Watermark Issue 29.08: Somewhere that's Green

Your LGBTQ News Source.

April 14 - 27, 2022 • Issue 29.08

W H E ER M E O that’s S

Green The Straz sinks its teeth into ‘Little Shop of Horrors’

SPECIAL INSIDE:

Apopka to host 1st ever Pride Suncoast Softball League executive shares anti-LGBTQ content

DAYTONA BEACH • ORLANDO • TAMPA • ST. PETERSBURG • CLEARWATER • SARASOTA

A N S E L A DA M S:

The Masterworks

C LYD E B UTC H E R :

America the Beautiful

APRIL 9 - JULY 31, 2022

150 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL | thejamesmuseum.org | 727.892.4200 Ansel Adams: The Masterworks is a traveling exhibition created by the Booth Western Art Museum.

Clyde Butcher: America the Beautiful is an exhibition organized by Window of the Eye, Inc Clyde Butcher, Escalante River Canyon 1, 1997, silver gelatin print (detail)

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DEPARTMENTS 7 // PUBLISHER’S DESK

page

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8 // CENTRAL FL NEWS 13// TAMPA BAY NEWS

Over time and continuing today, our nation has strived to make good on its promise that everyone is entitled to be treated with equal dignity under the law. That is true when it comes to LGBTQ Americans.

– ROBERTA KAPLAN, ATTORNEY WHO IS AMONG THOSE WHO FILED THE FIRST LAWSUIT AGAINST FLORIDA’S “DON’T SAY GAY OR TRANS” LAW, IN A STATEMENT MARCH 31

18 // STATE NEWS 19 // NATION & WORLD NEWS 25 // TALKING POINTS 43 // EVENT PLANNER 45 // TAMPA BAY OUT + ABOUT 47 // CENTRAL FL OUT + ABOUT 48 // TAMPA BAY MARKETPLACE 50 // CENTRAL FL MARKETPLACE 54 // WEDDING BELLS ON THE COVER

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page FULL BLOOM: Plant and

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Somewhere That’s Green: The Straz Center sinks its teeth into ‘Little Shop of Horrors.”

WATERMARK ISSUE 29.08 // APRIL 14 - 27, 2022

PHOTO BY STEVEN LE

SCAN QR CODE FOR

WATERMARKONLINE.COM

garden enthusiasts grow authenticity throughout Central Florida and Tampa Bay.

COFFEE WITH A CAUSE EPIC EATS

UNAPOLOGETICALLY ME STRONGER TOGETHER

page B-52’s Fred Schneider co-launches philanthropic roastery.

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 Dining Out For Life 17 benefits Empath Partners in Care.

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Bianca Goolsby says this is me in her inaugural Viewpoint column.

page

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Author Greg Triggs talks about his latest novel.

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PUBLISHER’S

Rick Todd PUBLISHER

Rick@WatermarkOnline.com

“I

DESK

FEEL LIKE I’M INSANE. I DON’T

understand.” It’s a quote from Gene Hackman’s character in “The Birdcage” that I find myself repeating lately. It’s funny when he says it, not so much when I do.

I don’t understand why people talk during live performances.

I recently saw “Little Shop of Horrors” at the Jaeb Theater in Tampa, the inspiration for this issue’s cover. The show was spectacular, the casting was perfection and each actor so talented they may as well have called it the “Little Shop of Amazing Singers That Will Keep You Entertained All Night.”

The horrors, unfortunately, were four people in the audience.

The people at the table next to me, to be specific. One guy was so drunk that he fell on the way into the theater and spilled his lady friend’s drink. During the first song he whisper-yelled to his friend, “These people are weirdos.

You wanna go?”

Is it COVID’s fault? Did it make us forget how to behave in public?

To those that need to hear it: You are not in your living room. Keep your mouth shut if you are at a live performance. If the actors want you to participate, they will ask you.

On a more serious note, I don’t understand why our community doesn’t fully embrace the T in LGBTQ. I had taken for granted that we do, because I serve on the boards of two nonprofits that do.

I work at a company that does.

So apparently, I live in a bubble where the anti-trans sentiment comes from outside of our community and not from within.

Three events have burst that bubble for me. The first came about in the filming of the

Central Florida LGBTQ history documentary, “Greetings From Queertown: Orlando,” currently in production by Watermark and Adrenaline Films. We interviewed Nikole Parker, Equality Florida’s TransAction Florida Project Coordinator. She talked about her truth as a Black trans woman and I can’t fully express how her words changed me. She was truly inspiring, and I long for the day when the world can see this interview. In it, Nikole posed the question of what would our community do if it was lesbian girls who were banned from playing sports in schools, or gay men who were being killed in high numbers. I imagine we would march to Tallahassee in protest. I imagine we would be relentless in our support of them.

So why are we not doing this when it comes to trans rights?

Second, Lia Thomas won a swimming competition. This one was a hard pill for some to swallow. I’ve heard a lot of arguments from a lot of people, and none of them seem to make sense to me when you follow the thought all the way through.

Unless you are going to start classifying height, muscle mass and bone density for different levels of competition, then I’m not interested in your argument of how some people are born with an advantage. I also find it disheartening that many who oppose trans athletes from competing have never met a trans athlete, and they are members of our community or allies.

The third incident can be found in this issue’s Tampa Bay news section. Watermark learned recently that a board member of the LGBTQ softball league in Tampa had been sharing anti-trans posts and other posts in support of the law commonly referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill. I’m not going to give the story away here, feel free

WATERMARK STAFF Owner & Publisher: Rick Todd • Ext. 110 Rick@WatermarkOnline.com Editor-in-Chief: Jeremy Williams • Ext. 106 Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com

to check it out. I will say that the news story is presented as it was presented to us. We talk to those who would come forward to let the community know what is going on. It is void of any opinions held by the staff at Watermark.

On this page, however, I will share my thoughts. It is absurd to me that anyone who shares the views of these posts would want to be involved in an LGBTQ organization, and more so be allowed to serve on the executive board. I understand that we do not exist in a monolith and we have community members with a wide rage of opinions, but we should expect more from those who wish to serve in a leadership role.

So yeah, l feel like I’m insane. I don’t understand.

Equally disappointing is the official statement from the league’s commissioner. It’s not so much what he says but what he doesn’t say. He doesn’t say that the organization, despite one person’s anti-trans posts, supports the trans community. It doesn’t say they hope to create an LGBTQ safe space for all their players. It reads like their goal was to defend their friend.

For those that need to hear it: Trans women are women. Trans men are men.

I can’t imagine how isolated being trans must feel. They are constantly attacked and not fully supported by their own community.

So yeah, l feel like I’m insane.

I don’t understand.

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

ORLANDO OFFICE Managing Editor: Ryan Williams-Jent • Ext. 302 Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com Creative Designer: Dylan Todd • Ext. 107 Dylan@WatermarkOnline.com Creative Designer: Kyler Mills • Ext. 301 Kyler@WatermarkOnline.com

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

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CONTRIBUTORS BIANCA GOOLSBY

MBA is a digital strategist and activist who partners with mission-driven organizations to increase their impact through innovative and effective online communications. Page 21

JERICK MEDIAVILLA

is a former journalist from Mexico City, an educator in Central Florida and an human rights activist for the LGBTQ community. Jerick is one half of an Orlando power couple with State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith. Page 23

TIFFANY RAZZANO

is the founder and president of Wordier Than Thou, a literary arts nonprofit that creates fun, engaging events for writers and readers. Page 54 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

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central florida news

ORLANDO’S LGBTQ SWIM OUT CLUB WINS FOUR MEDALS AT IGLA GAMES IN PALM SPRINGS MAKING COFFEE: (L-R)

Jeremy Williams

O

RLANDO | Members of Central Florida’s LGBTQ swim club, Swim Out Orlando won four medals at the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics games in Palm Springs, California April 6-10.

Five members of the Swim Out team competed in the games — Brian Coakley, Brian Harper, Joe Clauson, Rob Curry, and Royd Kuk — with Harper and Clauson, who is also the team’s coach, winning two medals each.

“Brian won silver in 50-yard butterfly and bronze in 100 yard butterfly (age 45-49). Joe won silver in 50- and 100-yard backstroke (age 50-54),” said Curry, team captain for the IGLA competition, in an email to Watermark after the competition. “Team points were given for each top 10 finish in individual and relay races. Team winners were announced in the small, medium, and large team categories. We were thrilled to win 2nd place for a small team.”

Swim Out began in 2019 and is a swimming and social club that is now 25 members strong. They meet several times a week at Cady Way Park in Winter Park and on Saturdays at the National Training Center in Clermont. The club welcomes all swimmers 18 and over regardless of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, race or ability.

“The only requirement is to have an interest in swimming,” Curry says. “Someone would have to be able to swim two lengths of the pool without stopping to really be comfortable with the workout we do but we really have all skill levels on the team.”

Swim Out is a member of U.S. Masters Swimming, a nationwide nonprofit organization for adult swimmers founded in 1970. The organization is open to anyone dedicated to improving their fitness through swimming. While they are an open and accepting group, Curry says it is good to have an LGBTQ-specific group as well.

“It’s that sense of comfort and community,” he says. “Many of our team members moved from other places and didn’t have a social circle here. Swim Out allowed us to come together with shared interests in a shared community.”

Swim Out meets for practice Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:45-9 p.m. at Cady Way Park in Winter Park and on Saturday mornings at National Training Center in Clermont from 10-11:15 a.m. Go to SwimOut.org to sign up.

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Emily Rankin, Von Coven and Fred Schneider III stand near the coffee roaster at Breyting Community Roaster in DeLand. PHOTO BY JEREMY WILLIAMS

Coffee with a Cause B-52’s Fred Schneider co-launches philanthropic roastery Jeremy Williams

D

ELAND, FLA. | Fred Schneider, frontman of the iconic rock band The B-52s, and Von Coven, founder of innovative studio Breyting, have launched a coffee roaster whose purpose is to raise funds for Central Florida nonprofits.

Breyting Community Roaster donates a portion of every coffee purchase to a cause chosen by the purchaser from a list of participating nonprofits.

Each Breyting box comes with 1.25 pounds of coffee, chosen from one of four roasts, each from a specific region: a light roast from Africa, a medium roast from South America, a dark roast from Southeast Asia and a Swiss water-processed decaf, and is freshly roasted once the order is placed. Each box sells for $22.50 with 20% given to the nonprofit of your choosing.

Coven, who has been roasting coffee since 2007, has experience in getting coffee into grocery stores but says Breyting focuses on selling

watermark Your LGBTQ News Source.

coffee online in partnership with nonprofits because they want to “work with people rather than for people.”

“Fred and I were talking about it and I said ‘Fred, if we can just get away from corporate America, cut the cord and create our own market where we work in collaboration with nonprofits, all the money we were giving to corporations ... if we gave that percentage to nonprofits it would be better for us, better for them, better for the world,” Coven says.

Coven says they got a great deal on a space that doubles as a work and living space with enough room for a small roastery.

“Now we have very little overhead which allows us to be able to do things like this,” he says. “We just want to be a support system for nonprofits. That’s the goal. Even though we have a small space here, we can do a lot of output. We can do about 300,000 boxes of coffee per year which would allow us to give almost $2 million back a year.”

Breyting offers dozens of nonprofits that purchasers can select working on various causes

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including veterans care, education, disaster relief, animal conservation, human rights, equality and more.

To help raise awareness about the roastery and some critical organizations, Schneider personally selected three nonprofits to highlight at the program’s launch in December: Save the Manatees Club, So You Want Your Name in Lights and the LGBT+ Center Orlando.

“I’ve always been interested in the manatees, even as a kid. I got to swim with them a few years ago and it was a life changing experience, so I wanted to include them,” Schneider says. “And I love to help bring music to underserved communities and So You Want Your Name in Lights is a music-focused summer camp that helps get music to underserved youth. And of course I wanted to include The Center, I mean I’m gay and they do great outreach to the community.”

It isn’t just about selling coffee, says Emily Rankin, Breyting’s campaign director, it is about supporting nonprofits however you can.

“We have a good news newsletter that goes out about a lot of the organizations,” she says. “We include resources and other ways that you can help and get involved.”

“Yeah, we’re roasting coffee but that’s almost a byproduct of helping nonprofits,” Coven adds.

For more information and to purchase a box of coffee, go to CommunityRoaster.com.

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and Vegeterian Cuisine Greek, Mediterranean,

APOPKA TO HOLD 1ST EVER PRIDE Jeremy Williams

A

POPKA, FLA. | Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka will host the city’s first-ever LGBTQ Pride celebration May 14.

The nonprofit center, which celebrates its 50-year anniversary this year, is partnering with local organizations 26Health, Come Out with Pride, Contigo Fund, Descolonizarte Teatro, One Orlando Alliance and Peer Support Space on the event.

Orgullo en La Esperanza (Pride in Hope) is a free event that will be held at Hope’s 800 S. Hawthorne Ave. location starting at noon and will feature family-focused vendors, live entertainment and activities to celebrate the family culture of Apopka and beyond.

Hope recently named Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, board chair for the One Orlando Alliance, as the organization’s new executive director.

For more information on the first-ever LGBTQ Pride celebration in Apopka, go to Facebook.com/HopeCCApopka.

DINING OUT FOR LIFE RETURNS TO CENTRAL FLORIDA Jeremy Williams

O

RLANDO | The LGBT+ Center Orlando will once again be the beneficiary for Dining Out For Life in Central Florida.

The annual dining fundraising event that helps raise money for community-based organizations serving people living with or impacted by HIV will take place April 28 and involve nine bars and restaurants in Orlando and Kissimmee, four of which whose donations will include alcohol sales.

“We are fortunate to have a Dining Out For Life International event in Central Florida,” says Dr. George Wallace, CEO of The Center Orlando.

“The funds are crucial as we invest in the fight to end HIV/AIDS. The money will be used to support operations at The Center such as HIV testing, mobile outreach, support groups and educational initiatives, all focused on HIV/AIDS. As the #1 testing site, the community has relied on The Center

for years and Dining Out For Life will ensure we are continuing our mission.”

The following Central Florida restaurants will be participating.

Donations will include dine-in and carry-out orders.

-Big John’s Rockin’ BBQ, located at 220 E. Monument Ave. in Kissimmee, will donate 25% of their sales from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

-Hamburger Mary’s Orlando, located at 110 W. Church St. in downtown Orlando, will donate 25% of their food and alcohol sales from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

-The Hammered Lamb, located at 1235 N. Orange Ave. in Orlando, will donate 25% of their food and alcohol sales from noon to midnight.

-Matador Tacos & Tapas, located at 120 Broadway Suite 102 in Kissimee, will donate 25% of their dinner sales from 4-10 p.m.

-MX Taco, located at 2017 N. Bumby Ave. In Orlando, will donate 25% of their sales from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

-Pom Pom’s Teahouse & Sandwicheria, located at 67 N. Bumby Ave. in Orlando, will donate 25% of

their food and alcohol sales from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

-Qreate Coffee, located at 1212 Woodward St. Suite 1 in Orlando, will donate 25% of their coffee and breakfast sales from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

-Savoy/Ivanhoe 1915, located at 1913 N. Orange Ave. in Orlando, will donate 25% of their alcohol and food sales from 2 p.m. to midnight, and is also the official DOFL-CFL afterparty sponsor.

-Tako Cheena, located at 932 N. Mills Ave. in Orlando, will donate 25% of their food sales from 11 a.m. to midnight.

Dining Out For Life has been getting restaurants to donate a percentage of their sales since 1991, raising millions of dollars for HIV services in those participating restaurant’s cities. This year, Dining Out For Life is taking place in 45 U.S. cities, including six in Florida.

For more information on Dining Out for Life, this year’s participating restaurants and to get involved as a local DOFL Ambassador, visit DiningOutForLife.com/ City/CentralFlorida.

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tampa bay news

SUNCOAST SOFTBALL LEAGUE EXECUTIVE SHARES ANTI-LGBTQ CONTENT AHEAD OF ELECTION Ryan Williams-Jent

T

AMPA BAY | An executive councilmember of the Suncoast Softball League, Tampa Bay’s largest LGBTQ sports organization, is drawing the ire of some league members for publicly sharing anti-LGBTQ content from his personal social media account.

SSL formed in 1993 to foster “a friendly, competitive and emotionally safe environment for LGBT people in the Tampa Bay area to participate in the sport of softball.” Its mission is to “promote sportspersonship, tolerance and acceptance of gay and lesbian men and women as well as those in our community who are friendly and supportive of our ideals.”

SSL is also a member of the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance, which includes more than 17,000 players throughout the U.S. and Canada.

It “promotes amateur sports competition with special emphasis on the participation of members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) community.”

Each year SSL members elect an executive council to govern the organization. The body currently includes Commissioner Thomas Skiles and Secretary Lonnie Ledford, who won an outstanding service award from SSL in 2012.

In the last month, Ledford has frequently shared content disparaging the transgender community.

Specific targets have included Dr. Rachel Levine, the first openly transgender U.S. admiral, as well as University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, the first transgender athlete to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division title.

Ledford has also shared content disparaging opponents of Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education,” legislation more widely known as the state’s “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who Ledford vocally supports, signed the measure into law March 28.

Once it takes effect July 1, it will prohibit discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, and possibly beyond. LGBTQ advocates have already filed suit against the measure, advising that its vague language will have far-reaching consequences for LGBTQ youth.

Watermark has reviewed dozens of public, anti-LGBTQ posts made by Ledford, as well as others containing COVID-19 misinformation and disparaging the Black Lives Matter movement. He deliberately misgenders transgender individuals and refers to those who oppose “Parental Rights in Education” as “groomers,” an anti-LGBTQ trope.

CONTINUED ON PG. 16 | uu |

FUNKY FIRST: Gulfport’s Funky

Flamingo will participate in Dining Out for Life Tampa Bay for the first time this year.

PHOTO COURTESY FUNKY FLAMINGO

EPIC Eats Dining Out for Life 17 benefits EPIC Ryan Williams-Jent

T

AMPA BAY | The 17th annual Dining Out for Life Tampa Bay will be held April 27, once again benefiting Empath Partners in Care’s support for those living with HIV/AIDS. DOFL raises roughly $4.5 million for organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada each year, enlisting restaurants to donate a percentage of sales to nonprofits. More than $425,000 has been raised in support for EPIC’s services in the last decade, including $41,400 in 2021.

Nearly 40 restaurants and bars will participate in this year’s event.

They’ll offer breakfast, lunch, dinner, cocktails and more via indoor and outdoor dining, takeout and delivery. They will each donate at least 10% of their sales during specified hours, with some donating 50% and/or all day.

“We want to thank everyone in advance to supporting Dining Out for Life,” EPIC Executive Director Joy Winheim says. “This fundraiser is an opportunity to contribute to a stronger community, both by spending time with friends and family (what better way than over

watermark Your LGBTQ News Source.

a meal?) and by committing to support EPIC.” “As people become more comfortable going out for breakfast, lunch or dinner we are very optimistic that we will see an increase in the number of people joining us for Dining Out for Life,” Empath Health Director of Affiliate Philanthropy Brooke Boccacino adds.

Volunteers are still welcome to participate as DOFL ambassadors and restaurants can still sign up to help make a difference. That’s why Funky Flamingo opted to participate this year, located at 1418 58th St. S. in Gulfport.

For the first time, owner Anita McLaughlin will be donating 25% of the restaurant’s sales to DOFL in honor of Christopher Clark and Thomas Goodall, her late son and son-in-law who died last year.

The three opened Funky Flamingo in late 2020 and had previously supported DOFL as patrons. Before the husbands could do so as restaurant owners, Goodall died Feb. 25, 2021 at 36 and Clark died April 7 at 33 from cytomegalovirus.

Commonly known as CMV, the virus can be serious and fatal for those living with weakened immune systems, which they were.

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She hopes to raise awareness not only about the virus but for EPIC’s extensive health services.

“Last year Dining Out for Life was on the day of Chris’ funeral and I sat with a group of his buddies and said, ‘I’m going to do it,’” she recalls. “As bittersweet as it was, it was the right thing to do and I firmly believe that if I can help someone else not go through what I did, it will all be worthwhile.”

McLaughin hopes DOFL diners drop by to experience her restaurant. “It’s unique. It’s Gulfport. It’s welcoming,” she explains. “We love everyone and know love is love – that’s the bottom line. We need more of that in the world.”

In addition to the restaurant’s menu, the deli also offers local honey, jam and more. McLaughin notes that all items featured in their storefront will be included in their DOFL donation.

It’s supporters like Funky Flamingo that make DOFL such a special event, organizers share.

“While it may seem like a small gesture to go and have a meal, all those small gestures by our greater community add up to make a successful event,” Winheim says.

“I look forward to seeing you out at the restaurants!”

Tampa Bay’s 17th annual Dining Out for Life will be held April 27. For more information about EPIC and this year’s event, including restaurant registration, visit DineTB.org. Learn more about Funky Flamingo at Facebook.com/ FunkyFlamingoGPFL.

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IMPORTANT FACTS FOR BIKTARVY®

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

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MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:

 Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. Your healthcare

 Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY”

provider will test you for HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking BIKTARVY. Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months, and may give you HBV medicine.

section.

 Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get

stronger and begin to fight infections that may have been hidden in your body. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY.

 Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare

ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults and children who weigh at least 55 pounds. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains:

provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking BIKTARVY.

 Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a

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

 Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your

healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, lightcolored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

 dofetilide  rifampin  any other medicines to treat HIV-1

 The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY

diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%).

Tell your healthcare provider if you:  Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis

infection.  Have any other health problems.

These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

 Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if

BIKTARVY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking BIKTARVY.

Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.

 Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not

HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY

breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:

Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.

 Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter

GET MORE INFORMATION

medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.  BIKTARVY and other medicines may affect each other. Ask your

healthcare provider and pharmacist about medicines that interact with BIKTARVY, and ask if it is safe to take BIKTARVY with all your other medicines.

 This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY.

Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.

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

program information.

BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, GSI, and KEEP ASPIRING are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. Version date: February 2021 © 2022 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. US-BVYC-0085 02/22

US_BVYC_0085_BIKTARVY_B_9-25x10-1_Watermark-Dimitri_r1v1jl.indd All Pages

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watermark Your LGBTQ News Source.

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r

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Y.

r

#1 PRESCRIBED

HIV TREATMENT * *Source: IQVIA NPA Weekly, 04/19/2019 through 05/28/2021.

DIMITRI LIVING WITH HIV SINCE 2018 REAL BIKTARVY PATIENT

KEEP ASPIRING. Because HIV doesn’t change who you are.

BIKTARVY® is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in certain adults. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

Ask your healthcare provider if BIKTARVY is right for you.

ONE SMALL PILL, ONCE A DAY Pill shown not actual size (15 mm x 8 mm) | Featured patient compensated by Gilead.

Please see Important Facts about BIKTARVY, including important warnings, on the previous page and visit BIKTARVY.com.

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Scan to see Dimitri’s story.

4/6/22 3:16 PM

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| uu | SUNCOAST SOFTBALL FROM PG.13

The term has traditionally been used by anti-LGBTQ advocates in efforts to liken members of the community to pedophiles.

Many of the posts, which Watermark cautions contain explicit language and anti-LGBTQ imagery, can be found at WatermarkOnline.com.

Multiple league members have also confirmed the authenticity of Ledford’s posts, sharing that they are in favor of his removal from the executive council.

One former commissioner, an active member of the league for more than a decade speaking under the condition of anonymity, told Watermark that Skiles was advised Ledford was sharing anti-LGBTQ posts before his first and current term as commissioner began.

They say the issue was raised to other members of the executive council as well.

16

“Their excuse seemed to be, ‘I’m friends with him on Facebook but I don’t follow him or see the posts,’” they explain.

“It seemed like they were thinking everyone should just unfollow or unfriend him.

“I just want the executive council to do what they’re supposed to do and protect the league,” they continue.

“I don’t think that that’s what they’ve done.”

Skiles and Ledford are eligible to continue serving on SSL’s executive council during the league’s 2022-23 season, nominations for which close April 24. The election begins April 26 with results expected May 2.

The former commissioner believes Skiles should retain his position, noting that “he might be getting guidance from others who don’t have his best interests at heart,” but says Ledford has no place on the board.

“When you’re a head of an organization that’s supposed to be saying ‘you can be who you want to be’ and you’re posting

stuff like that, it doesn’t stick with our mission statement,” they explain. “We’re supposed to be a safe place to gather and play the sport of softball.”

Michael Richardson, another longtime SSL player and current coach, says he was first made aware of Ledford’s anti-LGBTQ rhetoric after being suspended from the league March 24.

He was barred from playing for one year after making derogatory remarks about straight women in LGBTQ spaces on his personal social media page.

That decision prompted multiple players to reach out about Ledford’s social media posts.

“I didn’t go searching for any of this stuff,” Richardson explains. “As I was sharing my story about what happened on Facebook, I started getting all of these messages and more and more of it just kept coming out.”

In a message to SSL players obtained by Watermark, Ledford detailed a special executive council meeting on March 23 to discuss

watermark Your LGBTQ News Source.

Richardson’s “demeaning post … towards our female members.” The secretary noted that “we were disgusted by comments within his post, as this in no way represents who we are as an organization.”

Richardson has issued a public apology for his post but called his suspension hypocritical, citing Ledford’s own posts. He also has other concerns about the executive.

He says two SSL members who were transgender have died by suicide in recent years, Kelly Gartland in 2018 and Dreux Macabenta in 2020.

“I think society probably caused and contributed to that, but I don’t think we’ve taken the supportive measures as a league that we need to,” he explains. “How can this league say they’re presenting a trans-supportive image with a secretary who is regularly posting these types of things?

And the commissioner knew about it for more than a year and did nothing.

“I know people are going to think that I’m talking about

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this because I got in trouble and that’s not it,” Richardson continues. “The Suncoast Softball League got me sober – through the course of softball, it gave me a new focus and a new path. I just care about this league and I want it to do better.”

Watermark reached out to SSL and NAGAAA leadership multiple times regarding Ledford’s anti-LGBTQ content, including directly to Ledford. Only Skiles provided comment as of press time, with no response to multiple follow-up questions.

“One of the most wonderful things about Suncoast Softball League is that we are comprised of a group of truly unique individuals from all walks of life,” Skiles said.

“We all have our opinions, thoughts and beliefs,” the commissioner continued. “Our league is shaped equally by respect for the differences we may have and a passion for the game of softball that we all share.”

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state news

FIRST LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST ‘DON’T SAY GAY OR TRANS’ LAW Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

M

ere days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill, the first lawsuit against the measure has emerged, asserting the statute “would deny to an entire generation that LGBTQ people exist and have equal dignity.”

Among the lawyers who signed the complaint — filed March 31 before the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Florida — was Roberta Kaplan, who rose to fame for successfully arguing against the anti-LGBTQ Defense of Marriage Act before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013, as partner at the

New York-based law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP. “Over time and continuing today, our nation has strived to make good on its promise that everyone is entitled to be treated with equal dignity under the law,” Kaplan said in a statement. “That is true when it comes to LGBTQ Americans, who now have the constitutional right to identify openly as LGBTQ, to marry, and to form families with children.”

Other lawyers who signed the complaint are Christopher Stoll, senior staff attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Elizabeth Schwartz, a Miami-based attorney.

A lawsuit was expected soon after DeSantis signed the bill into law amid discussion about the various legal vulnerabilities of the measure. The complaint, declaring the new law “piles one violation on top of another,” makes its primary case based on free speech and equal protection

principles, by saying the measure seeks “to censor discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity that recognize and respect LGBTQ people and their families.” Other violations cited in the complaint are based on due process protections as well as discrimination against LGBTQ people based on sex stereotypes, which the Supreme Court has ruled is unlawful in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County.

In a clear nod to the precedent set by the 1996 decision in Romer v. Evans, which determined laws against animus, including those against LGBTQ people, are unconstitutional, the complaint says the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law is clearly the product of animus toward Florida’s LGBTQ community.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Equality Florida, a state LGBTQ organization, and Family Equality, a nationwide group that focus on LGBTQ parents and families.

Other plaintiff are students, such as one gay student identified as “M.A” who set up a gay-straight alliance in his school; Dan and Brent VanTice, a same-sex couple who are parents of two first-grade boys who go to public school in the area; and Hatcher Powderly, a teacher who seeks to inform her lessons with LGBTQ identity and history.

The lawsuit speculates numerous ways schools could be subjected to lawsuits from a parent who objects to LGBTQ identities coming up in some way in classroom settings, which could be any number of ways other than planned curriculum.

“Can students ask—and teachers answer—questions about historical events involving LGBTQ people?” the complaint says. “Would H.B. 1557 ban a teacher from discussing gay-rights’ decisions, like Bostock v. Clayton County, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020), where the Court

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held that LGBTQ persons cannot be discriminated against in employment? If a student writes a paper in which they discuss their gender identity or sexual orientation — and relate it to their argument — could a teacher not grade it? If the teacher did grade it, would they be prohibited from commenting on any aspect of the paper or discussing it with the student, thus leaving LGBTQ students at a systematic educational disadvantage?”

Proponents of the bill defend the measure saying it simply prohibits sex education for K-3 children or would only prohibit school curriculum on sexual orientation or gender identity, even though there’s no limiting principle in the measure restricting its reach.

Republican lawmakers rejected an amendment proposed by Democrats that would limit the bill to discussion on “sexual activity.”

nation+world news

IN 1ST, BIDEN MEETS WITH LGBTQ EQUALITY CAUCUS Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of The National LGBT Media Association

I

n a first for a U.S. president, President Biden met with the congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus, which includes each of the openly gay and lesbian members in the U.S. House and serves as the face of the LGBTQ movement in Congress.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), chair of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus, announced the meeting had taken place in a statement after it happened on April 1 amid the passage of the anti-trans legislation in state legislatures, including in Florida.

“I am grateful to President Biden for inviting Equality Caucus leadership to meet with him at the White House today. President Biden has been the most vocal ally to the LGBTQ+ community we have ever had in the White House, and I thanked him for his

unwavering support,” Cicilline said in a statement. “We had a productive conversation about the pressing need for the Equality Act and other legislative and administrative actions to protect vulnerable members of the LGBTQ+ community in the face of the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ attacks happening in state legislatures across the country.”

A White House official confirmed the meeting took place and was part of efforts by Biden to reach out to diversity caucuses in Congress.

Among the lawmakers present at the meeting were Cicilline as well as Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), each of whom are openly gay, according to the LGBTQ Equality Caucus statement.

The meeting, the statement says, consisted of discussion on a variety of topics with Biden and senior administration officials, including the possible U.S. Senate action Equality Act, which would expand the prohibition on anti-LGBTQ discrimination under federal law. Despite the inclusion of the

Equality Act, the bill is all but dead in the Senate and lacks even unanimous support within the Democratic caucus thanks to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) refusing to support the bill.

A spokesperson for Torres, who along with Jones is one of the two openly gay Black members of Congress, said he brought up the Food & Drug Administration’s ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men. Although the policy was relaxed in 2020, regulations still prohibited men from donating blood if they’ve had sex with another man in the past three months.

Although the LGBTQ Equality Caucus was formed in 2008, it had until this time never met with a U.S. president. Former President Obama never met with the caucus.

In a surprise first, the LGBTQ Equality Caucus was granted a meeting with former House Speaker John Boehner in 2013, when he essentially told members efforts to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to advance LGBTQ workplace protections would be unsuccessful.

UK CANCELS GLOBAL LGBTQ RIGHTS CONFERENCE Michael K. Lavers of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

T

he British government has cancelled a global LGBTQ rights conference it was to have hosted this summer.

The Safe to Be Me Conference was to have taken place in London from June 29-July 1. It was cancelled a day after more than 100 British LGBTQ rights groups, including Stonewall, announced they would not attend.

The groups detailed their position in response to reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided to exclude transgender people from a conversion therapy ban. Johnson’s move was first reported by ITV News U.K. editor

Paul Brand, who tweeted last week that legislation would cover “only gay conversion therapy, not trans.”

That was a reversal from a previous ITV report of a Downing Street briefing that said Johnson agreed to not move forward with legislation banning conversion practices, despite years of promises from the government. The fierce backlash to the move caused Johnson to change course.

However, the U-turn was not enough for LGBTQ campaigners, who announced they would pull out of the Safe to Be Me Conference “due to the prime minister’s broken promise on protecting trans people from the harms of conversion therapy,” Stonewall said in a statement.

“We will only be able to participate if the prime minister reverts to his promise for a trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy,” the group added.

Johnson’s advisor on LGBTQ issues on April 10 issued a lengthy statement in response to the boycott.

Nick Herbert, a member of the British House of Lords, in his statement described the conference’s cancellation as “damaging to the government and to the U.K.’s global reputation.”

Herbert added it is “also an act of self-harm by the LGBT lobby.”

“The Safe To Be Me equality conference was to be a global first, bringing governments, businesses, parliamentarians, faith leaders and activists together to discuss how to advance LGBT rights across the world,” he said. “Our focus was on ending violence, advancing decriminalization in the 71 jurisdictions where homosexual conduct is still a crime, ensuring access to HIV/AIDS treatments, and building the economic case for inclusion.”

watermark Your LGBTQ News Source.

IN OTHER NEWS LGBTQ UKRAINIANS RALLY AT WHITE HOUSE LGBTQ Ukrainians and their supporters held a rally in front of the White House this month. Helen Globa, co-founder of a support group for parents and friends of LGBTQ Ukrainians, and the Human Rights Campaign are among those who spoke at the rally that QUA – LGBTQ Ukrainians in America organized.

Organizers called for the Biden administration to extend Temporary Protected Status for LGBTQ Ukrainians and more military support for Ukraine, among other things. The group has called the invasion of Ukraine an LGBTQ issue, citing Vladmir Putin’s targeting of the marginalized.

OHIO GOP MIRRORS ‘DON’T SAY GAY OR TRANS’ LAW Republican lawmakers in Ohio introduced legislation April 4 that mirrors Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law. If enacted, educators would be banned from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. It would also require the teaching be “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate” and was introduced by Reps. Jean Schmidt and Mike Loychik. The proposal would also prohibit the teaching of “divisive or inherently racist concepts” including the academic theory known as critical race theory, an academic framework that centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions.

HRC REMOVES FOX AS PREFERRED EMPLOYER The Human Rights Campaign has removed Fox News as an LGBTQ preferred employer in its Corporate Equality Index, citing anti-LGBTQ coverage. “Fox News has a history of sharing misinformation and disinformation about the LGBTQ+ community,” HRC Senior Press Secretary Aryn Fields said in a statement. “We know from our own research … what their disinformation and misinformation means for the LGBTQ+ community: perpetuating stigma and marginalization of transgender and non-binary people.”

The network’s coverage of LGBTQ issues dropped its score from 100 to 75.

QATARI MAY TAKE PRIDE FLAGS DURING WORLD CUP Pride flags could be taken World Cup attendees in Qatar to “protect them from being attacked for promoting LGBTQ rights,” a leader overseeing security for the tournament has announced. The official insisted LGBTQ couples would be welcomed in Qatar for the Nov. 21-Dec. 18 FIFA showpiece, despite same-sex relations remaining criminalized. The FARE network, which monitors games for discrimination, called for the freedoms of fans to be respected. “The idea that the flag, which is now a recognized universal symbol of diversity and equality, will be removed ... will be seen as a pretext,” they shared.

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viewpoint

Bianca Goolsby

UNAPOLOGETICALLY ME Freedom and Fulfillment

G

ROWING UP, I WAS

the kid who asked a lot of questions. Even though I was scared to be myself for most of my life, I wanted to know why things were the way they were and how I could make them better.

When I was in middle school, I was bullied because of my appearance and how I spoke. I guess my love for knowledge made me weird to the other students at school, particularly those who looked like me.

When I was around my peers, sometimes I was quiet and observant and other times I was loud and boisterous to gain their attention. I was never content with just being myself. I wanted them to like and accept me and I remember feeling alone, wondering why God made me the way I was.

Losing my mother at a young age completely changed the course of my life. My father tried his best to fill the role of both parents, but he couldn’t do it all on his own. I was grateful for my Grandmother Sarah who was always there for me, helping me through tough times and showing me that I was worth loving. Even when I didn’t believe it myself.

As I was processing my grief, I was grappling with my sexuality. My father is a pastor and let’s just say, it was made very clear to me that anything

that was not “heterosexual” was unacceptable. It felt like every part of me was in conflict.

All of the things that were supposed to make sense became confusing and eventually painful.

I just did not feel safe anywhere. I wanted my mom. The voice in my head told me no one would ever accept who I really am.

I started watching YouTube videos by LGBTQ+ creators and that is when I realized I was not alone. There were other people who felt the way that I did living happy lives. That gave me hope. It showed me that there was a possibility for me to be happy and authentic.

Eventually, I started to find my own voice.

I realized that I didn’t have to be like everyone else to be accepted. I could be myself and that was okay.

In fact, it was more than okay. It was amazing!

The struggles in my life have made me who I am today. I know that my story is not unique, but it is special to me. Every person has a story worth telling.

So tell your story, because it matters. I am proud to be an unapologetic, Black, queer woman and I will never stop fighting for my rights and the rights of others.

Eventually, I was able to find my people. The ones who loved me for being inquisitive and the ones who loved the way I showed up every day.

I didn’t have to be someone that I wasn’t. I could finally exhale.

When I found them, particularly my wife, I began exploring how I could show up authentically and unapologetically. Exploring my freedom and fulfillment ultimately allowed me to be unapologetically me, so my reflection question for you is what does freedom and fulfillment look like in your life?

watermark Your LGBTQ News Source.

I’ve found in mine that first, it takes accountability.

It means being honest with yourself, taking responsibility for your actions and dealing with your trauma. Second, it takes transparency: being authentic in your interactions with others, sharing your story and living in your truth.

Finally, it takes integrity,

all find the courage within ourselves to do the same.

Don’t allow anything to prevent you from living your truth! You are loved.

You are valuable. You have people rooting for you. You are not alone!

Now more than ever with the world’s anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, we need people who are unapologetically

importantly, love. What that looks like for each of us is unique, but it always starts with showing up authentically and intentionally. Are you ready to begin your journey?

I am so excited to be one of the newest writers for Watermark. I am a queer, Black woman who is deeply committed to social justice and education reform and

doing the right thing even when no one is looking.

It’s about being honest with yourself and others while living your values.

These three things are essential for me.

Today, I am still the kid that asks a lot of questions because I want to know how we can make things better. But now I know that it is okay to be who I am. I hope that we can

themselves despite the challenges our community faces. You have the power to make a difference in this world!

The journey to freedom and fulfillment is a personal commitment to yourself. It starts with the willingness to explore, evolve and grow. It is an ongoing journey that will require courage, vulnerability and most

it’s an honor to share my perspective here. I hope you follow along on this journey with me.

Don’t allow anything to prevent you from living your truth! You are loved. You are valuable.

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Bianca Goolsby, MBA is a digital strategist and activist who partners with mission-driven organizations to increase their impact through innovative and effective online communications. She also empowers and equips families to curate safe social spaces for themselves and their children.

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I

Body positivity F YOU LOOK AT THE FIRST

issue with this column back in 2019, I talked a bit about what inspired me to call it #Lovehandlin.

It is an homage to those love handles we grow up loathing, busting ourselves in the gym to get rid of them, yet for all intents and purposes they can be considered your staunchest cheerleader because they appear to never leave your sides!

If you are reading this, I am pretty sure you have grown within a cultural era that taught us how to idolize “body perfection” — sculpted muscles, thick calves under a thin waistline, the perfect physique.

This adoration of the human form has inspired art like Michelangelo’s David and shaped our deepest desires throughout history, from every new year resolution to summer body goals, since the Renaissance period.

The quest for the perfect body has also haunted many of us who — for better or worse — have lived in between the lines of leisurely enjoyment and self-blaming for having the opportunity yet not taking the chance to have a better-looking torso. On top of it all, as one begins to navigate the intricacies of LGBTQ spaces and its aesthetic demands, it is very common to find oneself questioning that fourth slice of pizza, fearing the number on the scale will determine if I am truly worth my weight in… well, pizza.

My relationship with my own body has been rocky and at times dreadful. Lately, I have been learning more about what it takes to have a positive outlook on your body, and it has ultimately changed my perspective of what it means to be healthy. For many, the words healthy and overweight are two fiends that should never mingle, posing a dualistic extreme that ends up eating our very self-esteem.

When I became a yoga teacher back in 2012, I fell for the attainment of the most beautifully perfected asana, or yoga pose. I would try and prove to myself I could do a headstand or endure a two-hour melting hot class. The one thing I did learn about bodies in general is that they are all beautifully sculpted and proven biological vessels, capable of withstanding the most strenuous of hardships, renewing themselves every time we take them to the edge, allowing for our experiences to be sensed, enjoyed and memorized.

Still, as you look at that same body in the mirror it is not your limitless power that shines through but the juxtaposed yearning of the bikini body curves or that V-shape muscle shining under the sun in that underwear promo. The lies we tell our own bodies are brutal.

The extremes we can go to in order to prove something to someone else has led to a culture of low self-esteem, depression, alcoholism and extreme eating disorders. Yet, many of us are quickly waking up to the realization that “skinny” and “fit” are not the only ways a human body should be viewed and loved. Doing a quick search on social media will overwhelm you with ads that push the sense that carbs are your enemy, sugar is a big no-no and counting your steps every day is only a joke. This alternate reality that crowds our minds with unhealthy images of what could be differs drastically from the inclusive sense of what being body positive is all about. The greatest feat you can truly accomplish during this ad frenzy, media onslaught is honestly loving who you are, honoring what you have overcome and recognizing that you are exactly where you need to be right this moment. Many medical professionals will debate whether there is an unhealthy weight and a healthy weight, which is very different from being skinny or fat. (Yes, fat. It is not a curse word, it is part of a wealth of individuals who are happy, healthy and proudly unapologetic — as it should be!) How many individuals do you know that appear thin yet look unhealthy? We are not only what we eat, we are also what we think and what you decide to feed yourself can bury you or lift you up.

Of course, being body positive does not mean a complete disregard for the medical attention we all need, as we all must learn

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and accept the fact that our physical bodies have limits. This perspective moves away from the appearance-focused mindset and embraces a balanced lifestyle that sheds the need for constant validation for a well-rounded take on the precious being you are in this life.

it with various nutrients and movements. Put in your mind the correct words, engage with the right people and value the spaces that promote self-love, regardless of what the media gets us to believe. We get to decide 100% of the time.

The important thing here is to remember that

are closing the book on the greatest story you have ever written. A story that reminds you of your struggles, your hangovers, your smiles, your pain and the realization that everything you bring to everyone’s life is unique, perfect and purposeful. It is quite the journey to look into the mirror and feel

As we normalize and embrace our power through our different shapes and sizes, we move towards the neutralization of ill-informed decisions that could adversely contribute to unwanted outcomes. Start your day by thanking your body for keeping you safe, restful and entertained.

Mindfully decide to nurture

you are precious because of everything you have endured and your body is the physical manifestation of your greatness. If you only stop to see the so-called flaws, ignoring completely why that scar is where it is, or look away from the mirror because of those skin spots, stretch marks or patchy dry spots, you

comfortable, appreciated and loved but when you change the way you see yourself, you can love your body and still appreciate your body, not for what it hasn’t done but for what it is prepared to do with the right attitude.

Summer is coming, show the sun how to be a star!

[R]emember that you are precious because of everything you have endured and your body is the physical manifestation of your greatness.

Celebrate

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talking points State laws and policies that prevent parents or guardians from following the advice of a healthcare professional regarding what may be medically necessary or otherwise appropriate care for transgender minors may infringe on rights protected by both the Equal Protection and the Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

—KRISTEN CLARKE, U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT’S ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, IN A GUIDANCE ISSUED ON TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY

CARMICHAEL COMES OUT IN NEW HBO SPECIAL ‘ROTHANIEL,’ HOSTS ‘SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’

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OMEDIAN JERROD CARMICHAEL CAME OUT AS GAY IN HIS LATEST SPECIAL, “ROTHANIEL,” which premiered on HBO April 1 and is currently streaming on HBO Max. The special, which is directed by Emmy-winning comedian Bo Burnham, was taped in February at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. After talking about secrets within his family, Carmichael tells the audience that he too has been keeping a secret. “I was left alone feeling like a liar, because I had a secret,” he said in the special. “One that I kept from my father, my mother, my family, my friends and you. Professionally, personally. And the secret is that I’m gay.” Carmichael went on the host “Saturday Night Live” the following night, talking about coming out in his opening monologue and appearing in a skit as part of a same-sex couple with openly gay cast member Bowen Yang on an inclusive line of baby clothes. Carmichael is best known for his critically acclaimed sitcom “The Carmichael Show,” which ran for three seasons on NBC, and for his previous HBO comedy specials “Love at the Store” and “8.”

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ANDY RAINBOW IS BACK WITH A NEW PARODY MUSIC VIDEO, this time taking on Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, better known as “Don’t Say Gay or Trans,” which Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law March 28. The song titled “GAY!” is a parody of “Shy” from the musical “Once Upon a Mattress.” The video amassed more than 2 million views across social media within the first 24 hours of its release and began trending on Twitter almost immediately.

The controversial bill forbids discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in school classrooms at certain grade levels.

The bill has garnered national attention and been mocked on “Saturday Night Live” and at the Oscars and has been condemned by the White House.

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HE WHITE PARTY, AN ANNUAL MULTI-DAY MUSIC FESTIVAL and the largest gay circuit party in the U.S., returns to Palm Springs, California April 29-May 1. The event, which typically brings more than 30,000 to California’s desert resort city every year for a series of pool parties during the day and epic dance parties at night, was cancelled the last two years. Event organizers announced Grammy-winning superstar Paula Abdul, who has not only topped the Billboard Hot 100 six times but became a pop culture icon as a judge on the first eight seasons of “American Idol,” will be the closing entertainer for the Sunday T-Dance. Other performers include U.K. singing sensation Raye and 2018 Eurovision Song Contest winner Netta.

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HAWAII COUPLE DROP RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST MILLER

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HAWAII COUPLE DROPPED THEIR PETITION FOR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER against actor Ezra Miller.

According to court documents, a judge dismissed the case April 11 after the couple requested it. The couple’s lawyer declined comment April 12 on why his clients no longer want to pursue the petition that accused Miller of bursting into their bedroom and threatening them in Hilo, the Big Island town where Miller was arrested for allegedly harassing patrons at a karaoke bar. A judge had granted the restraining order petition, saying it was needed to prevent future harassment and had set a hearing for April 13. A hearing is scheduled for April 26 on Miller’s arrest.

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Full Bloom Plant and garden enthusiasts grow authenticity throughout central florida and tampa bay

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Ryan Williams-Jent

EARCHING FOR “PLANT GAYS” CAN

yield quite the crop of LGBTQ-focused content on social media. Results primarily consist of photos and groups dedicated to members of the community who enjoy planting everything from decorative flowers to lush gardens that promote a more sustainable lifestyle.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, however, the benefits of gardening – and by extension continual care for flowers and plants – extend well beyond a beautiful selfie. The organization considers the

activities to be exercise and essential for improving one’s health, something independent studies have long proven.

CONTINUED ON PG. 31 | uu |

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PHOTO BY TEA TRAN PHOTOGRAPHY

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| uu | Full Bloom FROM PG.27

Physically, developing your green thumb can promote weight loss, blood circulation and flexibility while increasing your Vitamin D intake through responsible exposure to the sun.

It’s essential for hundreds of biological functions, including strengthening your bones as well as your immune system.

Mentally, the therapeutic value of gardening has been shown to reduce stress and other symptoms of depression and anxiety. It can also provide a sense of community, something LGBTQ plant and garden enthusiasts have experienced firsthand for years.

That includes Central Florida’s Todd Meyer, who through his company TM Landscape Lighting has worked in landscape and lighting design for two decades.

The openly gay industry veteran says around half of his clients are members of the LGBTQ community.

“Many of us appreciate our atmosphere,” Meyer explains.

“Obviously that isn’t consistent with every member of the community, but we’re often in tune with our surroundings. We use our outdoors for activities like entertaining and landscaping and lighting can really extend our living spaces.”

Throughout the years he’s never lost a passion for his work because “you’re not working on the same project all the time,” he says. “You might have a week where you’re working on a on a big project and then the next week, you might have three little projects to help someone make their house a home.”

Meyer has worked throughout Central Florida to help clients realize their vision, and as far north as The Villages. His large-scale projects have included lighting The Capen House in Winter Park, which hosts celebrations of all sizes across its three acres at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, as well as redoing the landscape and lighting for the owners of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not in Orlando.

“My work varies,” Meyer says.

Not only does he install plants for his clients, he also works with them to provide a master plan that includes hardscape elements. The man-made features are used in landscape architecture and include things

LIGHT & MAGIC: Todd Meyer of TM Landscape Lighting is an industry veteran. PHOTO COURTESY TODD MEYER

ON THE FARM: St. Pete Orchid Farm owners and partners Michael Brinkmann (L) and Doug Chenneville welcome orchid lovers to their home. PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

HOME GROWN: Selections from the St. Pete Orchid Farm, which offers orchids and much more. PHOTOS BY DYLAN TODD like sidewalks, other types of walkways and walls, elements which complement vegetation and are ideally completed first.

“If they have a master plan, they know what their next step is throughout the entire design process,” he explains. “You want things to have an order and that continuity. That way you aren’t just going to Lowe’s or Home Depot to find plants that you like and get home to say, ‘Well, now where should I put it?’”

Meyer notes that because he’s in the industry, he’s also able to purchase plants directly from growers. It saves clients a substantial amount of money,

allowing them to further realize their gardening dreams.

“You can drastically change a home with landscaping or with lighting,” Meyer says. “Having a home that’s nice on the outside is just like having one that’s nice on the inside. Every yard is different but can make you feel better about where you live.”

What started as a similar appreciation for nature from Michael Brinkmann and Doug Chenneville in Tampa Bay eventually evolved into another business. The partners met more than 25 years ago when Chenneville was working for a man who grew orchids.

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“I always had an appreciation for plants and I would help him with maintenance,” Brinkmann recalls. “Doug was also involved in growing palm trees at a family farm, so we built a shade house.”

Eventually they opened their St. Pete Orchid Farm in 2011.

Billed as a small, family-owned space, they’ve shared their love of flowers with the community near downtown St. Petersburg ever since.

The farm’s ever-changing inventory features orchids in all stages of growth, from seedlings to full-size specimens. The collection primarily consists of plants in what’s known as the Cattleya Alliance, a large group

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of orchids found from Florida to Argentina, but they also grow hybrid creations as well as other orchid-compatible plants like ferns and begonias.

The couple bought the farm in 1994, which boasts multiple shade houses and more. It also serves as their home, which means orchid and other plant enthusiasts are able to view their collection by appointment or monthly open houses.

“We’re an urban farm, but this is also our backyard. Our beautiful backyard. Sometimes we describe it as like a hobby that pays for itself,” Brinkmann muses. “We both love plants and love being here at the house enjoying them.

Sometimes people come over and wonder why some of them aren’t for sale, but it’s because they’re a part of our personal collection.

“Neither one of us really get paid for this but it pays some of the bills and pays for itself or for projects around the house,” he continues. “Or sometimes it’s fun to go visit other nurseries and buy plants that we want to add to our personal collection or to the yard.”

Brinkmann says that guests frequently liken the farm to Sunken Gardens, St. Petersburg’s more than 100-year-old garden that hosts some of the oldest tropical plants in the region.

“We try not to make it look like a commercial nursery,” he explains. “We have a heavily landscaped yard with fountains, which is just appealing to us anyway, and then other people enjoy it too.”

From their perspective, members of the LGBTQ community are drawn to gardening and caring for plants because it can be a fulfilling process, giving them something to cultivate.

“Every day I come outside, walk around and see something new opening up and it’s just amazing,” Brinkmann says.

“Everyone should come see the farm sometime. It’s just about loving something beautiful and collecting something that that you can grow and make prosper.”

Teaching others the skills required for that is a key part of the mission for Blue Trunk Community Garden in Orlando.

The organization’s goal is to practice ecological independence and to stress the importance of agriculture, community and trade to the community it serves.

CONTINUED ON PG. 33 | uu |

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“To plant a seed is to grow in oneself,” Blue Trunk advises.

The first of their core values is to restore knowledge of agriculture, “the way of life for our ancestors and the calling to restore the earth we have inherited.” Rounding out the list are integrity, sustainability and expertise.

“A growing organization requires the knowledge of each individual to provide adequate services,” organizers advise. “In order to receive the community’s support, we must ensure that every individual involved knows their opinion is valued.”

Community Curator Itiba De Maji, who is nonbinary, works to make that a reality for all of the garden’s supporters.

They serve as the main point of reference for any of Blue Trunk’s organizing aspects.

“We’re really focused on marginalized communities,” De Maji explains. “All of our leaders are members of a marginalized community or more than one, including LGBTQ+ folks. Much of our focus is having resources for free or low cost.”

Their efforts began with a seed bank after Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017. De Maji and their fellow Blue Trunk founders were among members of the community who sent residents seeds to reestablish their agricultural operations.

“When we weren’t able to continue shipping things to Puerto Rico, that’s how our seed bank started,” they say. “We began collecting even more and giving them out to people here and it became a community awareness project. Now we create spaces where everyone is able to embrace their own leadership skills. It’s about community empowerment.”

One of Blue Trunk’s key partnerships is with Central Florida’s Peer Support Space, which serves as a local hub for peer-led recovery communities.

They intentionally create spaces that welcome the LGBTQ and other marginalized communities, like their Planting Hope workshop.

“The Planting Hope workshops Peer Support Space has in partnership with Blue Trunk are a chance for us to connect with both the Earth and with one another,” Co-Founder and Director of Peer

PLANTING HOPE: Planting Hope gardeners including Blue Trunk’s Itiba De Maji (Top R) and Peer Support Space’s Dandelion Hill (Bottom R). PHOTO BY TEA TRAN PHOTOGRAPHY Services Dandelion Hill explains.

“Together we are growing food and cultivating chosen family connections among the queer, gender diverse community.”

“It’s a safe space for retreat and relaxation,” De Maji adds.

“It’s been a very rewarding thing because we have been able to create a safe gardening space for our LGBTQ community.” They also call the partnership one of Blue Trunk’s most empowering, noting that the organizers have learned a

SUSTAINABLE LIVES: Sustainable Living Project volunteers including Georgea Snyder and Prin Ocea (Top, 2nd and 3rd from R). PHOTO COURTESY SUSTAINABLE LIVING PROJECT

Utilizing the outdoors to cultivate joy is something the Sustainable Living Project in Tampa also understands. The nonprofit urban farm and education center’s one acre plot of land is home to 34 grow beds, a water catchment system to divert and store rainwater, a solar-powered greenhouse, compost stations and much more.

“Our mission is to serve, educate and build community through that property,” Director

folks. We’re happy to say they tend to stick around, I’m guessing because we’re an open space.”

Snyder says that unlike many gardens in the area, SLP is a secular organization.

She believes that may also help attract members of the LGBTQ community, many of whom haven’t traditionally felt welcomed by organized religion.

“Almost all of the community gardens in this area are associated with some kind of religious

It’s wonderful because we know in these spaces we can show up as our authentic selves and that we will be celebrated and honored – plus we get to learn practices that will help sustain our well-being in the long run.

— PEER SUPPORT SPACE CO-FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF PEER SERVICES DANDELION HILL lot from the experience.

It’s meant just as much to Peer Support Space. The organization will soon announce seasonal swaps for its plants and crops, allowing for even more members of the community to get involved.

“It’s wonderful because we know in these spaces we can show up as our authentic selves and that we will be celebrated and honored – plus we get to learn practices that will help sustain our well-being in the long run,” Hill says. “I personally have a flourishing garden now that’s been a significant contributor to my mental health – all thanks to skills I learned through Planting Hope. It’s really made gardening accessible and fun.”

Georgea Snyder explains. “That includes things like volunteer days, hands-on opportunities to get involved with plants and growing your own food, as well as some classes and workshops.

We offer our space to the community and use it to focus on sustainability.”

After its 2013 founding, Snyder began her work with SLP as a volunteer. She helped the organization becomes its own entity after inheriting daily operations, creating an inclusive space for all.

“We tend to have a larger LGBTQ population,” she says.

“We don’t necessarily target any particular group, but we try to be welcoming to everybody and obviously that includes LGBTQ

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organization, and that is what gives them a lot of staying power,” Snyder explains. “They don’t usually pay rent for their land and there’s almost a built-in volunteer base.

“I just felt strongly that this one wouldn’t be like that, just to open the doors up more,” she continues.

“I’m not against religion, but whereas I didn’t necessarily want to belong to one, I did want to belong to a community garden. I think because there’s sometimes a stigma with the LGBTQ community and organized religion, maybe it’s easier for them to start volunteering with us.”

Having members of the LGBTQ community among SLP’s leadership also helped cultivate a diverse environment.

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“Like anything, representation matters,” Snyder says. Former LGBTQ leaders include Prin Ocea, who now works as the LGBTQ+ Programs coordinator at Tampa Bay’s Metro Inclusive Health, the second largest LGBTQ-focused health and community center in North America.

“There is so much to be learned at SLP and I cherish the time I spent there helping to facilitate the maintenance and productions of their compost piles, transforming local food waste into nutritious soil,” Ocea says.

“SLP was the first community garden where my pronouns were respected, which made me feel so comfortable and excited about learning sustainability!”

Ocea and others are currently developing Metro’s 2022 LGBTQ+ Youth Summer Camp, programming that will introduce participants to Tampa Bay’s diverse resources. A trip to SLP will be among their outings and is currently scheduled for late July.

“I’m excited about introducing them to The Sustainable Living Project,” Ocea says.

Snyder is also eager to welcome them.

“This is really cheesy,” she muses, “but plants and nature represent the cycles that are in our lives. It can be important for marginalized communities to see that a garden isn’t always blooming.

“Gardening takes work, time and care,” she continues. “We have to accept cycles of blooming and pruning, and maybe when we’re not blooming in certain parts of our lives, working in the garden or with plants to find beauty in the cycle somewhere else can be helpful. When you’re marginalized that can resonate with you a little bit more.”

To inquire about services from TM Landscape Lighting in Central Florida, contact Todd Meyer at 407-898-4222.

To learn more about the St. Pete Orchid Farm or to schedule an appointment, call 727-201-8264 or visit StPeteOrchidFarm.com.

Both the Blue Trunk Community Garden in Orlando and Sustainable Living Project in Tampa welcome donors and volunteers.

Learn more about supporting their missions at BlueTrunkGarden.org and SLPTampa.com.

To learn more about Peer Support Space or Metro Inclusive Health, visit PeerSupportSpace.org and MetroTampaBay.org.

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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

W H E ER M E O that’s S

Green The Straz sinks its teeth into ‘Little Shop of Horrors’

B

Ryan Williams-Jent

EFORE GUIDING AUDIENCES

through an Arabian night in “Aladdin,” crafting a tale as old as time in “Beauty and the Beast” or making sure “The Little Mermaid” became a part of our world, the late and legendary lyricist Howard Ashman found his home on the stage.

Often in a “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Ashman conceived, wrote and directed the hit musical in 1982 with composer Alan Menken, his frequent collaborator with whom he would later revitalize Walt Disney Animation. It was adapted from the 1960 film of nearly the same name, a dark comedy about a man growing a plant that craves blood.

The musical enjoyed a five-year run Off-Broadway and quickly found its way overseas. It also inspired the 1986 film starring Rick Moranis and Steve Martin, featuring even more music from the duo.

Multiple revivals have followed in the years since, a testament to Ashman’s vision. On

PHOTO BY STEVEN LE

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stage, productions have starred fellow LGBTQ icons like Jonathan Groff and Michaela Jae Rodriguez while on screen, work has begun on another version starring Billy Porter as Audrey II, the show’s main plant-agonist.

Tampa’s Straz Center for the Performing Arts has also produced a version. Originally scheduled for 2020 but delayed due to the pandemic, it opened in the Jaeb Theater April 6 and plays through May 1.

“A sadistic singing dentist, an enormous people-eating plant and plenty of doo-wop interludes, ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ is a laugh-out-loud toe-tapping thing of nightmares,” the production is officially

CONTINUED ON PG. 37 | uu |

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THIS IS THE VOICE: Fo’i Meleah, an LGBTQ entertainer based in Orlando, brings Audrey II to life in “Little Shop of Horrors.” PHOTO BY ROB HARRIS

| uu | Somewhere that’s

Green FROM PG.35

described. “Despite that, it’s a love story. Of sorts.

“When flower shop clerk Seymour adopts an adorable but toothy baby plant and names it after the object of his affection, good intentions quickly pave a highway to hell in this campy dark-comedy sing-along,” its synopsis continues. “Feed us, Seymour!”

The production is directed

by David Jenkins – also the co-founder and producing artistic director of Jobsite Theater, the Straz’s resident theatre company – who says its premiere was a long time coming.

“We originally cast the show around three years ago,” he explains. “In 2019, the Straz Center was looking at getting back into doing in-house productions, which they hadn’t done in a number of years. For a variety of factors they quit doing it, so the space began being rented out to Jobsite or touring shows, things like that.

“They picked a few productions to do in 2020-2021 and we went as far as to cast both ‘Shout! The Mod Musical’ [which ran Aug.-Sept. 2021] and ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ from the same

audition – and then, of course, the world shut down.”

Soon after the rescheduling began. “Little Shop” was initially moved from Fall 2020 to Summer 2021 but postponed again. “We all thought we were going to be home for six to eight weeks,” Jenkins remembers. “We ended up opening this show basically three years from when we first auditioned it.”

LET IT GROW: “Little Shop of Horrors” lead Nicholas Perez-Hoop puppets one of the smaller versions of Audrey II as Seymour, along with musical guides Marta Myada, Javisha Strong and Taty Arroyo as The Urchins. PHOTO BY STEVEN LE That team consists of talent from throughout Tampa Bay and Central Florida, like Orlando’s Fo’i Meleah. The openly LGBTQ entertainer and Jenkins had previously worked together on “Lizzie: The Musical” and “The Threepenny Opera,” and he always envisioned her in the role of Audrey II. “When the Straz Center gave me the opportunity to direct

As time went on, however, she and her castmates weren’t certain when or how “Little Shop” would come to be. “We all thought it would be a year, turns out it was three,” she says. “It was a little bit longer of a wait than we thought, but we’re so excited to be here because of it.”

Meleah was a longtime fan of the show, at least on screen.

She says it captivated her from

As members of the LGBTQ community, we’re constantly having to make concessions to our art for capitalism, or to what we do professionally or to just being ourselves ... The show takes that to a very heightened area and the LGBTQ community can really relate to that message.

— CENTRAL FLORIDA ENTERTAINER FO’I MELEAH, VOICE OF AUDREY II Most surprising, he adds, is that the entire original cast was able to return.

“None of us believe it, actually,” Jenkins explains. “After all this time, every single one of us that were in that audition room are coming back and doing the show.

That was never a certainty, but we got the whole team back together. It’s wild.”

this show, I said, ‘Awesome, I’ll do it. I’ve already got somebody I want to play the voice of the plant,’” Jenkins says. “It was hers from the jump.”

“David and I had worked together in the past and about three years ago he reached out to offer me the role,” Meleah says. “I was immediately in, no questions asked.”

watermark Your LGBTQ News Source.

a young age.

“It was one of the first movie musicals that I ever watched where I felt like I was really taken into the world,” she says. “And it takes a good amount of suspending your disbelief to believe that there’s a man-eating plant that everyone is singing about.”

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Jenkins also had a long history with the production, which he calls a classic.

“I went to a performing arts high school and actually performed songs from ‘Little Shop’ for theater class,” he says.

“I’ve voiced Audrey II before. I’ve played Seymour. I haven’t had anything to do with the show in a number of years, but now to be able to get into the director’s chair – coupled with all of my own nerdy fandoms like sci-fi and horror – it’s been a real treat.”

Meleah researched multiple “Little Shop” productions to find her Audrey II voice, a role she approached with caution.

“I’ve seen a lot of great drag queens do it and Amber Riley did it recently,” she says. “It has traditionally been played by someone who is Black and I didn’t want to do anything close to a Blackscent. The way the role is written, there’s an energy [similar to African American Vernacular English], and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t offensive in any way.

“Being a brown person myself, I’ve seen so many people put on affected voices, especially since I was looking at so many Audrey II performances,” she continues.

“That was a full no go for me and thankfully the cast and creative team were very helpful in making

CONTINUED ON PG. 39 | uu |

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ROCK SHOP: A larger version of Audrey II, controlled by skilled puppeteers and voiced by Fo’i Meleah who watches from above, duets with Nicholas Perez-Hoop in “Little Shop of Horrors.” PHOTO BY STEVEN LE

| uu | Somewhere that’s

Green FROM PG.37

sure I felt comfortable to make the choices I have. Audrey II still has a lot of funk and it feels natural.”

The character’s puppeteers play a key role in that, particularly while matching Meleah’s live vocals.

“For the majority of the show I’m off stage, but we’re doing something that’s really cool,” she explains. “I’m up top with the band on the balcony, so we’re able to communicate with each other.

I don’t have to do what Audrey II usually has to, which is watch the acting from a monitor. I’m truly able to see everything that’s happening live, just higher up.”

As for the puppets, Jenkins says they range from “a little coffee can-sized guy to a plant that literally covers the stage.”

The final prop towers above the audience at 6 foot 8 inches tall.

The Straz enlisted the Davenport, Florida-based ImaginationWorks to make that a reality. The company has built and rented versions of the “Little

Shop of Horrors” icon for more than 25 years.

“Odds are that if you’ve seen a professional production of ‘Little Shop’ anywhere in the Southeast in the past 10 years, you’ve seen their plants,” Jenkins says. Four puppets are rented from owner Scott Cook, also the artistic director for Polk County’s Theater Works Florida.

The first puppet is “Audrey II on her last legs,” it’s officially described. “Hidden within the sickly exterior are new leaves and vine that are revealed when the plant grows.”

The second is around four times larger and is operated by the cast with the “the old ‘fake arm’ trick.” The third requires a puppeteer to utilize their entire body from inside while the fourth plant, the largest, represents Audrey II “in all its terrifying glory.” It takes a small team to fully animate.

The rental includes detailed, in-person instructions from Cook, who also provides training. “This helps not only the client, but also me, so I know the plants are being handled safely,” he told the Straz.

“It’s important to me that my

clients are happy and they know what they’re doing.”

“I call them my girls,” he added. “When I rent them it’s like sending your child to college.

I think about them all the time and I want to call and see if they’re all right. I really do love them but I think it’s because I love the show so much.”

Jenkins says the entire cast does as well. “I think part of it is because there’s a certain kinship since this was three years in waiting,” he explains, “but you can tell everyone in the room is invested in what they’re doing.

“Honestly, they’ve done all the work for me,” he also muses.

“The role of a director in musical theater is usually the last thing anybody really cares about, because people come to see the choreography and hear the songs.

They’re just on fire and have made my job very easy.”

The final product is something longtime fans of the show as well as first-time viewers can enjoy, particularly LGBTQ audiences.

Jenkins says one of its universal themes deals with the desire to live authentically.

“Even though they’re a cisgender, heterosexual couple,

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Audrey and Seymour are living under the shadows of other people and society, unable to be who they are,” Jenkins says.

“These people are in close proximity to one another but it takes so much for them to make a connection.”

It’s a subtext that has run through much of Ashman’s work, themes which are prevalent in the show.

“Clearly to step outside of the play, when you look at who Ashman is in context of musical theater history, he’s literally an icon,” Jenkins says. “Not only from Broadway, but to Disney and then back to Broadway.

“If you listen closely to the music in ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ you will find bits of ‘The Little Mermaid,’ of ‘Aladdin’ and so many other things that Ashman did later in his career. I wasn’t even aware of it until we started working on the show. It’s been amazing.”

The show also tackles capitalism, Meleah stresses, a message that isn’t lost in the production.

“At its core it’s about how it sways all of us, and I feel like as a members of the LGBTQ

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community, we’re constantly having to make concessions to our art for capitalism, or to what we do professionally or to just being ourselves,” she says.

“We want to be ourselves, but I don’t think capitalism really allows us to be,” Meleah concludes. “The show takes that to a very heightened area and the LGBTQ community can really relate to that message.”

Jenkins notes that it’s also just highly entertaining.

“This is the kind of thing people want to see right now, even though it’s about a man-eating plant and a bunch of people die in it,” he laughs.

“If you enjoy live music and live theater, come embrace its lightheartedness because these voices and harmonies are just stunning. Come and have a good time.”

“Little Shop of Horrors” plays Wednesdays– Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. in the Jaeb Theater of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, located at 1010 N. Macinnes Pl. in Tampa. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit StrazCenter.org.

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LITERATURE

Strong Together

Author Greg Triggs on his latest novel, ‘That What Makes Us Stronger’ WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR YOU TO REVISIT GROWING UP GAY DURING THE ‘70S AND ‘80S IN THE MIDWEST?

(ABOVE)

STORY TIME:

Greg Triggs (pictured) released his second novel, “That What Makes Us Stronger.”

PHOTOS COURTESY GREG TRIGGS

“S

Jeremy Williams

PECIAL NEEDS. ADDICTION.

Divorce. Righteous grandmas. Overwhelmed parents. One kid in the closet and another on the road as a showgirl. How can it all be happening in the same family?”

That is how author, and former Watermark columnist, Greg Triggs describes his latest novel, “That What Makes Us Stronger.”

The book is told through the point of view of Warn Barnes, a young, closeted gay kid in the Midwest growing up during the ‘70s and ‘80s with his “very extreme family.”

Triggs spoke about writing “That What Makes Us Stronger” and its connection to his own upbringing with Watermark shortly after the book’s release in March.

HOW DID THE STORY FOR “THAT WHAT MAKES US STRONGER” COME ABOUT?

It’s largely based on my own family; I have two challenged siblings and a lot of addiction issues in my family. Similar things but I really wanted to, within the spirit of the book, bring humor and kindness to things that are usually

explored by virtue of their limitations.

So “That What Makes Us Stronger” talks about the challenges the family endures together and ultimately, for the most part, finds themselves stronger for having gone through it.

“THAT WHAT MAKES US STRONGER” IS A WORK OF FICTION BUT HOW MUCH OF IT IS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL?

I would say it is 100% inspired by real-life circumstances but where it deviates, I would call the ratio about 70/30. Number one, I’m not sure my life has been worthy of a memoir [laughs].

Number two, I really wanted to provide my family with a little wiggle room when talking about the things we have gone through together. I wanted them to bring their emotions to the story but not forensic detail.

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It was very interesting looking back on that time because one of the things I’ve come to realize is while I was coming to grips about who and what I really was I don’t think I was fooling people as much as I thought.

In a way that I’m very forgiving about I see that I put myself through a lot of unnecessary things that were born of my circumstance and the era in which I grew up.

It was really gratifying to write a layered story where many characters were going through something because I think it gave me a chance to look back and while I was wrapped up in what was happening to me, I didn’t really consider what was going on with the people I love. That was really rewarding and there were times when I tried to balance what the character was going through in terms of all those things with joy about the things he was freer to discover than I was.

WHY DID YOU WANT TO WRITE THIS NOVEL NOW AND TELL THIS STORY AT THIS POINT IN YOUR LIFE?

I’ve been thinking about this novel for a long time. One of my siblings passed away so I’ve really been trying to think of ways to spend time with him and a way to thank him. My brother was much older than I am and he brought a lot of wonderful things into my life and I kind of approached the book as a chance to acknowledge that.

I also wanted to give his kids a better understanding of who he was.

WAS IT A STRUGGLE TAKING SITUATIONS THAT YOU LIVED THROUGH AND MAKING THEM INTO COMEDY?

I think enough time had passed but truth be told there were some nights where I finished writing and I’d think “that was a lot to relive.” Especially around the themes of addiction and losing my brother and finding a way for humor to be respectful. I feel while the book is not a perfect reflection of that goal, I feel good about where it is.

My first book [“The Next Happiest Place on Earth”] was in part about

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divorce and when I was writing that book I became very aware that most often in fiction there is a hero in the divorce story and there is a villain, and it has not been my experience that those of polar extremes, it is more layered that that, so I really wanted to write about two people who just failed to rise to a common challenge and couldn’t find their way back to each other. But neither one of them are horrible people, they weren’t fools for having been together in the first place. I tried to bring that ethic to the theme of addiction in this book because very often I think people who suffer with addiction issues are not presented as whole people. They represent everything about the disease of addiction but what else are they?

The character who suffers from addiction the most in my book is the father and having grown up with a father who was an alcoholic, it was healing to look at that with a more three-dimensional point of view. I was pretty young when I lost my father, so it was very healing to think about his alcoholism in a broader context than just how it affected my childhood.

AT ANY POINT IN WRITING THIS BOOK DID THINGS GET TOO INTENSE FOR YOU?

When I was writing the book, I really stopped to consider whether or not those aspects for the story ultimately were mine to tell. If I didn’t feel like they were mine to tell I tried to temper those with kindness. The other thing about it is this is a book with a lot of characters so you can’t tell every aspect of every character in the story. You have to focus on what they contribute to the narrative. Other things that might be interesting and are worthy to write about might need to wait until another time.

THE BOOK DEALS WITH PROCESSING THROUGH TRAUMA. DID YOU FIND, IN WRITING THIS BOOK, IT HELPED YOU TO LET GO OF PAST TRAUMA, EITHER KNOWN OR THAT YOU WERE HOLDING ONTO SUBCONSCIOUSLY?

It did. I feel really good about that aspect of the book. Within that dynamic I also realized that things I’ve been holding onto or that I didn’t understand about how people treated me when I was growing up was homophobia. It was about their limitations and their small minds, and I was not going to be able to fix that. So things I was holding onto I was able to release in ways I was not anticipating.

“That What Makes Us Stronger” by Greg Triggs is available now at Amazon.com and RedHawkPublications.com.

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community calendar

EVENT PLANNER ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

CENTRAL FLORIDA

CENTRAL FLORIDA

Pride Prom

Florida Film Festival, April 8-17, Enzian Theater, Maitland. 407-629-1088; FloridaFilmFestival.com

SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 8 P.M. ORLANDO MUSEUM OF ART, ORLANDO

“Bare Bard: Henry IV Part 2,” April 1324, Orlando Shakes, Orlando. 407-447-1700; OrlandoShakes.org Jasmine Kennedie, April 15, Southern Nights, Orlando.

407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsOrlando Orlando Taco & Margarita Fest, April 16, Camping World Stadium, Orlando. 407-496-6815; CampingWorld.com Todrick Hall, April 16, Hard Rock Live, Orlando. 407-351-5483; HardRockLive.com “The Boys Are Back” & “Come Fly With Me” Two Show Double Feature, April 22-24, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org Florida Puerto Rican Parade & Festival, April 23, Downtown, Orlando. 787-938-6367; FloridaPuertoRicanParade.org 17th Annual Central Florida Earth Day, April 23, Lake Eola Park, Orlando.

321-331-1859; CFEarthDay.org Acts of Love and Kindness Kick-off, April 23, Langford Park, Orlando. 407-648-7060; OneOrlandoAlliance.org Il Divo, April 23, King Center, Melbourne. 321-242-2219; KingCenter.com Nate Bargatze, April 23, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org Homecoming Reception for Our FL Legislative Champions, April 23, Savoy, Orlando. 407-898-6766; ContigoFund.org

ROCKETMAN The legendary Elton John brings his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour to the Amalie Arena in Tampa April 24 and the Amway Center in Orlando April 27. PHOTO FROM ELTONJOHN.COM

Donut Fest Orlando, April 24, Orlando Brewing, Orlando. 407-872-1117; OrlandoBrewing.com

Jennifer Real Live, April 14, Punky’s Bar and Grill, St. Petersburg. 727-201-4712; PunkysBar.com

Neema’s Birthday at Nocha Latina, April 25, Southern Nights, Orlando.

407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsOrlando

Leather Night, April 16, The Garage on Central Ave., St. Petersburg.

727-235-9086; Facebook.com/ OFCLGaragePage

Elton John: “Farewell Yellow Brick Road,” April 27, Amway Center, Orlando. 407-440-7000; AmwayCenter.com

USF Afternoon of a Flute, April 16, USF School of Music, Tampa. 813-974-2311; USF.edu

Parenting with LGBTQ+, April 28, virtual, online. 321-926-1336; PeerSupportSpace.org

TAMPA BAY “Little Shop of Horrors,” Through May 1, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org “Footloose: The Musical,” Through May 8, Demens Landing, St. Petersburg. 727-823-7529; AmericanStage.org

Tampa’s Downtown Eggsploration, April 16, Julian B. Riverfront Park, Tampa. 813-221-6838; TampasDowntown.com Lisa Noe & Cindy Vish Live, April 16, Punky’s Bar and Grill, St. Petersburg.

727-201-4712; PunkysBar.com EPIC Generations: Walk Down Memory Lane, April 21, EPIC, St. Petersburg.

727-328-3260; MyEPIC.org Balance Tampa Bay Social, April 21, Bayboro Brewing Company, St. Petersburg. 727-767-9666; BalanceTampaBay.org

Fortune Feimster: “Hey Y’all,” April 23, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg. 727-892-5767; TheMahaffey.com 36th Annual Green Thumb Festival, April 23-24, Walter Fuller Park, St. Petersburg. 727-893-7441; StPeteParksRec.org Jubilation: The Ultimate Dance on the Pier, April 24, St. Petersburg Pier, St. Petersburg.

JubilationStPete.com CallaBoone Nunday Sunday, April 24, Salty Nun, St. Petersburg. 727-329-9994; Facebook.com/SaltyNun Elton John: “Farewell Yellow Brick Road,” April 24, Amalie Arena, Tampa. 813-301-6500; AmalieArena.com

SARASOTA Drag Brunch, April 24, Oasis Restaurant & Bar, Sarasota.

941-217-5082; Oasis-SRQ.com

Join Come Out With Pride for as they host Pride Prom, a 21 and up dance celebration at the Orlando Museum of Art April 16. This year’s theme is “Express Yourself” and will feature familiar prom festivities including dance music by Projection Projects, a photo booth by Firefly Photo Booth, a performance by The Central FL Ballroom and Ivy Les Vixens, entertainment by headliner Roxxxy Andrews and more. Tickets are $30 for general admission and $100 for VIP. For tickets, go to ShowClix.com/ events/2022-pride-prom.

The Center’s Career Fair MONDAY, APRIL 18, 11 A.M.-3 P.M. THE LGBT+ CENTER, ORLANDO The LGBT+ Center Orlando is hosting a career fair featuring a variety of businesses including Goodwill, Aspire Health, CCI Group, U.S. Veteran Affairs, Piñero Preventative Medical Care, DiscoverAbility and Disney. For more information, contact The Center at 407-228-8272.

TAMPA BAY LGBTQ+ Youth Summit Saturday, April 23, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

METRO INCLUSIVE HEALTH, TAMPA & VIRTUALLY Metro Inclusive Health hosts this event in partnership with GLSEN Tampa Bay to combat the discrimination LGBTQ+ young people still face in school, at home and within their community. The free conference provides information on health, education and empowerment for LGBTQ youth ages 13-17 and this year’s theme is LGBTQ+ visibility. Workshops include LGBTQ history, the art of drag and more. Get more details at MetroTampaBay.org.

Dining Out for Life Tampa Bay WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, TIMES VARY THROUGHOUT TAMPA BAY Dining Out for Life Tampa Bay will once again benefit Empath Partners in Care. This fundraising event will offer dine in, outdoor dining, takeout or delivery options to for supporters, who can enjoy breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, ice cream, cocktails and more at of participating DOFL locations. At least 15% of your check will be donated to support EPIC. Read more on page 10 and by visiting DiningOutForLife.com.

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

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ST. PETE GALA Saturday May 7, 2022 • 6:00 - 11:00 pm

The Mahaffey Theater 400 1st St S St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Please join us for our 2022 Equality Florida St. Pete Gala to celebrate our 25th Anniversary!

This year we are honoring two local heroes, Brian Longstreth and Jennie O’Leary! They will be receiving the Voice for Equality Awards. There will be delicious cuisine by Catering by the Family, open bar, Kahwa Espresso Bar, entertainment, dancing, a fantastic silent auction, and a state of the state address by Equality Florida’s Executive Director, Nadine Smith.

Tickets are $135 NO PRINTED TICKETS ISSUED. Names will be on an admission list at the door. Cocktail attire is suggested.

R.S.V.P. and purchase tickets at eqfl.org/stpetegala or call (727) 822-2122

Sponsorship opportunities begin at $500 and include complimentary Gala tickets along with a number of other benefits. To become a sponsor visit eqfl.org/stpetegala or contact Todd Richardson at Todd@equalityflorida.org or (727) 822-2122 PRESENTED BY

Equality Florida has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, its top rating, and is the highest rated statewide LGBT civil rights organization in the nation, with four stars for both accountability and transparency. We’re also a Platinum Level GuideStar participant, a top-rated nonprofit by GreatNonprofits, and nationally accredited by the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance (give.org).

#STPETEGALA2022 @EqualityFL

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announcements

TAMPA BAY OUT+ABOUT

CONGRATULATIONS Mayor Ken Welch issued a proclamation declaring March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility in the City of St. Petersburg on March 31. TDoV is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender people worldwide while also raising awareness of the work needed to save their lives. Read more about the event and designation in St. Petersburg at WatermarkOnline.com.

Atlas Body + Home celebrated three years in St. Petersburg April 2. Learn more at AtlasBodyAndHome.com Come OUT St. Pete held its one-year anniversary T-Dance at the Garage on Central Ave. April 3. Get involved with this year’s event at ComeOUTStPete.org.

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Dominic and Mike Costelli were married April 8.

The University of South Florida raised more than $6,000 by its April 8 deadline for its LGBTQ-focused scholarship.

The LGBT+ Scholarship supports USF students who demonstrate academic achievement, have unmet financial need and have contributed to the welcoming climate of all students, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and thus support their academic, personal and social development as a citizen in the community.

Learn more at USF.edu.

CLOSURES According to its social media page, Cristoph’s in Tampa permanently closed as of at least April 4. Watermark has reached out to the venue but received no response.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS St. Pete Dance owner Michael Raisch (April 14); Former Tampa Bay Bucs cheerleader Isaiah Sanchez Hilton, Tampa Bay DJ Bill Kody (April 15); St. Petersburg artist John Gascot, Tampa Bay talent DeLaran Withers (April 16); Tampa insurance specialist Mitchell Ryan, Sarasota realtor Joey McDonald, St. Petersburg realtor Eric Wilson (April 17); St. Petersburg Stonewall Democrat Beth Fountain, St. Petersburg superwoman Tammy Benjamin, Tampa Bay environmentalist Joey Stalker, USAA Insurance claims adjustor Andy Perry, Magic man Ryan Zubrick (April 18); Tampa Bay entertainer Vivion Rachel Harris Clarke, Sarasota-area actor Peter Ruiz (April 20); Tampa burlesque producer Mayven Missbehavin, H&R Block team lead Tyler Hargrove (April 21); Tampa business owner Michael DiCamillo, Project No Labels founder Claire Elisan, ‘Femmes and Follies’ producer Katie James (April 22); former TIGLFF executive director Scott Skyberg, Tampa Leather Club’s Joseph Mastrapasqua, Metro Inclusive Health Operations Manager Allan HeroShaw, Hancock Whitney Bank VP John Balestrieri (April 23); St. Petersburg actor Tom Campbell, former Tampa actor Larry Buzzeo, former St Pete Pride president Scott Turner, Tampa bear Bill Vincent, Tampa Bay politico Valerie McDonald; Florida Orchestra Principal Flutist Clay Ellerbroek-Pettiford, Red Ribbon Cyclist Drew Reed (April 24); Tampa Bay bartender Kyle Hill, Florida Democratic Progressive Caucus president Susan Smith (April 25); Tampa dancer Jackie Huston (April 26).

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SURPRISE VISIT: Former NBA player Dennis Rodman (C) visits Bradley’s on 7th while filming his new reality series April 4, striking a pose with Amy DeMilo (L) and Esme Russell. PHOTO

COURTESY MARK WEST BIAS

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HAPPY AT HOME: Tony Loeffler (L) and Michael Griffin celebrate three years at Atlas Body + Home April 3. PHOTO

COURTESY ATLAS BODY + HOME

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HISTORICAL MOMENT: State Rep. Michele Rayner (R), candidate for U.S. Congress, poses with LGBTQ Equality Caucus Chair and U.S. Rep. David Cicilline after Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation in Washington, D.C. April 8. PHOTO

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COURTESY MICHELE RAYNER

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DYNAMIC DUO: Alan Cumming (L) bamfs into dinner with his friend Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw after his one-man show at the Straz April 4. PHOTO

COURTESY JAKOB HERO-SHAW

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MUSIC MAN: Director Chris Romeo works on the Diversity: Voices of Sarasota recording March 31.

PHOTO COURTESY DIVERSITY: THE VOICES OF SARASOTA

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GAME ON: Tampa Pride President Carrie West (Center L) and St Pete Pride Executive Director Nicole Berman (Center R) drop the ceremonial puck for the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Pride Night March 29. PHOTO

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COURTESY TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

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EPIC OUTING: Empath Partners in Care table at Faith Café with free HIV testing and more April 6. PHOTO COURTESY EMPATH PARTNERS IN CARE

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OPENING DATE: Tampa Mayor Jane Castor (L) celebrates the Tampa Bay Rays’ opening day with DJ Kitty April 8. PHOTO

COURTESY CITY OF TAMPA

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EXPO

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announcements

CENTRAL FLORIDA OUT+ABOUT

CONGRATULATIONS Nicholas Smith and Kate Maini‘s Urban Quarters Team brokerage offices won Orlando Top Team, Million Dollar Club and Presidents Club at the Realty Executives Gallery Awards celebration The Grove Resort in Orlando April 2.

Swim Out Orlando’s Brian Coakley and Joe Clauson won two medals each at the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics games in Palm Springs, California April 10. Read more on pg. 8.

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CONDOLENCES Randy Stephens, executive director of the LGBT+ Center Orlando from 2010-14, passed away March 31.

Steve Singhaus passed away in his Orlando home April 10. Steve was brother to Sam Singhaus, aka drag legend Miss Sammy, and husband to fashion icon Marcy Singhaus. Both Sam and Marcy Singhaus passed away in 2020.

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OPEN Registration for the onePULSE Foundation’s 6th annual 4.9K CommUNITY Run is now open. This year’s theme is UNITY and is presented by Orlando Health and Hard Rock International in partnership with the UCF DeVos Sport Business Management Program. Run registration is $49 for in-person or $54 for virtual and includes a commemorative medal, T-shirt, tote bag, runners’ bib and free parking. Upgraded registration to add the 26Health “Love is Love Lounge” and enjoy unlimited Proud Mary’s, Mimosa’s, wine and buffet breakfast provided by Hard Rock Café is available. The 6th annual 4.9K CommUNITY Run will be June 4 at Wadeview Park and starts at 8 a.m.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS Elizabeth “Sister Koochie Koo” of the Orlando Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Orlando attorney Cory Beetly, Drag chanteuse Chantel Reshae, Theatre West End co-owner Quinn Roberts (April 14); Ocala-based horse trainer Randy Eeckhout, Southern Nights Orlando DJ Nela Aguirre (April 15); Orlando arts patron Jerry Baumeister (April 18); Orlando bartender Spencer Dalberth (April 19); YouTuber and transgender advocate Zinnia Jones (April 20); Central Florida realtor Scott Penyak, On-air personality for Magic 107.7 Chad Pitt (April 21); “Miss Pee-Vira” AJ Pratt, Central Florida promoter Neema Bahrini, Former Rollins College director of dance Bob Sherry (April 22); former Watermark sales rep Tammi Jones, artist Amanda Vickers (April 23); Florida Democratic Party Diversity & Inclusion chair Vivian Rodriguez, O-Town textbook editor Sara Lyna (April 24); Watermark contributor and “News Junkie” Sabrina Ambra (April 25); WAVE Award-winning Orlando artist Chad Booth, Gender Identity in Florida Today president Jennifer Marvin (April 26).

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CELEBRATING DIVAS: (L-R) Marlo Brown, Jazmine Sanchez, Angel Nelson, Rasheeda Phox, Mulan Williams, Yani Moore and Ty Griffin outside Stafford House in Orlando on Trans Day of Visibility March 31. PHOTO FROM

MULAN WILLIAMS’ FACEBOOK

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WINNING REALTORS: Nicholas Smith (L) and Kate Maini win four awards at the Realty Executives Gallery Awards celebration The Grove Resort in Orlando April 2. PHOTO FROM NICHOLAS SMITH’S FACEBOOK

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COMMUNITY LEADERS: (L-R) Blue Star, Tatiana Quiroga, Josh Bell, Nikole Parker and Brandon Wolf attend the 2022 Mayor’s Neighborhood and Community Summit at the Royal Pacific Resort in Orlando April 2. PHOTO FROM THE ONE ORLANDO ALLIANCE FACEBOOK

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PRIDE NIGHT: Yasmin Flasterstein (L) and Andres Acosta Ardila talk about Peer Support Space at the Solar Bears Pride Night at Amway Center in Orlando April 6. PHOTO FROM ANDRES

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JERSEY BOYS: The Orlando Otters RFC show off their new rugby jerseys during practice at Rose Place Park in Orlando April 10. PHOTO FORM

ORLANDO OTTERS RFC FACEBOOK

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SWIMMING IN THE SPRINGS: Swim Out Orlando’s (L-R) Brian Coakley, Brian Harper, Joe Clauson, Rob Curry and Royd Kuk at the the IGLA games in Palm Springs, California April 10. PHOTO CORTESY ROB CURRY

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GREATEST SHOWMAN: (L-R) Jeremy Williams, Rick Todd, Jen Kunsch and Tim Leddy see Alan Cumming at Dr. Phillips Center’s Steinmetz Hall March 30.

PHOTO BY JEREMY WILLIAMS

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MUSICAL REP: Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (R), with Debbie Fahmie, performs and judges Musical Monday at The Renaissance Theatre in Orlando April 11. PHOTO FROM

DEBBIE FAHMIE’S FACEBOOK

ACOSTA ARDILA’S FACEBOOK

watermark Your LGBTQ News Source.

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WEDDING BELLS

Paul and Rick Fifer from Tampa, Florida

ENGAGEMENT DATE:

May 11, 2021

WEDDING DATE:

Feb. 12, 2022

VENUE:

Tampa Bay History Center

OFFICIANT:

Pastor Gabriel Morgan with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Seminole Heights

BEST MEN:

Dennis Carnahan and Terry Shultis

CATERING:

Columbia Restaurant

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Dylan Todd, Hipstr photo booth

ENTERTAINMENT:

Shoreline DJ, Bill Kody and harpist Catie Canale Pflaumer

INVITATIONS AND WEDDING SIGNS:

Minted

FLOWERS:

Jennie’s Flowers in Tampa

THEME/COLOR:

Purple

CAKE:

Kevin Boxx

P

Tiffany Razzano

AUL FIFER REMEMBERS WHEN HE

initially met his future husband well. It was 2010 and he had just been laid off.

“That was about the time that, you may recall, the economy went in the toilet with the housing bubble, and folks were losing their jobs right and left,” he says. “I had just left my job after nine years.”

He met Rick Fifer on a dating app.

While they connected and dating for a few months, “the timing just wasn’t right,” Paul says. “I wasn’t in the right place. Rick wasn’t in the right place.

So, we went our separate ways.”

Fast-forward about a decade.

During that time, Paul spent several years in Richmond, Virginia for work, before moving back to the Tampa Bay area.

Rick continued growing his real estate career as broker of Vintage Homes Realty. While they were connected through Facebook, they rarely spoke more than the occasional comment on a post.

Then, in January of 2021, “Rick happened to be in Facebook jail,” Paul said. “As he often is.”

“I’m a frequent offender,” Rick adds.

Since Paul posted a selfie and since Rick wasn’t able to comment on

it, he simply messaged him to tell him it was a good picture. After that they went back and forth all day.

The two decided to meet the Mill Restaurant in St. Petersburg for brunch. Afterwards they wanted to do something else. They decided on the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum in Pinellas Park.

At the time, Paul joked, “How funny – two gay guys going to the auto museum. How butch!”

Their relationship picked up where it left off. “We were both in a much different place,” Paul says. “The timing was more right versus the first time.”

Things got serious quickly and they started spending every weekend together, alternating between Rick’s home in Seminole Heights and Paul’s in St. Petersburg.

“I knew things had changed because I literally woke up in the middle of the night from a dream where I was planning to give him a ring and was trying to figure out how to make him a chocolate box for it,” Rick says. “That’s when I knew

something is really different and I was really hooked.”

He decided to propose on Paul’s birthday in May 2021. Initially, he planned a surprise trip to St. Augustine, but a difficult real estate deal kept them home. Instead, they made plans for dinner with friends.

But Rick still wanted to do something special and scrambled to get a cake, asking a baker the couple knows, Kevin Boxx, if he had any leftover Mother’s Day cakes.

He managed to get a cake, but his plans hit another snag – the delivery of his specially ordered rings was running behind.

The rings actually arrived on Paul’s birthday. Rick grabbed the package from the delivery guy and quickly hid the engagement ring in a macaroon on top of the cake.

Knowing they’d be going to dinner soon and leaving the cake at home, he told Paul that he needed to at least try one of the macaroons.

“Luckily, I happened to look at the macaroon before I bit down on it. I saw the plastic and took out the ring,” Paul says. “I looked at him and said, ‘Does this mean what I think it means?’”

Rick responded, “I haven’t done this in 40 years. Cut me some slack.”

They started wedding planning immediately. They hoped to have their wedding on the anniversary of their first date, but to accommodate

members of their wedding party, they needed to push it to Feb. 12, 2022.

“We moved it without even thinking that we were setting it up for Valentine’s Day weekend,” Rick says. “Flowers were a challenge.

Everything was a challenge because it was Valentine’s Day weekend.”

Still, they made it work, focusing on local vendors and businesses as they planned their big day. And after looking at numerous venues, they ultimately chose the Tampa Bay History Center.

“At first, I wasn’t sold on the idea, I couldn’t envision it, but Rick really liked it,” Paul says. “It was right on the water. We got married outside on the terrace level. It made for nice pictures with the sunset and everything. It turned out to be an excellent venue.”

During the cocktail hour, their guests were even allowed to tour the museum. Rick says everyone who attended had a good time on their special day.

They also know of many LGBTQ+ couples who are planning their weddings and Paul has some advice for them. “Don’t stress the small stuff because things going to go wrong,” he says.

“Just enjoy the day and take it in as much as you can,” he continues, “because it’s going to go so fast, and the evening is going to be over before you know it.”

Do you have an interesting wedding or engagement story you’d like to share with Watermark readers? If so, email the details to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com for consideration as a future feature on this page.

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