The show portrays Bechdel’s uncovering of her own sexuality, her strained relationship with her closeted gay father and the reexamination of the years leading up to his unexpected suicide. The hour and 40-minute

show is seen through the eyes of a 43-year-old Alison who looks to the past as she writes the graphic novel the play is based on. The show’s director, Mark Edward Smith, thinks “Fun Home” and its nine-member cast are a perfect match for Mad Cow Theatre. “It seemed like it was a nice fit for the theater in terms of the

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

physical production, in terms of the relationship to the community; it just felt like the right show at the right time,” he says. Smith, 59, says although the driving force of the show is someone’s death, the play as a whole is actually about life. “I really like the fact that the script doesn’t shy away from serious, difficult issues, but at the same time there’s also a lot of humor to bemind there as well,” Smith says. Bechdel’s life story is pieced together by childhood memories from a 9-year-old young Alison and an 18-year-old teenage Alison— played by Raina Grabowski and Emilie Scheetz, respectively—who share the stage with adult Alison.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

Adult Alison is played by 26-year-old Sonia Roman. Completing the cast is David Lowe as Alison’s father Bruce and Laura Hodos as Alison’s mother Helen, as well as Jolie Hart, Ty Lowrey, Joshua Parrott and Rhyse Silvestro in various other roles. Roman says she initially auditioned for the part of the teenage Alison, but was called back for the adult version of the role. She says she’s happy those at Mad Cow believed in her enough to offer her the lead role. Her character doesn’t leave the stage once, which Roman is excited about. She says she shares similarities with her character—such as the struggle of self-discovery,

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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experimentation and being overly analytical—that help her to play Alison. To prepare for her role, Roman says she read the original graphic novel of “Fun Home.” “It’s not as lighthearted as you’d think,” Roman says. The tone of the play, which can switch from dark to humorous in a split second, was intimidating, Smith says. When Mad Cow’s executive director Mitzi Maxwell asked him to direct the play, he didn’t say yes right away. But Smith says he accepted the job to challenge himself. “To be honest with you, it scared the hell out of me, but ultimately that’s why I said yes,” he says. “There’s no point in doing the same things over and over again that are safe for you.” “Fun Home” was nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won five, including Best Musical, when it first premiered on Broadway in 2015. The production also won a handful of other awards, such as a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical, and was nominated for a slew of other accolades. But it wasn’t the lengthy list of awards and nominations that intimidated Smith. He says the play feels much larger than himself. Smith says he fell in love with the “extraordinary” show when he saw it on Broadway, and some of his initial hesitation came from wanting to do the play justice. The show opened Off-Broadway at The Public Theater in October of 2013, running into January of the next year after several extensions. It opened at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre in April of 2015 and ceased production on September of 2016. The show also embarked on a year-long U.S. tour and was also performed internationally in places such as the Philippines, Canada and Japan. While Bechdel’s life includes specificity not everyone can relate to—such as spending most of her youth in her family’s funeral home, dubbed the “Fun Home”—Smith said one universal theme fuels the play: as an adult, Bechdel reevaluates her parents’ lives, beginning to see them as individuals rather than only her parents. With this new

A Father’s love: Raina Grabowski, as young Alison, plays with her dad Bruce, played by David Lowe. Photo by tom hurst. perspective comes surprising realizations about Bechdel’s father and his secrets. “Usually when we’re kids, we see our parents as our parents and we don’t necessarily give any thought to what their life is outside of our life,” Smith says. “And then as you become an adult, at some point you start to think of your parents as people independent from you and you realize they have lives of their own.”

This unique evaluation of Bechdel’s life prompted Smith to go back and look at old photos of himself at age 9, 18 and into his 40s, something Smith recommends people do before seeing this show. When he went back and watched adult Alison relive her memories onstage it added more layers and depth to the experience. “That’s the same person, but it’s not the same person,” Smith says.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Above all, Smith says he’s most excited for the audience to see the cast in action. “We have the perfect cast,” he says. “It’s a joy; I look forward to coming to rehearsal every night.” Several themes in the play center on LGBTQ issues such as grappling with one’s sexual identity and how to move forward with personal and public acceptance. Lisa Kron wrote the book and lyrics for “Fun Home,” with music

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

by Jeanine Tesori. Smith says Bechdel and Kron—who are both out lesbians—bring an authentic understanding of the LGBTQ experience to the show. “It’s really exciting in that our voices are being heard more and more,” Smith says. “For a long time that was kind of silenced or you know, squashed or whatever.” Smith says he hopes the play serves as a vehicle for people to have conversations that they’re not sure how to have, whether it’s about death, family issues, sexual identity or coming out. “Fun Home” cultivated a special connection with Orlando before it was announced to come to the Mad Cow. Weeks after the Pulse nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016, Kron and the Broadway cast came to Orlando for a one-night concert staging of “Fun Home” at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. “It really touched a lot of people,” Smith says. The exclusive showing raised money for victims of the shooting and Equality Florida, which is an educational charity and an advocacy organization that work to secure full equality for Florida’s LGBTQ community. Smith says he hopes theatergoers come to the show open to whatever experience the play brings. “Hopefully theater has the ability to surprise,” he says. Due to the heavy themes of “Fun Home,” Mad Cow will be holding talkbacks after all Thursday and Sunday performances involving the cast, crew and audience members. The talkbacks are even open to the public at large at no additional cost. Being able to talk out feelings after the show may be a good thing as Roman warns that an onslaught of emotions come with seeing this show. But she says it’s ultimately about finding and living “your truth,” whatever that may mean to you. “I really do think that ‘Fun Home’ is just a way of expressing to the LGBT community to just live your truth even if you don’t think that people around you are going to understand or necessarily agree with you,” Roman says. “Fun Home” plays June 1-July 1 in The Harriett Theatre of Mad Cow Theatre in downtown Orlando. Tickets start at $33. For more information go to MadCowTheatre.com.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

Books

The Bookworm Sez “Wild Mares: My Lesbian Back-to-The-Land Life” by Dianna Hunter

c.2018, University of Minnesota Press • $18.95 / higher in Canada • 241 pages

Terri Schlichenmeyer

ou were going to change the world. It’s

true that you were one small voice, just one person with a vision but you were sure it could be done. You were going to change the world, one corner at a time — starting with the one you called home. And in the new book “Wild Mares: My Lesbian Backto-The-Land Life” by Dianna Hunter, that’s sometimes all it takes. Growing up in rural South Dakota, Dianna Hunter learned what “queer” was long before she understood her own sexuality. She was “seventeen, cosseted, closeted, and clueless” then but, once enrolled in college and living in Minneapolis in an atmosphere of early-1970s feminism and LGBT activism, she “surprised” herself by coming out. By then, classmates had introduced her to new friends, who introduced her to a lesbian community that raised her consciousness. Hunter learned how to be an activist, and she helped to create safe places for lesbians to socialize; when friends began to think about establishing a collective farm in Minnesota, she was highly intrigued. “We were headed toward our dream and our vexation,” she says. “Women’s Land, Open to All Women.” And it felt like the right “path to freedom.” At the first farm Hunter lived on, women and children shared the work and the bounty. “Voluntary poverty and group living” taught them that they “didn’t need much money to get by,” and they didn’t need men to care for livestock or outbuildings. Hunter soaked up every bit of information she could, and when it was time to move on, she and her next housemate rode their own horses more than 200 miles to another farm. Through the years, there were other farms and other horses. Friends and lovers

came and went, societal attitudes changed and, though now retired, Hunter was eventually able to buy and manage a dairy farm near Lake Superior. “To many onlookers,” she says, “our lesbian-feminist back-to-the-land dream must have seemed strange and unrealistic, but we were far from the only ones who dreamed it.” “Utopia” is a word that author Dianna Hunter uses when recalling the first 15 years after coming out as a lesbian. No word could be more apt because, despite tales of lack and hardship, “Wild Mares” makes that life sound positively serene. And yet, there’s angst here, starting with a constant stream of people who move in and out of Hunter’s narrative, taking their drama with them and re-inserting it. After a while, that seems like just more of the same and character fatigue may begin to set in; it doesn’t help that there are several farms involved, adding to the consternation. Even so, Hunter’s introspection, her eagerness to do anything to find her “utopia,” and her love of the land take over and make this book palatable. Overall and in the end, it turns out to become a worthwhile look at non-traditional 20th-century farming, and at Midwestern lesbian history. Yes, “Wild Mares” is a little relentless in its overly peopled telling, but it’s also something different, for a change.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

community calendar

EvENT plANNEr

arts+entertainMent

CENTrAl florIdA

Matthew shepard Foundation and MillerLite present “stay Proud, Be Loud”

odd is Art, May 17-June 17, Redefine Gallery, Orlando. 407-648-7060; RedefineArtGallery.com my Orlando: an artist perspective, May 17-June 17, CityArts Factory, Orlando. 407-648-7060; CityArtsFactory.com invasive Species gallery, May 17-June 23, Gallery at Avalon Island, Orlando. 407-317-8367; AvalonGallery.org navada presents: the blackout Rave, June 1, Stonewall Bar Orlando, Orlando. 407-373-0888; StonewallOrlando.com dinner & wine pairing with John michael events Hosted by eric rollings, June 1, Celebration Gardens, Orlando. 407-896-0314; EricRollings.com leigh Shannon’s illusions in Revue, June 2, Hamburger Mary’s, Orlando. 321-319-0600; HamburgerMarys.com/Orlando Rock Hard Revue, June 2-3, Hamburger Mary’s, Orlando. 321-319-0600; HamburgerMarys.com/Orlando paint nite at roque pub, June 4 and 11, Roque Pub, Orlando. 407-985-3778; RoquePubOrlando.com “rent” on tour, June 5-10, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 407-839-0119; DrPhillipsCenter.org bites & bubbles to Support of eric rollings, June 6, Bites & Bubbles, Orlando. 407-270-5085; BitesBubbles.com Hot talks: Christian Cuevas represents QlatinX, June 6, Roth Jewish Community Center, Maitland. 407-645-5933; JCCOrlando.com prince tribute: the purple madness, June 8, Daytona Beach Bandshell, Daytona. 386-239-6625; DaytonaBandshell.com prideFest kissimmee, June 9, Kissimmee Lakefront Park, Kissimmee. 407-518-2501; Kissimmee.org

tuesday, June 5, 3:30-8:30 p.M. parliaMent house, orlando Join the Matthew Shepard Foundation, now in its 20th year of erasing hate, and MillerLite for the third annual Stay Proud, Be Loud community discussion on hate crimes. The event will be in two parts: a panel discussion from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and a reception from 6:00-8:30 p.m. For more information on the event and organization visit MatthewsPlace.com.

BIDEN TIME

MBa Orlando Business Connect wednesday, June 6, 6:00-8:00 p.M. orlando shakespeare theater, orlando

Former Vice President Joe biden heads to the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg June 4 as part of his American Promise Tour. pHOtO by daVid lienemann, COurteSy wHite HOuSe pHOtO OFFiCe

Cult Classics: “romy and michelle’s High School reunion,” June 12, Enzian Theater, Maitland. 407-629-1088; Enzian.org bisexual male living group, June 14, The Center, Orlando. 407-228-8272; TheCenterOrlando.org

TAmpA bAY Shania twain, June 2, Amalie Arena, Tampa. 813-301-6500; AmalieArena.com multi-author book Signing, June 2, Quench Lounge, Largo. 727-754-5900; QuenchLounge.com Joe biden: american promise Tour, June 4, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg. 727-893-7832; TheMahaffey.com

tampa bay reia’s breakfast meeting, June 4, Trip’s Diner, Tampa. 813-533-1900; TripsDiner.com

pride bowl benefit, June 9, Dunedin Lanes, Dunedin. 727-736-1282; DunedinLanes.com

pride & Joy, an lgbtQ art Show, June 7, MIZE Gallery, St. Petersburg. 727-251-8529; ChadMize.com

miss polk gay pride 2018 pageant, June 11, Masons Live, Lakeland. 863-651-9071; MasonsLive.com

Outside the binary, June 7, Tampa Metro, Tampa. 813-977-8266; TheTeaLounge.com

polk pride, June 13-16, Multiple locations, Lakeland. Could not find phone number; PolkPrideFL.com

bear pride blacklight glow party, June 8, Quench Lounge, Largo. 727-754-5900; QuenchLounge.com drag Queen Story Hour, June 9, Wordier Than Thou, Pinellas Park. 516-906-2140; WordierThanThou.com pride without prejudice, June 9, The Cider Press Cafe & Emerald Bar, St. Petersburg. 727-914-7222; CiderPressCafe.com

SArASoTA bradenton marauders pride night, June 1, LECOM Park, Bradenton. 941-747-3031; MILB.com/Brandenton Suncoast legacy luncheon, June 14, Northern Trust, Sarasota. 813-870-3735; Eqfl.org

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

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

Join MBA Orlando for its monthly networking mixer as they take over the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Come meet, mingle and network with LGBTQ and LGBTQ-friendly business owners and representatives. Free hors d’oeuvres, cash bar and speed networking available. MBA members get in for free, guests are $20. Register at MBAOrlando.org/Events.

TAmpA bAY

Tampa Bay Rays’ Pride night friday, June 8, 7:10-10:10 p.M. tropicana field, st. petersBurG Your Tampa Bay Rays invite you to the annual Pride Night at Tropicana Field when the Rays take on the Seattle Mariners. Special Pride Night tickets available for $30 which include a seat in the lower level and a Rays Pride hat. Use ticket code PRIDE 1 when purchasing. Tickets are available at MLB.com/Rays/Tickets/Specials/Themes/Pride.

SArASoTA

LGBTQ Discussion Group for 50+ wednesday, June 13, 6:00-7:30 p.M. friendship centers, sarasota Sarasota’s Friendship Centers invites LGBTQ seniors age 50 and up to attend its monthly discussion group, held the second Wednesday of each month, for friendly conversation and community. The next group will be June 13. For more information contact Robert Rogers at 941-556-3223 or visit FriendshipCenters.org.

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

overheard

TAmpA bAY ouT+AbouT

SpookY SurprISE

“c

asper” and the anonyMous hosts behind Tampa’s not for profit All Hallows’ Masquerade Ball have emailed out the first “Save the Date” for the 42nd annual Halloween spook-tacular. While the group remained mum on this year’s locale, listing only a “surprise South Tampa location,” the by invitation only event will officially begin at 8:01 p.m. on October 27, 2018. No word yet on the theme, but partygoers of years’ past should check their email to verify their mailing address before the official invitations are sent. For more information, visit allhallowsball.org.

EXECuTIvE dECISIoN

t. pete pride has announced its new executive director: former interim executive director Luke Blankenship. The decision follows an extensive nation-wide search that began in January. The hiring committee selected Blankenship and two additional applicants to advance to a community panel interview. The newly-minted executive director became interim executive director in August 2017. It was in the role that he increased corporate sponsorship by 57% and strengthened the organization’s community relationships, St. Pete Pride says. “Blankenship brings a youthful voice and perspective,” they add. “He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of South Florida. During his undergraduate work he was President of the USF PRIDE Alliance, the third largest student led organization.” “We celebrate the diversity and inclusion of all LGBTQ people and their allies,” Blankenship says. “I can’t wait to for June to be upon us so we can once again gather together and unify to march for the advancement of the LGBTQ community and have one heck of a time doing it.” This year’s St. Pete Pride will be held June 22-24, 2018. For more information, visit stpetepride.com.

ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM

J GreG anderson and entertainer kiki Butter lords have announced ZOOM Parties Sarasota, a venue-spanning party highlighting dining, drinks and drag. “Welcome members to the ZOOM parties of Sarasota, Florida!” Anderson shared on the group’s Facebook page. “Kiki Butter Lords and I are super excited to bring Sarasota a new type of party… tell your friends about Zoom and let’s get Zooming!” The first party will take place at the Old School Bar & Grill in Sarasota on June 15 and feature Anderson, Lords and special guests Gia Banks, Ja’Staria Infiniti and Eleanor Sparklepuss. For information about the inaugural party or to stay in the loop about subsequent ones, zoom on over to facebook.com/groups/ZOOMParties.

2 3

warM welcoMe: Dean (L) and Tameo welcome guests to Cristoph’s on May 26. pHOtO COurteSy

OF CriStOpH’S

exit eden: eden deck (L) and mitchell Demmons share a goodbye during Deck’s final performance at Quench Lounge May 26. pHOtO COurteSy

bruCe deVery

the white stuff: Jeffrey lucas, brandon Draht and Justin geleta celebrate the Red Ribbon Cyclist’s White Party at Enigma May 27. pHOtO

COurteSy JuStin geleta

love daze: Jeremy (L) and ashlee t. bangkx share a moment after Ashlee’s performance at Enigma May 19. pHOtO by

ryan williamS-Jent

caBana Boys: Tyler, Jeff and greg welcome mike (L-R) to the Flamingo Resort staff May 23. pHOtO by

ryan williamS-Jent

feathered fun: Former Miss St. Pete Pride Kori Stevens dazzles at 2018’s Miss St. Pete Pride Pageant at Quench Lounge May 20. pHOtO by ryan

williamS-Jent

liBrary lads: Dave mather (L) and greg Stemm showcase the Gulfport Public’s Library’s LGBTQ Resource Center May 24. pHOtO by ryan

williamS-Jent

coffee talk: Local author Richard Randall enjoys his morning at Bandit Coffee Co. May 22. pHOtO by ryan

williamS-Jent

7 watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

overheard

CENTrAl florIdA ouT+AbouT

oNE STEp CloSEr To CENTEr

he lGBt+ center orlando is one BiG step closer to having all of the funds needed to secure a second location in Kissimmee after the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) awarded it a $25,000 grant. The grant announcement comes on the heels of the $26,148 grant from The Contigo Fund awarded in April. The money from both AHF and The Contigo Fund will be used to help open The Center in Kissimmee, which will have a focus on the Latinx community. The Center has raised about $72,000 of its goal of $75,000, which will supply the agency with one year of operating expenses for the new location. The Center Kissimmee is slated to open in the fall. Want to help? You can donate by visiting TheCenterOrlando.org/Kissimmee.

ouT bEforE SHE’S IN

he one orlando alliance retracted the offer of eMployMent made to former Alabama Rep. Patricia Todd to serve as the organization’s first executive director after Todd suggested on Twitter that Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is a lesbian. Todd was offered the position as the first executive director for the One Orlando Alliance, a non-profit group of more than 30 LGBTQ organizations formed in the days after the Pulse shooting, after an extensive nationwide search that began in Aug. 2017. The controversy began after Todd tweeted, “Will someone out her for God’s sake….I have heard for years that she is gay and moved her girlfriend out of her house when she became Gov. I am sick of closeted elected officials.” Todd was supposed to begin with the One Orlando Alliance June 1. One Orlando Alliance will continue with its search for a new executive director.

frINgE forEvEr

he orlando international frinGe festival wrapped another hugely successful year with an awards celebration and party on the Fringe lawn at Loch Haven Park this past Memorial Day. Fringe had well over 100 sold out performances during the course of the 13-day festival, they announced. Then Watermark took the stage to present our readers’ choice 2018 Splash Awards. The big winner of the night was AJ Prats’ “PeeVira’s ScareVan Singalong: Disney Addicktion” which won both Favorite LGBTQ Show and Favorite LGBTQ Lead Performer for Prats. Also making a big impact on our readers was “El Wiz”—a reimagining of “The Wizard of Oz” told with Puerto Rico, during and after Hurricane Maria, as the setting—which won both Favorite LGBTQ Writer for Juan Cantu and Favorite LGBTQ Supporting Performer for Erick Jose Perafan. The big highlight of the closing celebration came when George Wallace was given the Orlando Fringe Lifetime Achievement Award.

it takes a villaGe: margaret nolan (L) from Kangaroo Girl Productions and “Cowboy” Randy Jones of the Village People at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre for the Fringe Festival May 18. pHOtO by danny garCia

we the people: Orange County Commissioner candidate eric rollings (Center) with maxine and Kirt earhart at Swirlery Wine Bar in Orlando May 23. pHOtO

pHOtO COurteSy blue Star

avenGers asseMBle: bill Celiz (L, as Dr. Strange) and matt dubose (as Captain America) join forces to take on MegaCon at the Orange County Convention Center May 26. pHOtO by danny garCia

COurteSy maXine earHart

network central: John teixeira (L) and James Rode check out Watermark’s May Third Thursday networking mixer at The LGBT+ Center in Orlando May 17.

pHOtO by geOrge wallaCe

Mental health day: Florida House candidate margaret melanie gold (L) and marcello Fischer attend the Mental Health Association of Central Florida’s luncheon at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando May 18. pHOtO by Jeremy williamS Breakfast Buddies: Orlando Police Department’s LGBT Liaison grace peck (L) and WFTV’s Jorge estevez at The Center’s Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast at Dubsdread Catering May 16.

pHOtO COurteSy graCe peCk

spellBound: Orlando mayor buddy dyer (Center) with blue Star and her ladies of VarieTEASE after a performance of their Fringe show “Spellbound” at The Venue in Orlando May 19.

splish splash: aJ prats, also known as peeVira, won the 2018 Watermark Splash Award for Favorite LGBTQ Show and Lead Performer at the Orlando Fringe Festival May 28. pHOtO COurteSy aJ pratS

8 watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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for 2 weeks

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

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May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

announcements

WEddINg bEllS

anthony Paul Citrola & Jeremy Wade from Tampa, Florida

enGaGeMent date:

County Commissioner John morrioni passed away following his battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He will be missed.

LocaL Birthdays

April 4, 2018

venue:

Hillsbough County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Downtown Tampa

officiant:

Deputy Clerk Amanda Delwardo

weddinG sonG/ artist:

“Say You Won’t Let Go” performed by James Arthur

dj service: TBD

caterer: TBD

cake Bakery:

Whistle Stop Bakery in Oceanside, Ny

cake fLavors: TBD

theMe:

Backyard garden party

photoGrapher: TBD

gay St. pete House celebrated its 10th year May 28.

condoLences

pHOtO COurteSy CitrOla and wade

eLopeMent date:

TBD

anjila Cavalier was crowned Ms. St. Pete Pride 2018 on May 20.

bliss Cares celebrates its third anniversary June 7.

August 20, 2017

coLors:

conGratuLations

sMall act of chivalry iGnited

a romance between these two. “Anthony held the door open for me like a true gentleman,” shares Jeremy Wade Citrola, originally from Wellsville, Pa. “We did not have a conversation that night, but we made a generous amount of eye contact. I researched his name and sent him a Facebook friend request the next day.” “Technically, he’s right,” adds Anthony Paul Citrola, a Merrick, N.Y., native. “The first time I saw Jeremy was walking into SkyPoint in Tampa. I held the door to the lobby open for him and I thought to myself, wow. Sounds silly, but he was in this bright yellow blazer, had a fresh fade and this gorgeous beard. We both walked in and coincidently we were both going to the same party. “I smiled and we all rode the elevator up. Throughout the night we kept catching each other’s eyes. I remember thinking I should go say hi when he was talking to someone I knew, but the opportunity never presented itself. I thought about him the whole night, and when I woke up the next morning, he had friend requested me on Facebook. We met that night at Alibi for a drink.”

And before too long, Anthony felt it was time to pop the question—in a big way. Anthony shares, “We had chatted about getting married someday. We had just gotten back from a trip to North Carolina with my entire family. I was going to do it there, but the ring was not ready. We ended up going to Disney that weekend. I brought the ring with me just in case the time was right. I had the ring down my pants and I was so nervous. I kept thinking to myself, I’ll take to the side of the castle where it’s more private and I’ll just ask him. We were walking down Main Street and he grabs me and says, ‘Let’s take a picture in front of the castle.’ I was like, Oh shit, here we go. “As I walk past the photographer I whispered, ‘I’m

going to propose.’ I wasn’t even sure he heard me. I walk to Jeremy, knelt down and asked him, ‘Will you marry me?’ and the rest is history.” The couple has since eloped and had a private ceremony, just the two of them. “We discussed putting on suits and heading to the courthouse,” Jeremy says. “The morning of our ceremony Anthony surprised me with matching succulent boutonnières, ties, pocket squares and socks. Later that day we picked out a pot together and planted the succulents from our boutonnières.” “As the day was approaching, I didn’t want it to be nothing. I wanted it to be special for both of us,” Anthony says. “The day was so powerful. I wasn’t expecting the moment to be so intense. Just the two of us in the courthouse, no other distractions. It was amazing and perfect for us.” The couple is currently in the process of planning a wedding reception to celebrate with family in New York on July 7, 2018. —Aaron Drake

Orlando restaurant magnate Nicholas olivieri; St. Petersburg Target specialist and social butterfly Joe White (May 31); Tampa Bay entertainer Temonet, Ranger’s Pet Outpost founder rick merrifield, Lakeland tri-athlete Andy orrell, straight ally and owner of JJ’s Grille J.J. paredes, Southern Nights Orlando performer kitana gemini, city of Gulfport employee and furniture specialist Jon k. Ziegler (June 1); Orlando realtor bobby mills, physical therapist rob ryan, St. Pete Twirling Project’sHarry Correa (June 2); Tampa Bay bartender Chris “tadpole” Hannay, Equality Florida public policy director mallory garner-wells, Mojo Man’s lane blackwell, Parliament House Orlando bartender Joel gran, Brandon Pride founder mark Ferguson-nokham, marketing director timothy evans (June 3); Pom Pom’s St. Pete owner Tom Woodard (June 4); Sarasota derby icon Krista DiTucci, Tampa Coldwell Banker realtor Steve Wessels (June 5); Ember Orlando wonder nicholas “Scooby” Smith, Tampa Bay photographer and Santa Claus nick Cardello, Orlando drag performer Addison Taylor (June 8); KangaGirl Productions diva margaret nolan, Tampa Bay EPIC Executive Director Joy Winheim (June 9); Hillsborough Community College teacher David usrey, St. Petersburg life saver richard recupero, Tampa Bay lawman Scott bird, Centro Ybor Wear Me Out! store owner Sharon Rose, Tampa Bay cowboy roger bell(June 10); Tampa Bay real estate agent and former TIGLFF president ken Hodges, Tampa marketing whiz la’trice “lady lala” Sharpe, Tampa Bay leading loaner keith louderback, St. Pete SoyBright Candle Company co-owner tim Huff (June 11); Watermark Central Florida Bureau Chief Jeremy Williams, Tampa native bear Ryan morris, former St. Pete Twirling Project member and current Orlando resident Anthony Jenners, St. Petersburg city councilwoman Darden Rice, schoolteacher and Orlando activist wendy elkes, Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber president Justice gennari (June 12); former Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber president ashley t. brundage, Department of Transportation employee John Stimis (June 13).

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.

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.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

THE lAST pAgE

pHOtO by Jake SteVenS

aGe:

hoMetown: Miami, Fla.

identifies as: LeSBOOOO

out year:

sabrina Ambra

autoBioGraphy titLe:

“From Rags to Moist Toilettes: A Passable Success Story”

VIE WPOINT COLUMNIS T

what are your hoBBies:

Live music, binge-watching television, stand-up comedy, masturbating

2012

WHAT kINd of WrITINg do You do for WATErmArk?

WHAT do You lIkE WrITINg AbouT THE moST?

Viewpoint and/or comedic narratives.

My awkward encounters and the ridiculous situations I’ve found myself in.

WHAT IS THE NAmE of Your vIEWpoINT ColumN?

hire date:

Lady Fingers.

February 2016

HoW dId You ComE up WITH THE NAmE for Your ColumN?

professionaL roLe ModeL:

I actually did not come up with the name; Billy Manes did. He named it after the Luscious Jackson song with the same name.

ellen DeGeneres

WHAT mAdE You WANT To WrITE for WATErmArk?

Billy. He asked me if I would write for Watermark a couple years ago. I thought for sure my invitation would be revoked immediately after he read my first piece. Instead he offered his guidance, showered me with encouragement and gave me the confidence to continue sharing these ridiculous stories from my life. Who needs to repress when you can put in through a printing press, amiright? WHAT IS Your fAvorITE THINg AbouT WrITINg for WATErmArk?

I love the freedom to write what I truly want to write about and I appreciate the challenge that comes with finding the best way to be as honest with the readers as possible. WHEN dId You dEvElop A pASSIoN for WrITINg?

I always loved writing growing up, but it was almost always for myself or for school. It wasn’t until I started writing for Watermark that I was challenged to explore my vulnerability and spark the passion I didn’t even know I could have. It’s pretty freakin’ awesome.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

WHAT IS Your fAvorITE lgbTQ EvENT?

Come Out With Pride Parade. WHAT IS Your fAvorITE THINg AbouT THE loCAl lgbTQ CommuNITY?

The acceptance. No matter age, shape or color - you are treated like family because we are family. WHAT Would You lIkE To SEE ImprovEd IN THE lgbTQ CommuNITY?

I think we need more gay. Orlando should be the gayest city in not only the United States of America, but the free world! WHAT do You WANT THE WATErmArk rEAdErS To kNoW AbouT You?

I know I’m weird and I curse a lot, but I hope we can still be friends. WHAT AdvICE Would You gIvE Your YouNgEr SElf?

You don’t have to put up with everyone’s bullshit, smoke less cigarettes and don’t date anyone you meet from New Jersey.

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.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

May 31 - June 13, 2018 // Issue 25.11

In memory of The 49. In support of the Survivors. In honor of the First Responders. With sympathy to the Families. With gratitude to the Community. We dedicate this Interim Memorial to them. The Board of Trustees would like to thank the following organizations for their generous support of the design and construction of the Pulse Interim Memorial.

Dix.Hite + Partners

Jones Clayton Construction

BarďŹ eld Fence

Planting provided by 3D Trees in memory of Joel Rayon Paniagua

Laurentano Sign Group Media 1 Signs Monster Media Phil Kean Design Group Landscape Forms

Pebble Junction Piedmont Plastics Palram

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