Watermark Issue 27.19: Full Stream Ahead

Your LGBTQ Life.

Sept. 17 - 30, 2020 Issue 27.19

Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival entertains and evolves

Misgendered trans woman sues Pinellas County Jail

Demings’ bill calls to end LGBTQ blood restrictions

D A Y T O N A B E A C H • O R L A N D O • T A M P A • S T . P E T E R S B U R G • c l e a r w a t e r • S ARA S O TA

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September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

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September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

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September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

departments 7 // Editor’s / Tampa Bay Bureau Chief’s Desk 8 // Central Florida News 10// Tampa Bay News 12// State News 13// Nation & World News 19// COVID-19 Resources 21// Talking Points 37// Tampa Bay Out + About 39// Central Fl Out + About 40// Tampa Bay Marketplace 42// Central Fl Marketplace 46// Wedding Bells

page

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I was pleased to find that the pandemic did not have an adverse effect on the quality of films we have to present this year. In fact, judging from the high caliber of films, I would almost say that queer cinema is having a renaissance and crossing over into the mainstream.

— Derek Horne, TIGLFF Director of Programming

On the cover

page

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page Full Stream

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Ahead: The 31st

Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival entertains and evolves.

TIGLFF centerpiece film “STAGE MOTHER” photo courtesy Momentum Pictures

scan qr code for

WatermarkOnline.com

City Play:

“Bright Young Things” takes live theater to the streets of downtown Orlando.

Watermark Issue 27.19 // Sept. 17 - 30, 2020

Blood Discrimination ‘I Lost Hope’

Authentic Self

Wedding Bells

page Rep. Demings leads way to end FDA’s restrictions on LGBTQ blood donations.

page

page

Read It Online!

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

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page A trans woman who was jailed with male inmates seeks accountability.

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12

Former gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum comes out as bisexual.

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Orlando’s Rob Privitera and Chuck Lindlau recount their special day.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WatermarkOnline and Like us on Facebook. watermark Your LGBTQ life.

September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

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September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

tampa bay

bureau chief’s

Ryan Williams-Jent TB bureau chief Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com

T

Desk

here are two scenes in 2003’s

“X2: X-Men United” that have resonated with me for years, from the first time I saw them in theaters after coming out in high school to the last, watching late night TV at 35 beside my sleeping husband. He’s not as into the “comic book stuff.”

If you’re like him and you aren’t very interested or familiar, the sequel and its predecessor introduced the average filmgoer to the X-Men – superheroes that launched the modern day comic book movie craze and a 13-film franchise that would eventually gross more than $6 billion worldwide.

More importantly, they’re a chosen family of individuals, people who are hated and feared simply because of how they were born. Using their uncanny mutant abilities, they protect even those that oppose them.

It’s an allegory that’s spoken to and for marginalized communities since 1963, when during the height

of the civil rights movement Marvel published “X-Men” #1. The comic book series was written by the late, great Stan Lee, a personal hero of mine who introduced readers to “the strangest superheroes of all.”

“I wanted them to be diverse,” Lee later shared. “The whole underlying principal of the X-Men was to try to be an anti-bigotry story to show there’s good in every person.”

A reflection of the world around it, the comic would inspire generations to come. It certainly caught my attention as a young gay boy growing up in poverty, feeling very different for a number of reasons far beyond my control – chief among them that Cyclops

watermark staff Owner & Publisher: Rick Claggett • Ext. 110 Rick@WatermarkOnline.com Business Manager: Kathleen Sadler • Ext. 101 Kathleen@WatermarkOnline.com

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was more my type than Storm, as fabulous as she was.

I started reading comics at around 7 years old, many of which were well beyond my reading comprehension but paired well with the “X-Men” cartoon of the early 90s. They helped me learn right from wrong and to oppose prejudice in all of its forms from an early age, giving me a deep understanding of the source material that would inspire “X2.”

Those two scenes in particular still managed to surprise me, however, not just as a comic book fan but as a young member of the LGBTQ community. In the first, a character who can transform into ice reveals his secret ability to his parents, coming out as a mutant in an intimate exchange.

“When did you first know you were a … mutant?” his mother uncomfortably asks. She then reassures him that while his parents still love him, the revelation is “…complicated.”

As powerful as the scene’s subtext was, it’s another quiet moment that’s helped shape my life for 17 years. In it, a blue-skinned mutant with a tail and demonic appearance named Nightcrawler – who can’t so easily hide his mutation – approaches the shapeshifter Mystique, someone whose ability allows her to do exactly that.

“They say you can imitate anybody,” he asks with a nuance only openly LGBTQ actor Alan Cumming could provide. “Even their voice.”

“Even their voice,” she responds in his tone.

“Then why not stay disguised all the time?” he asks. “You know, look like everyone else?”

“Because we shouldn’t have to,” she asserts.

It’s an exchange that I’ve carried with me for half of my life, believing wholeheartedly that members of the LGBTQ community have every right to not just exist but to thrive.

We shouldn’t have to hide our true selves to appease others and we should fight to ensure the most marginalized among us know that.

It’s certainly what the X-Men have always done.

Those sentiments are just one reflection of how powerful cinema can be, of the types of impact the experience can have on a filmgoer. It’s certainly the power of the annual Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (TIGLFF), which this year celebrates its 31st year of showcasing films by and for the LGBTQ community, relying not on subtext but on substance.

In a festival first and as a response to COVID-19, TIGLFF will reach more viewers than

We shouldn’t have to hide our true selves to appease others.

ever before as it goes virtual. We detail this year’s empowering films at length, introducing you to its impressive list of features streaming statewide and the shorts it will proudly bring to the nation.

In Tampa Bay news, a transgender woman named Karla Bello seeks accountability after she was jailed for 11 days with male inmates in Pinellas County Jail. City Side Lounge, one of Tampa’s oldest LGBTQ safe spaces, also leads other LGBTQ bars in reopening.

U.S. Rep. Val Demings demands action in Central Florida news as former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum lives his truth in our statewide coverage. A new entertainment experience also takes live theater to the streets of downtown Orlando.

Watermark strives to bring you a variety of stories, your stories.

Please stay safe, stay informed and enjoy this latest issue.

Orlando Office Sales Director: Danny Garcia • Ext. 108 Danny@WatermarkOnline.com Senior Orlando Account Manager: Sam Callahan • Ext. 103 Sam@WatermarkOnline.com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Senior Tampa Bay Account Manager: Russ Martin • Ext. 303 Russ@WatermarkOnline.com Founder and Guiding Light: Tom Dyer Tom@WatermarkOnline.com National Ad Representative: Rivendell Media Inc. • 212-242-6863

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Tampa Bay Office 401 33rd Street N. St. Petersburg, FL 33713 TEL: 813-655-9890

September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

contributors Nathan Bruemmer

is the vice president of St Pete Pride and former executive director of ALSO Youth. He was named one of Tampa Bay’s Most Remarkable People for his advocacy. Page 15

Melody Maia Monet

has her own YouTube channel where she answers lesbian and transgender life questions you are afraid to ask. You can find it at YouTube.com/MelodyMaia. Page 17

Lora Korpar is

a journalism student at the University of Central Florida and a former Watermark intern. She plans to graduate in Spring 2020. Page 46 Sabrina Ambra, Nathan Bruemmer, Scottie Campbell, Miguel Fuller, Divine Grace, Holly Kapherr Alejos, Jason Leclerc, Melody Maia Monet, Jerick Mediavilla, Greg Stemm, Dr. Steve yacovelli, Michael wanzie

photography Brian Becnel, Nick Cardello, Bruce Hardin, Jamarqus Mosley, Chris Stephenson, Lee Vandergrift

distribution LVNLIF2 Distributing, Ken Carraway, Vanessa Maresca-Cruz 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.

Watermark Publishing Group Inc.

7

Editor’s

Jeremy Williams Editor-In-chief

Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com

I

Desk

was working at a tennis club in

Palm Coast, Florida back in the summer of 1998.

It was a simple job that required me to do minor custodial jobs like empty trash cans, sweep floors and refill the water coolers stationed at each of the courts.

The tennis club had two types of courts: hard courts and clay courts, and cleaning the clay courts was my favorite part of the job. During the matches the clay would be kicked around leaving footprints all over the court and I would have to hook up a large broom to the back of a golf cart and drive it up and down the court to smooth the clay out for the next set of players. Then I would hop out of the cart, with headphones on, and brush the clay away from the lines.

The summer I worked at this club in Palm Coast is the same summer that we had the Florida Firestorm, several wildfires that ignited on the state’s east coast from Palm Coast almost down to

Titusville. I remember brushing the courts and looking up at this reddish-orange sky thinking it looked like we were on Mars or something. I would head into the clubhouse several times an hour to check the news on the TV and see if we were being evacuated yet.

After my shift, I would head home and see Ma glued to the news seeing if we were being ordered to abandon our home and get out of harm’s way. They feared these fires, started by lightning during an unusually dry summer, were going to merge and leave us with no way out.

I remember it being around the Fourth of July. I was at work, brushing a court, when it looked

like it started to snow. I stopped the cart, got out and looked up to the Martian sky and realized the snow was ash. As I watched the ground start to turn a gray color, my manager came running up to me and said we were under evacuation orders. Leave the cart, leave the brush and just get home.

I got home to my family packing what they could in the short time we had. Clothes in garbage bags, important documents in a briefcase and several boxes of pictures all went into the trunks of our cars.

Then we left not knowing if our home would be standing if/when we were allowed back.

The interstate looked like a warzone. Areas of trees were burnt to the ground, some were still on fire. We headed to Orlando where my grandparents lived. I still remember sitting on their living room floor, bags of clothes dumped out so we could sort and fold them, with Ma on the couch crying.

It was an image I’ve seen so much on the news recently with California’s wildfires. People grabbing what they can carry in their hands and fitting it into their cars. The chaos and fear, and more mothers crying and not knowing what will happen.

When we were able to return to our home, we found that the fires were stopped before reaching our neighborhood. Some people then and now were not so lucky. There are so many now who have and will return to burnt-down homes with nothing salvageable.

Please help, if you can, with a financial contribution to a nonprofit that’s helping victims.

The American Red Cross, California Fire Foundation and United Way of Greater Los Angeles are all great places to do that.

Another way you can help, and I know people hate it when you make everything political, but vote!

Climate change is having an impact on many of these fires — that

watermark staff Owner & Publisher: Rick Claggett • Ext. 110 Rick@WatermarkOnline.com Business Manager: Kathleen Sadler • Ext. 101 Kathleen@WatermarkOnline.com

Editor-in-Chief: Jeremy Williams • Ext. 106 Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com Tampa Bay Bureau Chief: Ryan Williams-Jent • Ext. 302 Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com Art Director: Dylan Todd • Ext. 102 Dylan@WatermarkOnline.com

and gender reveal parties — and with less than two months away from the general election we have a chance to decide whether we want elected officials who respect science and accept climate change is real or officials who think science is just made up by lizard people in the Illuminati who want to eat your babies.

Stay informed, help to inform those around you and help those who are struggling if you can.

In this issue, we look at the 31st

There are so many now who have and will return to burntdown homes with nothing salvageable.

Annual Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival as it goes virtual for the first time in its history. We also preview Creative City Project’s “Bright Young Things,” an immersive walking play that takes you through downtown Orlando.

In Central Florida, U.S. Rep. Val Demings leads the way in Congress to end the FDA restrictions on LGBTQ blood donations and Central Florida Community Arts celebrates a decade of entertaining.

In Tampa Bay, we speak with a transgender woman seeking damages and accountability after she was jailed with male inmates in Pinellas County and Tampa’s City Side Lounge leads the way for bars reopening in the Bay area.

And in state news, former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum comes out as bisexual.

Orlando Office Sales Director: Danny Garcia • Ext. 108 Danny@WatermarkOnline.com Senior Orlando Account Manager: Sam Callahan • Ext. 103 Sam@WatermarkOnline.com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Senior Tampa Bay Account Manager: Russ Martin • Ext. 303 Russ@WatermarkOnline.com Founder and Guiding Light: Tom Dyer Tom@WatermarkOnline.com National Ad Representative: Rivendell Media Inc. • 212-242-6863

1300 N. Semoran Blvd.

Ste 250 Orlando, FL 32807 TEL: 407-481-2243

Tampa Bay Office 401 33rd Street N. St. Petersburg, FL 33713 TEL: 813-655-9890

September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

contributors Nathan Bruemmer

is the vice president of St Pete Pride and former executive director of ALSO Youth. He was named one of Tampa Bay’s Most Remarkable People for his advocacy. Page 15

Melody Maia Monet

has her own YouTube channel where she answers lesbian and transgender life questions you are afraid to ask. You can find it at YouTube.com/MelodyMaia. Page 17

Lora Korpar is

a journalism student at the University of Central Florida and a former Watermark intern. She plans to graduate in Spring 2020. Page 46 Sabrina Ambra, Nathan Bruemmer, Scottie Campbell, Miguel Fuller, Divine Grace, Holly Kapherr Alejos, Jason Leclerc, Melody Maia Monet, Jerick Mediavilla, Greg Stemm, Dr. Steve yacovelli, Michael wanzie

photography Brian Becnel, Nick Cardello, Bruce Hardin, Jamarqus Mosley, Chris Stephenson, Lee Vandergrift

distribution LVNLIF2 Distributing, Ken Carraway, Vanessa Maresca-Cruz 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.

Watermark Publishing Group Inc.

7

central florida news

CFCArts celebrates 10 years Jeremy Williams

O

RLANDO | Central Florida Community Arts (CFCArts) is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a virtual event on its YouTube channel Sept. 27.

The not-for-profit group got its start as a small choir in 2010 and over the last decade has grown to become the nation’s largest community choir, the state’s largest symphony orchestra and a community theatre.

“The event will commemorate the achievements of the organization as well as those who helped CFCArts become the organization it is today,” CFC Arts stated in a press release.

Through its partnerships and collaborations, CFCArts reaches thousands of artists across a five-county region in Central Florida.

Along with the choir, orchestra and theatre, CFCArts has an academy that offers private lessons and group classes, outreach programs for under-resourced populations, arts experiences for healthy, older adults, and arts and wellness programs at numerous sites.

After shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic last March, CFCArts has pivoted to digital offerings including online classes, virtual concerts and cabarets and a full virtual theatrical production.

In celebration of CFCArts’ decade of accomplishments, several of its donors have agreed to match, dollar-for-dollar up to $75,000, any donations made to CFCArts through Sept. 27.

CFCArts’ 10th Anniversary Virtual celebration is free to view but you are asked to RSVP at CFCArts.com/10th-Anniversary.

Orlando Fringe to make festival more inclusive Jeremy Williams

O

RLANDO | The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival is looking to make upcoming festivals more inclusive and accessible for artists and have set up a survey to get feedback on how to best do that.

“Orlando Fringe is on a mission to gather information from artists in our community and around the world,” Brian Sikorski, Orlando Fringe marketing director, said. “Whether or not you’ve participated in Orlando Fringe in the past, we would love your input.”

The survey is anonymous and can be found at SurveyMonkey.com/r/OrlandoFringe.

Orlando Fringe’s 29th outing was cancelled in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 30th Orlando Fringe Festival is scheduled for May 18–31, 2021.

For more information, visit OrlandoFringe.org.

8

Equal Donor: U.S.

Rep. Val Demings introduced a bill allowing blood donations nationwide regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Photo by Keith Mellnick

Blood Discrimination Rep. Val Demings leads the way to end FDA restrictions on LGBTQ blood donations Jeremy Williams

O

RLANDO | U.S. Rep. Val Demings (FL-10) introduced a bill Sept. 4 that would allow blood donations nationwide regardless of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Science in Blood Donation Act of 2020 would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revise its recommended guidance on reducing HIV transmission through blood donations. Current guidelines prevent men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood unless they have not been sexually active for at least three months.

“Every day, across the United States, donated blood marks the difference between life and death. There is no substitute,” said Demings in a press release.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

“Yet our country turns away thousands of healthy and willing blood donors based solely on their gender identity and sexual orientation. This policy is based on fear, sigma, and prejudice, not science. Expanding the donor pool by hundreds of thousands of healthy Americans would save lives every day in emergency rooms and hospitals around the country.”

The introduced legislation requires FDA guidelines be based on an assessment of current testing accuracy and individual risk-based analysis, rather than categorization. It would also require the FDA to revise the donor questionnaire based on an individual risk assessment of sexual behaviors upon which all donors are evaluated equally, without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.

September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

“It’s time to move away from these archaic rules and ideologies,” Demings said. “When we know better, we should do better. By basing our medicine on science, we can maximize our donor pool while keeping our blood supply safe.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-5), who introduced the bill with Demings, echoed the Congresswoman’s call to end the discriminatory practice, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

“An arbitrary blanket ban, especially during a crisis, is simply unacceptable,” Quigley said in the press release. “This past year, awareness on this issue has continued to grow and this bill marks yet another important step in Congress’s fight for the full and equal treatment of all Americans.”

Dr. George A. Wallace, executive director for The LGBT+ Center Orlando, said he believes it is time for these laws to treat everyone equally.

“Through the continuation of enforcement of prohibiting blood donations by sexually active gay and bisexual men, stigmatization is still front and center and does not reflect the best science available,” Wallace said. “Modernization of the policy through the Science in Blood Donation Act of 2020 will ensure that the blood supply remains as safe as possible while maximizing the donor pool.”

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tampa bay news

City Side Lounge leads tampa bay LGBTQ bars in reopening Ryan Williams-Jent

T

AMPA | City Side Lounge, which has served Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ community since 1991, reopened its doors Sept. 2 after obtaining a food license.

Described as “your premiere LGBTQIA+ cocktail lounge,” City Side closed to the public June 26. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) suspended alcohol consumption in bars statewide that date, an order they rescinded Sept. 14.

James Encke, who became City Side’s owner in 2013, told Watermark in July that it felt as if the bar industry was being targeted. “The state closed the bars to combat COVID-19, yet they keep restaurants open,” he shared. “All the state has done is transfer our customers to another location.”

Encke subsequently announced that City Side had obtained a food license to reopen Sept. 2. “I know we’ve been closed for quite some time because of COVID, however, effective today … we will be reopening our doors.

“How is that possible, you may ask,” he continued.

“Well, we just qualified for our food license – so technically, we are now a restaurant … we’ve missed you and I hope you’ve missed us.”

City Side’s food menu includes pizza, hot dogs, chips, popcorn and nuts. For customers who do not wish to order food, Encke explains, a bag of chips is included with a drink as a combo. As the establishment now offers food, smoking will no longer be permitted inside.

Following its reopening, Encke thanks City Side patrons for their continued support. “On behalf of the entire staff of City Side Lounge, I want to thank everyone who came out tonight to help reopen OUR home,” he shared.

“I am truly grateful and most of all humbled by everyone for sticking with us,” Encke continued. “Thank you all again, you have no idea the amount of hope you have restored in me. Thank you all again.”

City Side’s entertainment options have also begun making their return, with COVID-19 safety precautions in place.

LGBTQ establishments throughout Tampa Bay followed City Side’s lead after DBPR’s announcement on Sept. 14, including Bradley’s on 7th in Ybor and Cristoph’s in Tampa. They each opened their doors with changes, announcing they will now be non-smoking and the latter will serve food.

Southern Nights Tampa followed, as did St. Petersburg’s Garage on Central Ave. Quench Lounge reopened Sept. 16 and Enigma St Pete shared it will reopen Nov. 1.

For more information about each establishment or COVID-19’s continued impact on the LGBTQ community of Tampa Bay, visit WatermarkOnline.com.

10

REBUILDING:

Karla Bello is seeking damages from Pinellas County after being jailed with male inmates for 11 days in 2019. PHOTO COURTESY KARLA BELLO

‘I Lost Hope’ Transgender woman jailed with male inmates seeks accountability Ryan Williams-Jent

T

AMPA BAY | A transgender woman is seeking damages and accountability from Pinellas County after she was jailed with male inmates for 11 days.

Karla Bello was held in Pinellas County Jail Nov. 29-Dec. 10, 2019.

A lawsuit filed Aug. 27 argues that Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and other officials violated her civil rights.

Bello was arrested for failing to appear before an area judge for a traffic citation. Court filings indicate the jail’s admission assessment identified her as transgender while her housing report indicated she was to be housed with male inmates.

Sheriff Gualtieri, who faces re-election Nov. 3, writes in the Pinellas County Jail Inmate Handbook that he is charged with the responsibility of maintaining the county’s facilities.

Its introduction advises inmates will not be discriminated against because of their gender and more.

“Under the policies, non-transgender people are able

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

to be assigned to jail housing according to their gender identity,” Bello’s lawsuit reads, “to access restrooms and other single-sex facilities consistent with their gender identity and to receive medical care with their gender identity.” Transgender inmates are prevented from doing so, it notes.

“They took everything from me,” Bello says. “They erased my identity.”

Bello says her hair extensions and bra were confiscated, as were color pencils she utilized as makeup to combat misgendering.

She was also denied access to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) as she lacked a prescription, which she had utilized for years to treat her gender dysphoria.

She became suicidal and was transferred to a psych ward, where officials confiscated her gaff, a gender-affirming undergarment.

“That moment was very painful for me,” Bello recalls. “I wasn’t able to treat my gender dysphoria. They weren’t helping me in any way to treat it.

“I lost hope,” she continues.

“I would have attempted suicide.

If I wouldn’t have been rescued

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on the 11th hour of the 11th day I don’t think that I would still be here.”

That’s when Bello met Rook Ringer, a managing attorney for Lento Law Group with a passion for civil rights. She heard about Bello’s imprisonment through a mutual friend and contacted Trans Mission Media, an advocacy group.

Ringer currently practices law out of St. Augustine and says cases like Bello’s were “the reason I went to law school. This is what I want to do.”

Trans Mission Media crowd-sourced Bello’s $513 bail and arranged for safe housing upon her release. “I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “The only thing I can say is that I’m grateful.

I could say thank you every single day because I shouldn’t be here.”

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has declined to comment on the pending litigation, which Bello says is about holding officials accountable. The jail “is supposed to be a rehabilitation facility,” she says. “It’s not supposed to leave someone wanting to end their life.

That’s what it did to me.”

Emotionally recovering from her experiences and having resumed HRT with a prescription, Bello stresses officials knew what they were doing.

“They just thought they could get away with it because no one would care,” she says. “This is the time to really speak out because I’m lucky I’m alive. It’s about dignity.”

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state news

Andrew Gillum comes out as bisexual Jeremy Williams

F

ormer Tallahassee mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum came out as bisexual in an interview with Tamron Hall.

The interview aired as the season two premiere of Hall’s syndicated talk show Sept. 14.

“I don’t identify as gay but I do identify as bisexual,” Gillum said, “and that is something I have never shared publicly before.”

Hall devoted the entire hour of her show to interviewing Gillum and his wife, R. Jai Gillum, who said during the interview that many people just don’t understand bisexuality.

The Hall interview is the first time Andrew Gillum has spoken publicly since an incident last March in a Miami hotel that involved Gillum, a friend and a drug overdose.

Gillum was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic days after the incident.

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South Florida Transgender Medical Conference celebrates 10 years Christiana Lilly of South Florida Gay News

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his year is a big one for the South Florida Transgender Medical Conference — it’s in its 10th year, it’s the first time partnering with Florida Atlantic University and it will be going virtual.

“First of all, we are total novices at virtual. But it is so important to continue this conference that we jumped at the chance,” says Jodi Reichman, founder and CEO of the South Florida Transgender Medical Consortium (SFTMC), which hosts the conference.

The two-day conference will be hosted via Zoom Sept. 17-18.

Aimed at educating the medical community on issues impacting transgender patients, workshops will cover topics including mental

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

health, trans and gender nonbinary youth, hormone therapy, sexual health screenings and more. Due to the time constraints of hosting the conference online, there will be 12 workshops as opposed to the typical 30.

This is also the first year that the conference will be partnering with Florida Atlantic University’s Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work. Originally, the consortium was looking to host the event at the school, but due to COVID-19, the event has moved online.

“I personally think that it’s just a really, really important topic for us to talk about,” says Sara Dochterman, the assistant director of the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work. “This is a community that is not served and not understood well enough yet,

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primarily from a lack of education by medical providers.”

Other collaborators include SunServe, Care Resource and the Pride Center, where Reichman is the transgender program coordinator. This year, there is also extra attention to trans youth. This includes trans youth on the autism spectrum, nonbinary identity and pediatric gender dysphoria.

There will also be a welcome speaker from FAU, but details have not been set yet. Every session will include a Q&A portion.

The conference was the brainchild of Reichman and the late Bishop S.F. Makalani-MaHee, who died in 2017. A Black trans man, he was a notable activist who worked with the Pride Center and the Broward County Department of Health.

nation+world news

Philippines deports Marine in trans killing Wire Report

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ANILA, Philippines | A U.S. Marine convicted of killing a Filipino transgender woman was deported Sept. 13 after a presidential pardon cut short his detention.

Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton said he was “extremely grateful” to President Rodrigo Duterte for pardoning him. He expressed his “most sincere sympathy” to the family of Jennifer Laude, who he was convicted of killing in 2014 in a motel northwest of Manila after finding out that she was transgender.

In his nearly six years of confinement, Pemberton said he spent “much time contemplating the many errors” he committed. “He wishes he had the words to express the depth of his sorrow and regret,” according to his lawyer.

Virginia Suarez, the Laude family’s lawyer, said in a statement

that she wishes Pemberton “peace of mind,” and hopes that he has learned “the value of life and dignity regardless of gender and nationality.”

Philippine immigration officers and American personnel escorted Pemberton from his cell in the main military camp in Manila to the airport, where he boarded a military aircraft. He was put on an immigration blacklist and will be banned from returning.

The U.S. Embassy said that “all legal proceedings in the case took place under Philippine jurisdiction and law,” and that “Pemberton fulfilled his sentence as ordered by Philippine courts.”

On Sept. 7, Duterte granted an “absolute and unconditional pardon” to Pemberton in a move that caught many by surprise. The Philippine leader has long been a vocal critic of U.S. security policies.

Duterte’s pardon was condemned

by LGBTQ groups.

Debate has brewed over whether the Marine, whose detention was arranged under the treaty allies’ Visiting Forces Agreement, or VFA, can be covered by a Philippine law that grants shorter jail terms to ordinary prisoners for good conduct.

The Regional Trial Court in Olongapo city, which handled Pemberton’s case, ruled that the law covers Pemberton and ordered authorities on Sept. 1 to release him early for good conduct. But Laude’s family and the Department of Justice separately appealed, blocking his early release from a maximum prison term of up to 10 years. Duterte said he granted the pardon because Pemberton was not treated fairly.

Pemberton, an anti-tank missile operator from New Bedford, Massachusetts, was one of thousands of American and Philippine military personnel who participated in joint exercises in the Philippines in 2014.

Trump administration supports religious school that fired teacher for being gay Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

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he Trump administration on Sept. 8 filed a legal brief with the Indiana Supreme Court, formally arguing a Catholic school has a First Amendment right to fire a teacher for entering into a same-sex marriage.

The 36-page brief was signed

by U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler for the Southern District of Indiana.

It asserts the Archdiocese of Indianapolis had a constitutional right to terminate Joshua Payne-Elliott from his job at Cathedral High School, despite contractual obligations he had.

Minkler makes his case based on legal principles under the First Amendment, which he says prevent a former Catholic high school

teacher from suing the archdiocese over his termination. “[T]he First Amendment right of expressive association protects the Archdiocese’s right not to associate with Cathedral, whose forced presence within the Archdiocese’s associational umbrella if it continued to employ Payne-Elliott as a teacher would interfere with the Archdiocese’s public expression of Church doctrine regarding marriage,” Minkler writes.

Much of the legal precedent on which Minkler bases his brief is the Supreme Court’s decision in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru. Although the ruling stopped short of defining the ministerial exemption under the First Amendment, it did assert a variety of factors can determine whether it applies to a Catholic school employee.

Minkler argues the decision, which sided with Catholic schools, applies to the case because the plaintiffs in both cases are teachers at schools that “entrusts a teacher

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with the responsibility of educating and forming students in the faith.”

He also cites in the legal brief guidance from former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in Oct. 2017 urging federal departments to accommodate in their policy and actions religious freedom.

Eric Dreiband, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, hailed the legal brief in a statement as an example of the Trump administration’s commitment to religious liberty.

According to the filing, the Cathedral High School where Payne-Elliott taught had initially declined to obey the directive from the archdiocese to terminate him after he entered into a same-sex marriage. However, after the archdiocese informed the school it must either fire Payne-Elliott or disassociate with the Catholic Church, the school decided to terminate him in June 2019. They called it an “agonizing decision, made after 22 months of earnest discussion.”

in other news LGBTQ-inclusive education laws take effect Five states and two counties in Maryland and Virginia have enacted LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum laws, with laws in New Jersey and Illinois going into effect this year. “We’re excited that LGBTQ students across the state are now guaranteed the opportunity to see themselves reflected in the classroom,” said Garden State Equality, an LGBTQ advocacy group in New Jersey. Equality Illinois, another LGBTQ advocacy group, shared they were proud to support the implementation. New Jersey and Illinois join California, Colorado and Oregon in requiring LBGTQ-inclusive content, a contrast to Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas which restrict it.

UK makes anti-LGBTQ PM trade envoy The British government appointed former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to serve on the U.K.’s Board of Trade, ignoring criticism of the politician’s views on LGBTQ rights, women and the environment.

Opposition politicians and LGBTQ rights groups had urged the government not to appoint him, citing his opposition to same-sex marriage, persistent allegations of sexism and statements downplaying the impact of climate change. A letter to the government signed by activists including “Lord of the Rings” star Ian McKellen, “Doctor Who” writer Russell T. Davies and the Pride in London festival said Abbott was “not fit to be representing the U.K. as our trade envoy.”

Arkansas leaders endorse hate crimes law

Community leaders in Arkansas on Sept. 2 endorsed an effort by lawmakers to enact a hate crimes law. Leaders in Harrison and surrounding Boone County signed resolutions denouncing bigotry and racism, urging state lawmakers to pass “substantive, comprehensive” hate crimes legislation. Gov. Asa Hutchinson and a bipartisan group of legislators unveiled a proposal to enhance penalties for crimes motivated by the victim’s race, religion, sexual orientation and other factors.

“I am hoping now that our community can come together,” Harrison Mayor Jerry Jackson said.

Indonesia police raid gay party Indonesian police detained dozens of men in a raid on a gay party at a hotel in Jakarta, police spokesperson Yusri Yunus said Sept. 2. Nine people suspected of organizing the gathering were arrested and 47 other participants were released. The nine are being charged under a pornography law which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine. Yunus added that police are still investigating to determine if others were involved. The United Nations Human Rights Council has called on Indonesian authorities to release people detained on the basis of their sexual orientation and combat anti-gay stigma in the country.

September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

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IfyouSex.org IfyouSex.org

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viewpoint

Nathan Bruemmer, JD

keeping it real

I

It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is ... looking at rainbows! t’s been a hard year.

We all feel it. And while we are all in this together, we all know that we’re not all riding out the storm in the same sized boat.

Personally, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. I’m angry about how long I’ve had to be angry.

It’s exhausting. But I’ve been a fighter since the first time someone tried to erase me by telling me I wasn’t really who I said I was. Frankly, that was when I was still knee-high to a grasshopper and I’m awfully tired of this seemingly never-ending fight for existence.

The exhaustion is not just because of the maelstrom defining 2020. It’s not just due to the courageously rising tide against racism and anti-Blackness in the United States, the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of climate change on our biosphere, nor the debilitating tension erupting from an overtly contentious political campaign season. No, it’s all of this and so much more.

But I am fighter. A stubborn, Irish lad who won’t settle into the status quo. Years ago, as a Catholic school student, I am quite sure the sisters weren’t very pleased with this trait of mine. There were even a few attempts to coax this stubbornness out of me with a ruler across the knuckles. Guess what? It didn’t work, and I’m grateful for its failure.

In the midst of some of the most challenging personal pain, anguish and heartbreak of my life this year – I continue to get riled up. As the clouds darkened through the spring and storms strengthened over the summer, my battered yet stubborn soul still wants to fight.

At some point in my life, I realized my fighting had transformed into advocacy. Or, at least I now talk about it in the polite way we talk about “the work.”

However, the gentle sound of the word “advocating” sometimes conceals and diminishes the anger and

exhaustion of many whose lifetime is spent “fighting” for survival.

Have I embraced or concealed my anger and exhaustion? Can I continue my fight to stop the marginalization, the violence and the erasure of so many during a year fraught with so much pain and grief? I don’t have the answer, but I know that before the social justice storms of 2020, too many people ignored the reality that many marginalized communities are still fighting for survival. Now as the squalls gather, I know I need more strength and hope if I am to respond to the most intense storms of my lifetime.

So, I continue to socially distance and take refuge at home, and I look for inspiration. I recently noticed a card on my bookshelf. This card says, “Ignore the rain, look for the rainbow.” This card is meaningful because it was given with love – and also because it’s so simply complex. I remember opening the card like it was yesterday.

As I read the beautiful sentiment years ago, I was instantly uplifted during a very challenging time. My emotional response to this simple statement reminded me to intellectually consider my perspective: to look for the good, even during the worst storms.

But how are we to do that? Earlier in the year, it seemed impossible to even gather the strength to put on real pants. While many hoped we would be sprinting back to normalcy, it has become clear that this struggle has morphed into a marathon. I realized I wasn’t ready; I never trained for this sort of thing. Or had I? As I work from home, day after day and week after week, the simple message on the card continues to demand my attention.

Actually, the message – written in rainbow glitter – sparkles and shimmers whenever sunlight comes

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

through the window, and so it beckons me with a subtle happy rainbow. With time to kill between Zoom calls, I often ponder on the meaning of this simple message and quickly lose myself in a labyrinth of over-analysis.

Can we ignore this

Rainbows have been a beacon of hope since the dawn of time. We look at them as young children with awe and wonderment.

Later we learn about prisms and the science of light reflecting through water droplets. It’s no wonder Gilbert Baker was inspired

Some march. Some fight.

Each are rainbows.

They rise from the rain to bring joy and hope for a brighter future. These simple homages to our collective actions provide encouragement to those who continue to fight for survival and acknowledge those who

metaphoric yet tumultuous storm of 2020? Of course not. We are writing history, yet we understand that these social justice storms are not a unique phenomenon. Our history tells us there are people who will always choose to keep the storms brewing. This is clear from the overwhelming deluge of negativity in our news cycle of death, violence and vitriol. And yet, there are still rainbows.

by this symbolism in 1978 for our LGBTQ+ movement.

Rainbows are simple and yet so complex.

We also learn that there cannot be rainbows without a little rain. In the midst of every storm, I see rainbows when people show up for one another in the ways that they can. Some donate time. Some donate money.

Some are listening. Some are learning. Some advocate.

have lost that fight. In these uncertain times, we must be brave enough to keep looking for the rainbows.

Or better yet – show up and become the rainbow.

Our history tells us there are people who will always choose to keep the storms brewing.

Nathan Bruemmer is the vice president of St Pete Pride and former executive director of ALSO Youth. He was named one of Tampa Bay’s Most Remarkable People for his advocacy.

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viewpoint

Maia Monet

Trans of thought A lamb in favor of lamb chops

T

his is not my first

column of 2020, but that is only because in early January, I wrote a “Good Riddance to 2019” piece where I recounted some of the awful things that happened last year.

Of course, that was back in the blissfully naive days before 2020 said “hold my beer” and showed all of us exactly how bad a year could be. To my credit, I did end that piece by saying that 2020 didn’t look very promising, but that was because I anticipated a Supreme Court decision that would strip trans people of legal employment protections, and Trump’s reelection prospects looked very promising.

That being said, nobody, save for possibly Bill Gates, foresaw a crippling and deadly worldwide pandemic or the economic calamity in which we find ourselves today. If the polls are to be believed, these events, along with his reaction to police murdering Black people and the resulting Black Lives Matter protests, combined with scandals too numerous to recount in my 900 word limit, have exposed Trump to a majority of voters as the self-interested buffoon we on the left always knew him to be.

The results of his indifference and incompetence have been nothing short of tragic. Yet, despite proving over and over again that he is no ally, mysteriously, he still has his supporters in the LGBTQ+ community.

The delusion that Trump’s LGBTQ+ supporters have that it is down to their dubious ability to be a free-thinker and see “both sides” that escapes the majority of the queer community, would be funny if it didn’t have such dire consequences. Just because a person questions a rational group consensus does not mean they are somehow more liberated. It is probably more indicative that they are a white binary gay person who has largely remained unscathed during a fascist administration that, in reality, has also tried unsuccessfully to take them down. Being a contrarian

in the face of overwhelming evidence, just makes them a useful fool oblivious to their own privilege, and a dangerous one at that. It takes a special kind of lack of self-awareness to be a lamb in favor of lamb chops.

Trump has fostered a cult ideology modeled on organized crime that prizes unquestioning loyalty above all, and blinds its queer followers to the fact that his administration in no way supports the LGBTQ+ community. It’s easier to remain blind than to face a scary reality that he has come for everyone, except them, so far. They cling to a Trump photo op where he once held a Pride Flag, if upside down. They claim he is the most gay-friendly Republican president just because he says it is so, which is both questionable and a very low bar.

In truth, his policies have especially singled out the trans community. This year alone, his Department of Health and Human Services attempted to roll back regulations protecting trans people from discrimination in healthcare and defining gender as a matter of policy to be based only on biological sex at birth. His Department of Education is attempting to implement a policy against the inclusion of trans kids in school athletics. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is attempting to implement a policy allowing shelters to legally turn away trans homeless people. We also mustn’t forget that he directed his Department of Justice lawyers last year to argue at the Supreme Court, that case law extending trans people protections on the basis of sex discrimination was unconstitutional. This was the case I presumed would lead to a negative decision for the trans community in 2020, but in a surprising bright spot in this dumpster fire of a year, actually resulted in a resounding and far reaching victory.

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To not care about these attempts at trans discrimination speaks to an astounding level of selfishness, which not coincidentally, mirrors the values of Trump himself.

Quite a slap in the face to the memory of trans activists Marsha P. Johnson

simultaneously attempted to strip those same protections from gay people in a separate case he also lost. Like I said, he is coming for all of us.

In my lifetime, I have seen many government administrations do terrible things to the LGBTQ+ community. From Reagan

cruelty by espousing it as policy. That is not something I say either lightly or without careful consideration. Come November, I hope we are able to end multiple national nightmares by resoundingly sweeping him and his enablers out of office, but if we don’t, those of you in

and Sylvia Rivera on whose sacrifice rests the very rights that allow for this callous self-interest. However, what should at least alarm the rest of the LGBTQ+, even if his supporters within our community won’t acknowledge it for what it means, is that he

allowing scores to die of AIDS rather than acknowledge a public health crisis primarily affecting American gay men, to Clinton legally defining marriage as only between one man and woman by signing DOMA. Frankly, all of it is indefensible, but Donald Trump purposely promotes

the queer community who voted for him will deserve what you get.

Trump has fostered a cult ideology modeled on organized crime that prizes unquestioning loyalty above all, and blinds its queer followers to the fact that his administration in no way supports the LGBTQ+ community.

Melody Maia Monet has her own YouTube channel where she answers lesbian and transgender life questions you are afraid to ask. You can find it at YouTube.com/MelodyMaia.

Michael B. Swindle Attorney at Law 407-246-1114

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COVID-19 resources

Tampa Bay

Central Florida

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

Pinellas Cares Fund | PCED.org/Cares Pinellas County is providing relief for individuals, families and businesses. Financial assistance for overdue rent, mortgage and utility bills up to $5,000 per household for those who lost their job or significant income is now available. Text COVIDCARES to 898211 or call 211 to begin the process. Applications will be processed weekdays from 7 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Rapid Response Recovery Assistance Program (R3) | R3.HCFLGov.net

Central Florida LGBTQ+ Relief Fund OneOrlandoAlliance.org/COVID-19

Hillsborough County is accepting applications to assist local small businesses and county residents directly impacted by the COVID-19. Financial assistance was created by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners to direct funds to provide immediate relief, long-term community health and stability, and a full and robust recovery.

The Central Florida LGBTQ+ Relief Fund is meant to assist Orlando area LGBTQ+ community members who are most in need as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. For inquiries regarding this resource, please contact the fund’s Steering Committee at LGBTQReliefFund@gmail.com. You can also visit the website above to review the relief fund’s resource guide — available both in English and Spanish — for more information on navigating the crisis.

FOOD/HEALTHCARE/SERVICE RESOURCES 211 Tampa Bay Cares 211TampaBay.org | 727-210-4211

Feeding Tampa Bay FeedingTampaBay.org | 813-254-1190

Call 211 from any phone or text your zip code to 898211 for help with housing, food, child care, suicide prevention, health care, disaster planning and much more.

Offering mobile pantries, meals, a market, senior grocery resources, homebound help and more.

Hours, sites and locations vary. Some locations are closing without advance notice to adhere to regulations, call for up to date information.

CAN Community Health CANCommunityHealth.org 941-366-0134

Metro Inclusive Health MetroTampaBay.org | 727-321-3854

Use computers or mobile devices to access health care services remotely and manage health care needs. For detailed information about Telehealth and more, visit their website.

Receive access to primary care, counseling, hormone replacement therapy and PrEP via Telehealth. To schedule an appointment, dial ext.

1575. For virtual programming, visit their website.

TESTING SITES COVID-19 and antibody testing is available at locations throughout Tampa Bay. AFC Clearwater offers testing by appointment only 9 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends. No appointments needed for testing 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at AFC Pinellas Park, 7101 U.S. Hwy. 19 N. in Pinellas Park; AFC Seminole, 11241 Park Blvd. Ste. A in Seminole and AFC Tyrone/St. Petersburg, 2241 66th St. N. in St. Petersburg.

N. 22nd St. in Tampa; the Plant City Community Resource Center at 307 N. Michigan Ave. in Plant City; Redeemer Lutheran Church at 701 Valley Forge Blvd. in Sun City Center; the SouthShore Community Resource Center at 201 14th Ave. SE in Ruskin; Suncoast Community Health Center at 313 S. Lakewood Dr. in Brandon; the Wimauma Opportunity Center at 5128 Florida St. Rd. 674 in Wimauma and Tampa Family Health Centers, Inc. at 12085 W. Hillsborough Ave. Vehicles are not required for testing at any of these sites

BayCare| BayCare.org/Coronavirus 1-800-BayCare

Mahaffey Theater COVID19.PinellasCounty.org

BayCare’s drive-thru sites serve patients with a doctor’s referral or those who are symptomatic.

Testing sites include Gulfview Square Mall at 9409 U.S. Hwy. 19 in Port Richey weekdays from 8-11 a.m. and Ruth Eckerd Hall at 1111 McMullen Booth Rd. in Clearwater Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7-10 a.m.

Drive-thru is available regardless of symptoms Tuesdays-Saturdays from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. at 400 1st St. S. in St. Petersburg. No appointment is required and no more than four people per vehicle. Check Twitter.com/HealthyPinellas for details.

AFC Urgent Care | AFCUrgentCare.com

Community Health Centers CHCPinellas.org | 727-824-8181 Testing is available a walk-in or drive-up only. It is available 5-8 p.m. at the Pinellas Park Center at 7550 43rd St. N. in Pinellas Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays; Clearwater Center at 707 Druid Rd. E. in Clearwater Thursdays and the Johnnie Ruth Clarke Center at 1344 22nd St. S. in St. Petersburg on Wednesdays. Visit their website for potential changes.

Hillsborough County Government HillsboroughCounty.org |888-513-6321 Residents can schedule an appointment weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Appointments are required and testing hours vary. Testing sites include the Lee Davis Community Resource Center at 3402

Raymond James Stadium RaymondJamesStadium.com 888-513-6321 This site is located at 4201 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. in Tampa. Appointments are required and testing is drive-up only. Residents can schedule an appointment online or by calling the number above weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sarasota County | SCGov.net 941-861-2883 Drive-thru testing is available at the University Town Center Mall at 299 University Town Center Dr. Testing is conducted daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or until capacity is reached. No appointment needed.

State-run, walk-up testing is also available at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex at 1845 34th St. Call weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

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Bounce Back Orlando BounceBackOrlando.com 321-800-3946 The Pride Chamber’s Bounce Back Orlando is a directory of LGBTQ small businesses in Orlando and the surrounding metro that are open. If you own a small business in the Greater Orlando Metro area you can register your business at the website free of charge.

CareerSource Central Florida (CSCF) CareerSourceCentralFlorida.com/ Coronavirus-Support |800-757-4598

CSCF is providing virtual reemployment assistance for those who have lost their job due to COVID-19.

CSCF can assist you in filling out the Department of Economic Opportunity application online. The CSCF has reopened with limited in-person appointments.

For your safety, masks will be required for all in-person appointments and temperature checks will be done.

United Way of Central Florida (UWCF) UWCF.org | 2-1-1 The United Way of Central Florida (UWCF) is assisting those impacted by COVID-19 with food needs, paying bills and other essential services. Call 2-1-1 to speak to a UWCF representative who can help you if you are in need.

FOOD/HEALTH CARE/SERVICE RESOURCES Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida | FeedHopeNow.org Residents in need of food assistance can visit Second Harvest Food Bank’s online food locator to find a list of feeding partners near their residency. Visit the Second Harvest website to verify location and hours, and call ahead before heading to the location.

SNAP assistance may also be available for you. Call 407-295-2777 Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. for more information.

Aspire Health Partners AspireHealthPartners.com 407-875-3700, ext. 2 Aspire Health Partners is offering a dedicated line to assist residents with mental health concerns related to COVID-19. Residents can call the helpline to be connected with a mental health professional by calling the number above.

Feed the Need Florida Facebook.com/FeedTheNeedFL

Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida | https://bit.il/hcclinic 352-509-9865

Feed the Need Florida, a Central Florida food-aid group led by the 4Roots nonprofit and sponsored by 4 Rivers, is providing free drive-thru meals for all local arts, entertainment and theme park workers every Friday in July from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at The Plaza Live, located at 425 N. Bumby Ave. In Orlando.

For more information, visit FeedTheNeedFL.org or the group’s Facebook page listed above.

Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida is offering assistance with medical care document planning to qualified individuals. If you qualify for assistance, you will meet virtually with an attorney that will go over, and draft, the best documents for you. Service examples include designating a healthcare surrogate, designating a pre-need guardian and creating a living will. Services are by appointment only.

TESTING SITES Orange County Government OCFL.net/COVID19 City of Orlando | Orlando.gov/ COVID19Testing | 407-246-3104 Orange County has a non-mobile testing site at the Orange County Convention Center daily, starting at 9 a.m. until the daily limit is reached with no appointment needed. Testing at this site is open to all Central Florida residents, no symptoms required.

You must be 18 or older with a photo ID. The City of Orlando has mobile drive-thru testing every Wednesday, rotating to a new location in the city on each operating day. Locations will be announced on a rolling basis. Testing is free of charge. Appointments are required and can be book online or by phone. Testing is available to Orlando residents who are 18 years of age or older and you do not have to be exhibiting symptoms to be tested.

September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

Testing is available at the following health centers by appointment only: Community Health Centers located at 210 E. 7th St. in Apopka and 840 Mercy Dr. In Orlando. Call 407-905-8827 to make appointment at either location.

Testing is available at the following health centers as walk-in and by appointment: True Health Centers located at 6101 Lake Ellenor Dr. in Orlando, 5449 S. Semoran Blvd. in Orlando, 5730 Lake Underhill Rd. in Orlando and 11881-A E. Colonial Dr. in Orlando.

Testing is available Mon.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-6 p.m. and Fri., 8 a.m.-12 p.m.

UCF, in partnership with AventusBiolabs, has a non-mobile testing site available by appointment only at its main campus. For more information, visit AventusBiolabs.com.

OneBlood is testing all blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies. For more information, visit OneBlood.org/donate-now.

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talking points

Wear a mask. It’s a sign of respect.

Since the start of the

COVID-19 pandemic,

14% of the

general population

have taken a pay cut.

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—Lady Gaga during an acceptance speech at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards

Niecy Nash surprises with wedding to singer Jessica Betts

A

ctor and comedian Niecy Nash surprised fans with a weekend wedding to singer Jessica Betts. Nash and Betts posted Twitter and Instagram photos Aug. 31 of their outdoor marriage ceremony in a lush garden setting. Nash, whose legal first name is Carol, captioned the photo “Mrs. Carol Denise Betts,” adding a rainbow emoji and the hashtag “#LoveWins.”

“I got a whole Wife,” Betts wrote in her own caption. The couple had kept their relationship under wraps, and the revelation of the ceremony also served as a coming out for Nash, who had not publicly been in a relationship with a woman before. “#PlotTwist,” she wrote in another Instagram post with a photo of herself and Betts, along with a rainbow emoji. Nash’s divorce from husband Jayson Tucker was finalized in March. Nash, 50, is known for her roles on the television series “Reno 911,” “Never Have I Ever” and “Claws.”

LGBTQ people of color

have had their work hours reduced, compared to 29% of white LGBTQ people and 24% of the general population, due to the COVID-19

pandemic.

— Human Rights Campaign survey

‘Star Trek’ introduces nonbinary, trans characters

V

iacomCBS announced Sept. 2 that the forthcoming third season of “Star Trek: Discovery” will introduce nonbinary and transgender characters, a first in the sci-fi franchise’s more than 50-year history. “Star Trek: Discovery” launched on the network’s streaming platform CBS All Access in 2017 and introduced the franchise’s first same-sex couple. Season three will introduce Adira, a nonbinary character played by nonbinary performer Blu del Barrio, and Gray, a trans character played by Ian Alexander who will be the first openly trans Asian-American person to act on TV. “Star Trek: Discovery” season three premieres on CBS All Access Oct. 15.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Lily Tomlin to be honored by Matthew Shepard Foundation

T

he Matthew Shepard Foundation announced Aug. 26 that legendary comedian Lily Tomlin and her wife Jane Wagner are the recipients of the organization’s 2020 Making A Difference Award. Tomlin is an award-winning actress with hit films like “9 to 5,” “Nashville,” “All of Me” and “The Incredible Shrinking Woman.” Tomlin currently stars opposite Jane Fonda in the hit Netflix series “Grace and Frankie.”

Wagner is an award-winning writer, director and producer. Tomlin and Wagner met in 1971 and married in 2013. Tomlin and Wagner will be recognized at the Matthew Shepard Foundation’s annual gala Oct. 10.

The gala, titled “Rising Together,” will be a live-streamed, virtual event. For more information, visit MatthewShepard.org/Gala.

September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

Kate McKinnon to play Carole Baskin in series for NBC

“S

aturday Night Live” star Kate McKinnon will play Carole Baskin, rival to Joseph Maldonado-Passage who sought to shut down his for-profit breeding of big cats. The conflict became a pop culture sensation with Netflix’s “Tiger King.” The limited series will be based on the Wondery podcast “Joe Exotic,” NBCUniversal said Aug. 24. It’s planned for release across the NBC broadcast network, cable’s USA channel and the recently launched Peacock streaming service. McKinnon will also serve as executive producer for the show with the working title of “Joe Exotic,” Maldonado-Passage’s nickname. The Joe Exotic role has yet to be cast. Production and release dates were not announced.

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Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival entertains and evolves

S

Ryan Williams-Jent

kipping the 31st annual Tampa

Photo courtesy TIGLFF

Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (TIGLFF) was never an option for President Rob Akins. The cinematic celebration marked 30 years of empowering and enlightening LGBTQ and ally audiences in 2019, a testament to its widespread support, and organizers saw COVID-19 as the latest in three decades’ worth of obstacles TIGLFF had overcome to ensure its continued success.

With the coronavirus restricting or completely prohibiting in-person gatherings of the festival’s traditional size – a necessity to help mitigate its impact on Tampa Bay that forced LGBTQ staples like Tampa and St Pete Pride to postpone until 2021 – it was clear that TIGLFF would have to evolve. That process began in May with the launch of its virtual platform TIGLFF Online, which in a festival first will stream this year’s features statewide and its shorts across the nation Oct. 2-18.

Moving forward this year was important to Akins, who has long understood TIGLFF’s cultural impact.

He first attended as a filmgoer in 1997, experiencing its carefully cultivated selection of films by and for the LGBTQ community firsthand before joining its board in 2004.

He returned to TIGLFF after a hiatus in 2018, chairing its events and subsequently serving as vice president through the celebration’s landmark anniversary last year.

That dedication prepared him to lead this year’s 31st festival into unprecedented virtual territory with another change: TIGLFF’s first new director of programming in nine years.

Continued on pg. 25 | uu |

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statewide features OCT. 2–3 OPENING NIGHT: “PORT AUTHORITY” (2019, USA) Drama, Romance | 94 Mins.

This love story set in New York’s ballroom scene follows Paul and Wye, pictured on p. 23. When Paul discovers Wye is trans, he is forced to confront his own identity.

OCT. 3–17 “AHEAD OF THE CURVE” (2020, USA) Documentary, Lesbian | 98 Mins.

An inspirational tribute to the fascinating life and career of Franco Stevens, creator of the lesbian magazine Curve.

“BREAKING FAST” (2020, USA) Comedy, Drama | 92 Mins.

Mo, a practicing Muslim living in West Hollywood, meets Kal, an All-American guy who surprises him.

“DREAMARAMA” (2020, USA) Comedy, Drama | 91 Mins.

center stage: Centerpiece film “Stage Mother” stars Jackie Weaver (L) as a conservative Texan woman who inherits her late son’s San Francisco drag club. She soon mothers his boyfriend, played by Adrian Grenier. photo via

something? I want TIGLFF to be an organization that’s here in 60 years.”

This year’s virtual festival was a | uu | Full Stream Ahead key part of laying that groundwork. from pg.23 “The pandemic started and well, we TIGLFF announced the addition just didn’t have a choice,” Akins of film aficionado Derek Horne in explains. “It was either we try to May, just days before its launch of go virtual or we don’t do anything – TIGLFF Online. A native of Sarasota and I just really didn’t see that as an and a self-described “theme-ooption. We started researching and holic,” the programmer’s first foray then Derek came on board with his into the festival world began as a ‘baptism-by-fire’ experience with volunteer at Sundance Film Festival Annapolis Film Festival.” in 1998, which today he calls “a The long-running Maryland gateway drug.” event was one of the first in the “I was always curious about country to transition to a virtual the behind-the-scenes decision festival in response to COVID-19. making that went into selecting or Horne oversaw its programming rejecting a film,” Horne explains.

March 26-29 and helped ensure “My curiosity got the better of me its success. and I had to see the other side, so “The Annapolis community had I finally quit my job to pursue film been looking forward to the festival festival programming full time.” in March and we didn’t want to Akins says he saw the changes let them down,” he recalls. “They this year, “all of them unexpected,” were grateful to have something to as an opportunity for the festival to do in the early days of quarantine meet the moment. “Just reaching … But also the filmmakers were 30 years is a huge success,” he unanimously appreciative and reflects. “I think of TIGLFF as a relieved that we did not cancel. great cultural asset. Times have “For TIGLFF, we thought it was changed with equality for the better, important to honor the filmmakers though we still have a ways to go, who had already spent money on and things have changed with how the entry fees to submit their films people consume their movies – to this year’s festival and I did not but the fact that we’re still going want to delay their distribution says a lot about our support from plans by making them wait another the community. year,” Horne continues. “We also “Part of my goal as president was did not want to have a lapse in our to be able to leave the organization long-running festival history by better than when I found it,” he skipping a year.” continues. “Otherwise, why do

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

momentum pictures

Quality content strengthened the decision. This year’s TIGLFF will feature 60 films from 19 countries. It includes 21 feature length films and 39 shorts, presented in six diverse collections.

“I was pleased to find that the pandemic did not have an adverse effect on the quality of films we have to present this year,” Horne says. “In fact, judging from the high caliber of films, I would almost say that queer cinema is having a renaissance and crossing over into the mainstream … I made a conscientious effort to focus on both diversity and quality and was heartened to find that those two things are not mutually exclusive.”

“During these challenging times we are excited that technology allows TIGLFF to bring our audience the 31st festival virtually,” Akins says. “The program will provide some much needed distraction from the challenges of the day.”

To watch this year’s selections, filmgoers will need to access TIGLFF Online via Eventive.

The screening platform bills itself as “the most flexible and comprehensive virtual cinema solution,” delivering “the one virtual cinema package with security, rights management, integrated ticketing, visibility and accountability built in.”

Five high school theater friends dress up in costumes for one final murder mystery party before leaving for college.

“ELLIE & ABBIE (& ELLIE’S DEAD AUNT)” (2020, Australia) Comedy, Fantasy | 80 Mins.

Move over, Cinderella: this LGBTQ fairytale belongs to Ellie, who struggles to ask out the girl of her dreams.

“LATTER DAY JEW” (2019, USA) Documentary | 71 Mins.

Writer-comedian H. Alan Scott, a gay man from a Midwestern Mormon family who converted to Judaism, prepares for his Bar Mitzvah.

“MAKING SWEET TEA” (2019, USA) Documentary | 90 Mins.

E. Patrick Johnson, a Black, gay researcher, travels home and across the country to come to terms with his past.

“A SKELETON IN THE CLOSET” Comedy, Drama, Foreign | 103 Mins.

A loving family’s layers of prejudice and pride unravel as they come out, come of age and come around.

“TRANFORMISTAS” (2020, Cuba) Documentary, Drag, Foreign | 84 Mins.

This covert film contrasts the struggles that different generations of drag queens have faced in Cuba.

“YOUNG HUNTER” Drama, Foreign, Thriller | 101 Mins.

A young man eager to have sex with another man gets involved with a manipulative and exploitative porn plot.

OCT. 9–10 CENTERPIECE FILM: “STAGE MOTHER” (2019, Canada) Comedy, Drag, Drama | 91 Mins.

A conservative church choir director inherits her late son’s San Francisco drag club. Once she gets over her shock at opening up Pandora’s Box, she ends up mothering all of the drag queens, her son’s boyfriend and his B.F.F.

Continued on pg. 27 | uu |

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25

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statewide Features, Cont.

OCT. 10–17 “ALICE JUNIOR” (2020, Brazil) Comedy, Drama, Foreign | 87 Mins.

Alice Junior is a high octane social media influencer and trans girl who wins over small-minded bullies.

“BARE” (2020, Belgium) Documentary, Foreign | 91 Mins.

11 male dancers bare their bodies and souls for famed Belgian choreographer Thierry Smits’ “Nudity is Beautiful.”

“GIVE OR TAKE” (2020, USA) Comedy, Drama | 103 Mins.

When a disillusioned New Yorker’s father dies, he goes home to Cape Cod and prepares the house for sale while sharing it with his father’s late-in-life, live-in boyfriend.

“MINIYAN” (2020, USA) Drama | 118 Mins.

Dynamic duo: In “Disruptor Conductor,” one of the “Role Reversal” shorts, openly gay conductor Daniel

Bartholomew-Poyser (L) pairs with “Drag Race” alum Thorgy Thor to create live music for all audiences. Photo Courtesy tiglff

| uu | Full Stream Ahead from pg.25

Horne says TIGLFF chose Eventive because “it had the best technology, the most user-friendly interface and the most flexibility for us to be able to retain control of our programming.” The festival began intermittently utilizing it for screenings in May to great success.

“We’ve had viewers from Pensacola to Key West to Jacksonville to places I had to look up on a map,” Akins says. “It’s just one of the ways that we’re actually growing, taking these opportunities to introduce TIGLFF to others who may not have something like this in their community.”

Virtual patrons from throughout Florida can view this year’s feature films by purchasing individual tickets for $10, a four-pack for $32 or an all-access festival pass for $100, with only one required per household. The passes will be linked to whichever email address they use to create a free Eventive account and make their purchases.

Similarly, viewers from across the nation can access this year’s collections of short films.

“One of the benefits with online festivals is that you can reach a wider audience nationally and many of the filmmakers who normally wouldn’t be able to fly into town for the festival can now experience the program remotely,” Horne says.

Offering the shorts nationwide “will hopefully encourage more audience members to check out an often over-looked part of film festival programs,” he continues.

“They are my favorite part of a film festival and are so much fun to curate, especially when they inspire creative theme programs … TIGLFF has been a lifeline for my artistic expression as a curator.”

Passes allow you to unlock a film or shorts program one time.

Once a viewer begins playing their selection they will have 24 hours to complete their screening from their personal computer, mobile device or home entertainment system featuring Apple TV, Roku or a Smart TV with AirPlay or Chromecast.

Features like rewinding or restarting will be active throughout each screening’s “watch window.”

The majority of films will intentionally be available for multiple days, giving audiences more opportunities to experience them. This year’s festival has been expanded to 16 days for that same reason, with half of its slate premiering during TIGLFF’s first week and the rest during its second.

In traditional TIGLFF fashion, this year’s opening night, centerpiece and closing night films will only be available for respective 24-hour periods. Horne says he chose each feature based on its “quality, variety and trying to represent all the letters in the LGBTQ acronym.”

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

“Port Authority” kicks off this year’s festival Oct. 2-3, which Horne describes as “a fitting opener as it’s a high-caliber film that really celebrates diversity.”

A modern twist on “Romeo and Juliet,” the film is led by Leyna Bloom – the first transgender actress to star in a competition film at the Cannes Film Festival. It was executive produced by film legend Martin Scorsese, whose work includes “Goodfellas,” “The Wolf on Wall Street” and more.

“The NYC Port Authority is a mecca dedicated to getting people where they need to go,” its official synopsis reads, “but when Paul, a young Midwestern probation dodger with a damaged past and a chip on his shoulder, first arrives here – he’s got nowhere to go. His desperate search for a sense of belonging finds him reluctantly working for crooked movers who prey on the poor. But he is also secretly in love with Wye, a young trans woman whose tight-knit band of kiki ballroom performers exude the love, excitement and stability he craves.”

In a fortunate turn of events, TIGLFF will host the film’s U.S. premiere. “I couldn’t believe my luck when I discovered that it had yet to screen in the U.S.,” Horne says. “We are proud to host it and I am now actively recommending it to other festival programmers

A closeted, gay student moves in with his grandfather in a Jewish religious center where the two worlds collide.

“STEELERS: THE WORLD’S FIRST GAY RUGBY CLUB” (2020, UK) Documentary, Sports | 80 Mins.

Come for the eye candy of hunky rugby players and their spunky lesbian coach – stay for the meaningful stories, exciting tournaments and the surprising drag show.

OCT. 14–17 “FIRST BLUSH” (2020, USA) Comedy, Drama | 105 Mins.

When a young married couple becomes involved with another woman, they learn to navigate the emotional intricacies of a polyamorous relationship.

“SURVIVING THE SILENCE” (2019, USA) Documentary | 79 Mins.

Col. Patsy Thompson and wife Barbara reveal how they hid their relationship for years to preserve her military career.

OCT. 15–17 UNSOUND (2020, Australia) Drama, Romance | 103 Mins.

There’s a silent synchronicity on the screen when Noah, a disillusioned musician, returns home for some soul searching and falls for Finn, a deaf trans DJ.

“WHO’S ON TOP: LGBTQ’S SUMMITT MT. HOOD” (2020, USA) Documentary, Sports | 80 Mins.

Narrated by George Takei, vicariously experience the thrills, the chills and the drills of mountain-climbing in this cinematic metaphor for triumph and transcendence.

OCT. 17–18 CLOSING NIGHT FILM: “TWO OF US (DEUX)” (2019, France) Romance, Foreign, Thriller | 99 Mins.

Nina and Madeleine have hidden their deep and passionate love for many decades, but their bond is put to the test when they are suddenly unable to move freely between each other’s apartments.

Continued on pg. 29 | uu |

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nationwide Shorts collections OCT. 3–17 #1: “RITES OF PASSAGE” Comedy, Drama | 93 Mins. Total “TAKE ME TO PROM” (2019, Canada) LGBTQ people ages 17-88 share years of social progress.

THE BRA MITZVAH (2020, USA) Becca is about to have her Bat Mitzvah.

“UNHAPPY BIRTHDAY” (2020, USA) Bea finds herself having an unexpected epiphany.

“ELLE” (2020 USA) Elle finds herself in love with her best girl friend.

“LAST SUMMER WITH UNCLE IRA” (2020, USA) Closeted teenager Daniel spends time with his dying uncle.

community addition: Following this year’s festival, TIGLFF will hold their first Tampa Bay Transgender Film Festival Nov. 20-22 in partnership with St Pete Pride. Its will feature the documentary “Out Loud.” Photo courtesy tiglff

| uu | Full Stream Ahead from pg.27

… I really want this film to get the exposure it deserves.”

TIGLFF’s first half of films will follow Oct. 3-17, including this year’s first three collections of shorts. “Rites of Passage,” which features six entries, is described as a program celebrating “those special occasions that leave indelible impressions on a life’s journey from adolescence to adulthood.”

“Wildest Dreams” features seven films examining “sexy, sensual, surreal and silly journeys into the subconscious.” The third collection, “Mixed Signals,” offers eight films described as “sly and sardonic shorts” that “prove technology can’t improve our relationships when it comes to the confusion spawned by human flaws in communication.”

TIGLFF’s centerpiece film, available Oct. 9-10, will be an encore screening of “Stage Mother.”

TIGLFF Online successfully hosted the film Aug. 15, drawing hundreds of viewers.

Horne chose to introduce the film to an even wider audience during TIGLFF 31 because “it has an uplifting message of triumph over tragedy which seems to be a central theme for our festival that is soldiering on despite all the challenges of this year.” Placing it at the festival’s center also allows those who may have already watched it to enjoy other films.

“Stage Mother” stars Jackie Weaver (“Silver Linings

Playbook”) as a conservative, Texas church-choir director named Maybelline. She inherits her recently deceased son’s drag club and, in a surprise move to San Francisco, fights to save it from bankruptcy. In the process she becomes a mother figure to a cast that includes Lucy Liu (“Kill Bill”), Adrian Grenier (“The Devil Wears Prada”) and drag superstar Jackie Beat. “‘Stage Mother’ is a comedy with emotional resonance,” Director Thom Fitzgerald says. “I bring to the production some firsthand knowledge of both the drag world and the struggle of a religious mother who came to terms with her son’s alternative sexuality.

Maybelline’s journey of growing closer to her estranged son, posthumously, echoes my own experience … Like Maybelline, I’m also a bit of a diva who broke free of the church choir, ran away from home and then used what I learned in church to mount an entertaining show.”

“I have been in love with ‘Stage Mother’ since I saw its world premiere in January,” Horne says.

“I couldn’t wait to share it with our audience when it finally got released in August.” As an added bonus, its festival screening will include a Q&A with the film’s talent.

The festival’s second half of features includes two films limited to an Oct. 14-17 window and another two limited to Oct. 15-17.

The majority of films, including three additional shorts collections, will stream Oct. 10-17.

The first, “Desperate Measures,” includes five shorts. “When up

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

against formidable odds, these truth-seekers discover that the ultimate battle is waged within their own minds and, to win a sense of peace, they must out-maneuver themselves,” it’s described.

“Identity Crisis” features eight shorts. “It’s not me – it’s YOU,” its description reads. “These perceptive shorts show that sometimes the only identity crisis that’s going on is the one that’s happening in someone else’s judgmental mind.”

“Role Reversal” highlights five inspiring documentaries featuring “change-making role models using their ingenuity and integrity to disrupt the status quo and help define a ‘new normal.’” It includes the 42-minute “Disruptor Conductor” starring Black, openly gay conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Thorgy Thor.

The virtual format lends itself to the shorts program in particular, Horne says. “If someone sees a short film they don’t like, they can just skip to the next one as opposed to being stuck in a movie theater watching one they don’t like.”

He doesn’t necessarily believe audiences will be inclined to, however. “I think they are all so good,” he says. “All of these films can be universally relatable or enjoyable on some level and were loved by many different members of our diverse screening committee.”

This year’s TIGLFF will close Oct. 17-18 with the French romance and dark comedy “Two of Us,” or “Deux” in its native language. Horne calls Continued on pg. 31 | uu |

“THE PASSING” (2020, UK) A mortician encounters the most difficult job of her career.

#2: “WILDEST DREAMS” Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi | 98 Mins. Total “CC DANCES THE GO-GO” (2020, USA) At the local Go-Go bar, Nicky encounters her dream woman.

“KIKO’S SAINTS” (2019, France) A Japanese illustrator finds her inspiration by spying.

“THE LONELY PRINCE” (2020, India) A lonely prince invites a Sculptor to his court.

“LOBSTER TITS” (2019, USA) Cathy is attacked by arthropod assailants.

“MIRROR (SPECCHIO)” (2020, Italy) Beatrice goes through the looking glass.

“PONYBOI” (2019, USA) An Intersex sex worker looks for love.

“LURKER” (2020, UK) Sarah thinks there is a monster under her bed.

#3: “MIXED SIGNALS” Comedy, Drama | 92 Mins. Total “AUTOMATE” (2018, Canada) Two women meet on a dating app in the near future.

“INFLUENCED” (2020, USA) A gym newbie attempts to quell his loneliness.

THE BINDING OF ITZIK (2020, USA) A middle-aged Hasidic bookbinder responds to an ad.

“CONTENT” (2019, USA) Kevin seems to be willing to do whatever it takes to model.

“PEACH” (2020, Australia) A socially anxious young woman lands a hot date.

“LOVE YOU TYLER” (2019, USA) Luke talks about his new girlfriend and things get weird.

“BABY BIRD” (2019, USA) Jen and Paul are invited to a coworker’s dinner party.

“LONGER” (2020, USA) Jazz singer Joanne carries a secret torch for Vida.

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OCT. 10–17 #4: “DESPERATE MEASURES” Comedy, Drama | 108 Mins. Total “FABIU” (2020, Austria) An 80-year-old retiree hires a male care worker.

“NO HOMO” (2019, Israel) Ruta tries to convince her son that he is not gay.

“BUCK” (2020, USA) Yung Lynn resorts to debauchery to find joy.

“A COHABITATION” (2019, Taiwan)

happy ending: TIGLFF’s closing film will be “Two of Us (Deux),” a foreign feature described as both a tender lesbian love story an an edge-of-your-seat thriller starring Martine Chevallier (L) and Barbara Sukowa. Photo Courtesy tiglff

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it “one of the most beautiful and thrilling love stories of all time” and the perfect film to give TIGLFF’s 31st and first virtual festival the happy ending it deserves.

“Actors Barbara Sukowa and Martine Chevallier deliver exquisite performances in a bold statement about the sexual and emotional vitality of ‘women of a certain age,’” its synopsis reads. “The dramatic twists and turns of their characters’ heroic efforts to rescue each other show that love hurts but ultimately triumphs.”

“The board and staff have been great,” Akins reflects. “Everyone just came together on this and has been very supportive as we reinvent on the fly. We’ve all wanted to make changes – but of course, planned changes; not just doing them so quickly. But we’re embracing this to make sure that we succeed and continuing to grow and adapt.”

A key facet of TIGLFF’s evolution extends beyond this year’s festival and is of paramount importance to the organization.

TIGLFF will launch its inaugural Tampa Bay Transgender Film Fest in partnership with St Pete Pride Nov. 20-22 – a free, online festival highlighting transgender-focused films.

The partnership between the two organizations began last year with Transtastic!, an event featuring transgender-focused films supplied

by TIGLFF and held during St Pete Pride 2019. It served as a pre-party to the third annual TransPride

March, founded by St Pete Pride Vice President Nathan Bruemmer.

“I have enjoyed developing St Pete Pride’s programming for the transgender and nonbinary community and seeing such a warm and positive community response,” he says. “I am grateful that our partnership with TIGLFF, which started with just a few short films during Pride week, has grown into our first Tampa Bay Trans Film Fest.”

The inaugural festival will feature “Out Loud,” a documentary recommended by Horne. It chronicles the first season of the historic Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, the world’s largest known group of transgender and gender nonconforming people who regularly sing together.

Additional films will be determined by an all-transgender screening committee led by Bruemmer and TIGLFF Board Member Kayden Rodriguez. “‘Out Loud’ is truly emotional and so inspirational,” Rodriguez says. “It’s a great opening film and a perfect fit.”

“My hope is the Trans Film Fest will provide an opportunity for community, visibility and education,” Bruemmer also notes. “There is something so powerful about the genre of film. It allows the audience to share and learn about others struggles and dreams. As we connect with the characters, we often see our own humanity reflected back in their bravery, heartbreak and triumph – and we can learn what it means to be better humans.”

“TIGLFF is truly trying to put our money where our mouth is, following through and using film to connect to community,”

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Rodriguez adds. “Sometimes there’s a disconnect or lack of education – film can really bring us all together.”

“TIGLFF is making efforts to be more inclusive,” Akins says. “We are reviewing all aspects of the organization and 2021 will bring further changes to highlight our commitment to all members of the LGBTQ community. We are excited to start these efforts with the first Trans Film Festival in partnership with St Pete Pride.”

While TIGLFF organizers expect streaming experiences to remain a part of future festivals, they hope to return to in-person festivities in 2021. Supporting this year’s virtual efforts will make that possible.

“I don’t just say this is the president of the board, but I think the Tampa Bay community is very fortunate to still have this organization after all these years,” Akins says. “Being involved and attending events, it’s been good for all of us to be able to be a part of the community and have that visibility.

This year, let’s tune in from the safety of our homes or wherever our devices are and do it virtually.”

“Although the number of films is less than in previous years, I like to say that it’s concentrated quality,” Horne adds. “COVID did nothing to diminish the quality of films … it’s a very upbeat program and I purposely avoided depressing films. Anyone that appreciates quality cinema will enjoy it.”

The 31st and first virtual Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (TIGLFF) will stream Oct. 2-18 via TIGLFF Online at TIGLFF.Eventive.org. To view trailers, purchase tickets and for more information, visit TIGLFF.com.

A gay, interracial couple are forced to separate.

“LOVE ME” (2020, Greece) A hustler with daddy issues tries to break his vicious cycle.

#5: “IDENTITY CRISIS” Comedy, Drama | 107 Mins. Total “ABOUT A SHORT FILM” (2020, USA) A gay, Asian comedian from Canada makes a short film.

“WONDER” (2019, USA) A kid dreams of trick-or-treating as Wonder Woman.

“AYANEH” (2019, Switzerland) A young refugee experiences freedom and love.

“BABYDYKE” (2019, Denmark) Frede accompanies her big sister to a queer party.

“ALL THE YOUNG DUDES” (2020, USA) In 1973, glam rocker Billy rebels in his conservative school.

“SHORT CALF MUSCLE” (2019, Netherlands) Anders is different, but he doesn’t know that.

BOYS DON’T WEAR DRESSES (2020, USA) A modern-day tale about the struggles of being an autistic transgender individual.

#6: “ROLE REVERSAL” Documentary | 93 Mins. Total “VOTE NEIL” (2020, USA) Two gay Marines in Birmingham, Alabama battle their hardest mission.

“OUT OF THE SHADOWS” (2019, USA) Documentary | 10 Mins.

Joselyn, a Mexican transgender immigrant woman, finds a community.

“TALL TALES WITH TRUE QUEENS” (2020, USA) A tale of pride and prejudice is shared at Drag Queen Story Hour.

“THE GENDER LINE” (2019, USA) Transgender rock star Cidny Bullens reflects on his career.

“DISRUPTOR CONDUCTOR” (2019, Canada) Conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser creates live orchestral shows for everyone.

September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

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September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

City Play

‘Bright Young Things’ takes live theater to the streets of downtown Orlando

I

Jeremy Williams

t’s the weekend. You’ve got your

ticket in hand and you head downtown for some fun, maybe a little adventure. You meet up with your chosen player at a secret location and are transported into another world where things aren’t always what they seem – and downtown Orlando is the backdrop for your trip back to the Prohibition Era and the roaring ‘20s.

This is the premise of writer-director Donald Rupe’s latest play “Bright Young Things,” produced by Creative City Project along with creative direction by Cole NeSmith and choreography by Kathleen Wessel.

Named after a notorious group of Bohemians in 1920s London, “Bright Young Things” is an immersive theatrical experience where you the audience follow one of eight characters from location to location through alleyways and around street corners in downtown Orlando.

“I have never done anything like this and I venture to say not many people have,” Rupe says. “It is definitely the hardest thing I have written. In your head you’re like ‘oh, this would be so cool if it was eight intersecting plays,’ but making each character the protagonist

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

of their own story means each character has to have a climax and that character’s climax is probably coinciding with another character’s climax. It turned out to be a lot more involved.”

Rupe says that while writing the story as been very challenging, those challenges are where the most creativity comes from.

“In theatre, if something is too complicated to do you can just say ‘well this happened offstage,’” he says.

“It’s like an easy way out. We can’t do that with ‘Bright Young Things’ because everything that’s happened or is happening, someone is seeing.

There is no offstage, so you have to get pretty creative.”

“Bright Young Things” starts out as a “choose your own adventure”

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

| uu | City Play from pg.33

play. You pick between eight characters in four storylines: The Entertainers, The Smugglers, The Lovers or The Agents. You will meet your duo at a secret location and from there be taken into an alternative modern society where the ‘20s are in full swing and prohibition was never repealed.

“I kind of have an obsession with prohibition,” Rupe says about why he chose to focus on this time period for his play.

“When I started writing this I was seeing parallels with the 1920s and 2020; the prohibitive nature we are experiencing right now with literally our bars being closed and the current pandemic and the 1919 flu pandemic. So it just seemed like a good time to revisit that era.”

Each of the four storylines are a different genre and style, making this not only eight intersecting characters, but four distinct types of theater-going experiences.

The first of the four couples are The Entertainers. Texas, a renowned songstress known as the “Queen of the Night,” and her adoring husband Harry run an underground nightclub that serves liquor.

“Texas is actually based on a real-life songstress from the 1920s Prohibition Era named Texas Guinan,” Rupe says. “There are a couple of good books written about her that I read about a year and a half ago. My obsession with her is also one of the reasons why I wanted to do a play around prohibition.”

Guinan was an entertainer who managed speakeasy clubs in the 1920s which catered to the rich and famous. The Entertainers will include live music numbers and will be more in line with musical theater.

The next duo is known as The Smugglers. They are hired by an underground organization to run alcohol between suppliers and illegal venues like the one run by The Entertainers.

“The Smugglers are supplying the liquor but there is more to these two than what you see in the beginning,” Rupe says.

The Agents, the third couple in this intersecting play, are for all intents and purposes the closest thing to villains in the piece. The Agents are tasked by those in power to keep law and order in

On Location: ”Bright Young Things” takes you throughout downtown Orlando, from landmarks to alleyways, as you follow your chosen character in this immersive walking play. Photo Courtesy creative city project the city. The Agents are in pursuit of The Smugglers.

“The stories for The Smugglers and The Agents are both told through an action-adventure genre but in very different ways,” Rupe says. “Their stories are kind of inspired by video games almost. You follow as The Agents are trying and chase down The Smugglers.”

The final pair are The Lovers; two individuals madly in love but pulled apart by forces beyond their control.

“The Lovers are our Romeo and Juliet of the story; one is tied to the Smugglers and the other is tied to the Agents,” Rupe says. “The thing I’m the most excited about with The Lovers is their story is told through a lot of movement and dance.”

The Lovers’ story will mostly be told through the genre of modern dance. The dialogue in their storyline will be in iambic pentameter, most famously associated with the writings of William Shakespeare.

A ninth character in the play appears in all four storylines and

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

is very much integral to the plot — the city of Orlando.

“What’s cool about this is that the landscape of the play is already fantastic so by virtue of the audience traveling from destination to destination they are getting more beautiful architecture and scenery than I could ever replicate on a stage,” Rupe says. “It is a character in that it is such a part of the experience and I try to mimic landmarks downtown that fit for each character and story.”

While setting “Bright Young Things” in downtown Orlando has been fun, Rupe says it has created another challenge that he hasn’t had to deal with in writing his previous shows.

“When I started writing, the first step I had to think about was the geography of the play,” he says. “Where are we doing these scenes and can this character get from point A to point B to meet this other character who is coming from point C in a reasonable amount of time? That part has been a new experience in writing.”

Something else Rupe did differently in writing this show is that he didn’t assign gender to all the characters.

“One of the most interesting parts of writing this is I didn’t want to write the story with gender in mind so in the script most characters is written as nonbinary,” Rupe says. “It was challenging because when you write, how many times do you use a pronoun in dialogue, so when I was writing it I tried to use all pronouns.”

In the casting call that went out for the show [while the show is now cast, at the time of our interview a cast had not yet been selected], both of The Lovers, The Smugglers and one of The Agents are listed as any gender.

Texas, The Entertainer songstress, is listed as female identifying and Texas’ husband Harry and one of The Agents are listed as male identifying.

“Casting calls are open to all genders and races but, obviously because it is me, I would like The Lovers to be a same-sex couple,” Rupe, who is openly gay, says

September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

with a smile, “but it all very much depends on the submissions.”

As with most anything these days, rules and limitations will be set due to the ongoing pandemic.

“What’s really interesting is we started talking about this before COVID was a thing and then once COVID really started snowballing Cole and I said “this is kind of totally COVID perfect,” Rupe says.

“It’s ideal for coronavirus in that it is all outdoors and the audience can completely — depending on their level of comfort — be 15 feet away from the actors and other audience members if they want to.”

Along with socially distancing during the show, all attendees must wear masks at all times and audiences are being limited to five patrons per actor. The walking involved for the show also shouldn’t pose a problem, Rupe says.

“I have physically walked all of the paths myself and I am not a person who loves to be outside and it doesn’t fell like too much to me,” Rupe says. “Each track is around one mile of walking but everyone gets a break. The scenes are 10 minutes. You get to the location; some locations will have places to sit, so I don’t think it will be too much for anybody.”

The show will run two shows each Friday and Saturday evening during the month of October, except for Halloween weekend, giving you 16 chances to see “Bright Young Things” from a new perspective and a different style.

“When you come and see the show, you will get to know your character’s story and follow them on their experiences as they interact with other characters for 10-minute sections. Then if you come back and you follow one of the characters who interacted with your first character you’ll understand more fully what’s going on for that character,” Rupe says. “Our hope is that it does well enough that we’ll be able to extend it and do it as an indefinite thing.”

“Bright Young Things” runs every Friday and Saturday night, Oct. 2-24, with shows starting at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

Tickets are $35 each and can be purchased at CreativeCityProject.com/ BrightYoungThings. When purchasing, you will select which storyline you want to follow and then be notified of the secret location in downtown Orlando where you will meet your couple.

35

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September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

announcements

tampa bay out+about

CONGRATULATIONS GaYbor District Coalition celebrates 13 years in Tampa’s historic Ybor City in September.

Come OUT St. Pete named its inaugural Come Out As You Are Royal Court Sept. 7. Ms. Stephanie Stuart, Mr. Joanie Werner, and Mx. Kristina White were all crowned and will represent the organization this year.

CAN Community Health shared Sept. 14 that it received a Silver Award at the 41st annual Aurora Awards in the best rehabilitation category for its National Headquarters in Sarasota.

Hamburger Mary’s Clearwater celebrates 7 years Sept. 18.

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CONDOLENCES Hudson’s David Eason died Sept. 10. He will be missed.

REOPENINGS Tampa’s City Side Lounge reopened with a food license Sept. 2. All bars were subsequently allowed to reopen at 50% capacity Sept. 14. Read more on p. 10.

VIRTUAL EVENTS The 10th annual Fabulous Independent Film Festival, hosted by the Harvey Milk Festival, will be held virtually Sept. 24-Oct. 3. Read more at WatermarkOnline.com.

ALSO Youth’s virtual “Better Together” variety show will be held Sept. 26.Read more at WatermarkOnline.com.

Metro Inclusive Health will hold its health-focused career fair during two virtual sessions Sept. 30.

Read more at WatermarkOnline.com.

Local Birthdays Tampa Bay pool man Mark Francen, Pinellas Co. School Board candidate Caprice Edmond, St. Pete artist Barry Rothstein (Sept. 17); CAN Community Health Sarasota senior vice president Rogelio Capote, Owner of David Vargas-State Farm Insurance David Vargas (Sept. 18); Keller Williams St. Pete realtor Mauricio Moreno, St. Pete comedian Jeff Klein (Sept. 19); Cosplay captain Leif Thomas (Sept. 20); The Meadows Country Club’s John Pozo-George, Tampa socialite Neil Parker (Sept. 21); Parri Law Firm owner Dan Parri, Lead Pastor of The Edge Community Church Ricc Rollins (Sept. 22); Tampa Bay chef Darlene Herrick (Sept. 23);Tampa Bay fashion designer Ivanka Ska, Quench twin Nick Caraccia, Bay Area Pool Authority manager Mark Celaya-Renaud, Pasco Pride’s Charlie Russo (Sept. 24); Tampa Bay caregiver R.J. Walker, State Rep.-elect Michele Rayner (Sept. 25); Accuracy Painting’s Kelly Bachman (Sept. 27); Tampa realtor Cody Limberger (Sept. 28); Tampa decorator extraordinaire Matthieu Stanoch, Ybor City event planner Tony LaColla (Sept. 29); former Watermark contributor Aaron Alper (Sept. 30).

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MARY’S MAVENS: James Watson (L) and “Drag Race” alum Kennedy Davenport share a moment at Hamburger Mary’s Clearwater Sept. 5.

PHOTO BY JAMARCUS MOSLEY

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READY FOR THEIR CLOSEUP: Juno Vibranz (R) hosts the inaugural “Lights, Camera, Action” drag show with fellow entertainers Justine Knights (L) and Rockell Blu (C) at Pour Yours Sept. 13.

PHOTO COURTESY POUR YOURS

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ROYAL COURT: Come OUT St Pete’s inaugural Come Out As You Are Royal Court (L-R) Joanie Werner, Kristina White and Stephanie Stuart are crowned at Enigma Sept. 7. PHOTO COURTESY COME OUT ST PETE

4

ST. PETE STRONG: St. Pete City Council Vice Chair Gina Driscoll (L) welcomes Legislative Aide Bryan Casañas-Scarsella to City Hall Sept. 9. PHOTO

COURTESY GINA DRISCOLL

5

COMMUNITY & COUNTRY: VFW Post No. 39 staff welcomes supporters to a benefit led by area entertainers Sept. 10.

PHOTO COURTESY VFW POST 39

6

HILLSBOROUGH HELPERS: Hillsborough County Democratic Party’s Community Outreach teammembers (L-R) Elizabeth, Marlene, Bryan, Veronica and Sylvia pack and load boxes of food and clothes at Metropolitan Ministries Sept. 14. PHOTO

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COURTESY HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY

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PINELLAS PROUD: Metro Wheeling Warriors (L-R) Bob Ribits, Jim Marston, Jim Nixon, Justyn Davyd, Joseph Carl Harwicz and Chuck Loesche hold a Pinellas Trail mile-four cleaning day Sept.

12. PHOTO COURTESY JIM NIXON

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SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN: Bryan Chant strikes a pose in Ybor Sept. 7.

PHOTO COURTESY BRYAN CHANT

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September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

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September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

announcements

central florida out+about

Congratulations Will’s Pub celebrated 25 years on Sept. 1.

MojoMan Swimwear & Clothing celebrated one year at its Colonial Plaza location Sept. 7.

REOPENINGS Savoy Orlando has re-opened at 50% capacity. Enter through Ivanhoe 1915 and review Savoy’s safety guidelines and requirements at SavoyOrlando.com/ COVID-19-message.

2

District Dive has re-opened. 21 and up only. Hours of operation are M-F, 4 p.m.-2 a.m., Sat. and Sun., 12 p.m.-2 a.m. Masks required and temperature checks done at door.

Barcodes has re-opened to 50% capacity. Face masks and social distancing are required.

Hanks has re-opened to 50% capacity, full service daily 12 p.m.-2 a.m.

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5

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VIRTUAL EVENTS State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith will hold a Facebook Live virtual fundraiser for his 2020 re-election Sept. 24 starting at 7 p.m. For tickets, go to Bit.ly/TeamCarlos2020.

Global Peace Week is Sept. 21-24 and will completely virtual this year. Go to ValenciaCollege.edu and search “Global Peace Week” for schedules and to get registered.

Local Birthdays Hamburger Mary’s Orlando Broadway Brunch Bunch founder Jimmi Rossi (Sept. 17); Glamorous socialite Bill Jansen, Magruder Laser Vision CMO Justice Mitchell, Priority One Financial’s Steven C. Lewis Jr. (Sept. 18); Flight of Ideas’ Bob Kodzis (Sept. 19); Disney manager of corporate alliances Jason Dobbins, Dr. David Rice at Eola Eyes, “DJ Trypsin” Gabe Medina (Sept. 20); JLL general manager Thearon Scurlock, Hogwarts student Heather Murphy, Walt Disney Port Orleans Resort lobby concierge Gerry D. Evans, Animal advocate Ziggy Shockley, Orlando Gay Chorus creative director James Rode, Orlando artist and comedian Angela Ramos, JLD Communications founder Jose Luis Dieppa (Sept. 21); Orlando sister “Isadora Knocking” Morris Beverly (Sept.

22); Balance Orlando owner Lu Mueller-Kaul, former Watermark art director Charlie Carballo (Sept. 23); Former President at Florida Theatrical Association Ron Legler, Orlando photographer Angie Folks (Sept. 24); Southern Nights Orlando’s Christopher Bishop, Orlando chef Nathan Shifflett, Project Manager at Disney Kevin Thornton (Sept. 25); Orlando performer Eddie Cooper, Orlando performer Janine Klein, Keep Orlando Beautiful coordinator Jody Goostree, graphic artist Jarrod Pope, Watermark’s former director of digital media Jamie Hyman (Sept. 26); Central Florida State of Gratitude grant recipient Kevin Voeltz, Dardin Restaurants’ social media strategist Jeff Alexander Giordano, Dapper Duck owner Chuck Zell (Sept. 28); City of Orlando’s CFO Chris McCullion (Sept. 29); HIV/AIDS activist Rob Domenico (Sept. 30).

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Brunch Bunch: (L-R) Jay Daniels, Dr. Rafael Piñero and Dennis Dunham attend the CommUNITY Rainbow Rainbow Run VIP Brunch at the Grand Bohemian in Orlando Sept.

12. Photo by Danny Garcia

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screenshot from Facebook

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Magical Walk: One Magical Weekend’s Tom Christ (L) and Billy Looper walk for onePULSE’s virtual CommUNITY Rainbow Run in Orlando Sept. 12. Photo courtesy

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Local Hero: Grace Peek-Harris (L) celebrates with Alison Clarke as GOALcfl presents Clarke with her retirement plaque and badge at the interim Pulse Memorial in Orlando Sept. 12.

Photo courtesy GOALcfl

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Going Gaga: MrMs Adrien goes full Gaga at Parliament House Orlando Sept. 7. Photo

We’re With Her: Frank DeToma (L) and Wayne Dictor show they are for Lynn “Moira” Dictor as Tax Collector in Seminole County Sept. 5. Photo courtesy

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Birthday Boy: Darcel Stevens get a sweet treat for his birthday from Harmony Healthcare Sept. 9.

Photo courtesy Darcel Stevens

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Masked Voter: Brandon Wolf is masked up at his home in Orlando Sept.

5 and ready to support Anna Eskamani this election year.

Photo courtesy Brandon Wolf

courtesy Adrian Padron

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wedding bells

Rob Privitera and Chuck Lindlau, from Orlando, Florida

Engagement Date:

July 3, 2017

Wedding Date:

June 30, 2018

Officiant:

Jon Arnold, Once Upon a Wedding

Venue:

Orange County History Center

Wedding Song/ Artist: “Everywhere”

by Carrie Mac (cover of Fleetwood Mac)

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Porch Therapy (East End Market)

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Photographer/ Videographer:

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DJ/ Entertainment:

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Wedding Planner:

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R

Photography by Kelly Berringer

ob Privitera and Chuck Lindlau’s

story begins where many great love stories do – online. After a month of chatting, the couple had their first date at the Nona Tap Room.

Though they had planned to get one drink, they ended up staying for five, engrossed in conversation.

“I remember I liked the sound of his laugh and after just five minutes I could tell what a kind and caring man he was,” Rob says. “Both of us had just come out of serious long-term relationships and had no intention of dating again. But when feelings quickly developed all those rules went right out the window.”

As someone who has lived in Orlando for most of his life, Chuck’s always on the hunt for new things to do in the city and planning mystery dates for them to do together.

“I know the importance of keeping things fresh in a relationship and the value of shared experiences,” Chuck says. “Among other things, we’ve taken

a hot air balloon ride, seen sea turtles lay eggs, hit up the largest swimming pool in the U.S. and completed the Sanford holiday tour of homes. Now, Rob’s gotten in on the planning action.

Social distancing in 2020 has really tested our creativity in planning dates.”

In addition to local adventures, Rob and Chuck have also journeyed beyond Florida, traveling everywhere from the Caribbean to Europe together.

It was on one of these trips that Rob proposed to Chuck. The two had been hiking the trails of El Yunque Rainforest in Puerto Rico all day and though they were exhausted, Rob convinced Chuck to do one more trail.

The trail ended in a natural pool fed by a waterfall, where they decided to swim to cool off. As they sat on a rock

ledge behind the waterfall, Rob pulled out the ring and popped the question.

“I was very surprised,” Chuck says.

“It was totally unexpected!”

The two married in the old courtroom of the Orange County History Center. The words “Equal and Exact Justice to All Men” were hand-painted above the judge’s bench.

“We had been on the steps of the Supreme Court a couple years earlier when the ruling on gay marriage was issued and it was kind of full circle moment that really resonated with me,” Chuck says.

One of the highlights of the day for Rob was when his parents were introduced during the wedding party announcements.

“My mom came walking out waving a pride flag and dancing like I’d never seen a 71-year-old do,” Rob says. “It was both funny and heartwarming.

It also got everyone in the mood to start partying.”

Though he got nervous during the couple’s dance because of the 125

people looking at them, Rob also says it was a highlight of the wedding.

“I am not one to like all of the attention,” he says. “Chuck whispered in my ear ‘it’s okay, just look at me’ the entire time to calm me down.

He’s always looking out for me and thinking about me.”

Since the wedding, Chuck and Rob continue to constantly visit new places, both internationally and locally.

“On our first anniversary, Chuck took all the photos from our trips, local mystery dates, and everything in between and put them into a book,” Rob says. “Every anniversary since, he gives me a new book that is filled with all of our memories from that year. It has become one of my favorite traditions. Every once in a while, we’ll get the books out and look through them all. As the years go on this takes longer and longer, but I love every minute of it.”

—Lora Korpar

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.

46

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September 17 - 3 0, 2020 // Issue 27.19 wat e r m a r konline .com

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