Watermark Issue 28.13: Welcome To The Gayborhood! by Watermark Publishing Group

Your LGBTQ Life.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 • Issue 28.13

Welcome

to the

Gayborhood LGBTQ-centric neighborhoods show year-round Pride

Rep. Val Demings announces run for U.S. Senate Pinellas Co. Schools vow reform after LGBTQ attack D A Y T O N A B E A C H • O R L A N D O • T A M P A • S T . P E T E R S B U R G • clear w ater • S A R A S O T A

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Your LGBTQ Life.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 • Issue 28.13

Welcome

to the

Gayborhood LGBTQ-centric neighborhoods show year-round Pride

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

It’s all about creating that space. We like having our allies

departments 7 // Publisher’s Desk

page

8 // Central Florida News 12 // Tampa Bay News

be diverse and inclusive, but LGBTQ-owned businesses are still necessary. Diversity breeds more diversity. – Walter Giovanni, GaYbor’s newly elected president

16 // State News 17 // Nation & World News 25 // Talking Points 45 // Tampa Bay Out + About 47 // Central Fl Out + About 50 // Tampa Bay Marketplace 51 // Central Fl Marketplace 54 // Wedding Bells On the cover

page Jersey Prince: Writer

page Welcome to the

Gayborhood:

LGBTQ-centric neighborhoods show year-round Pride.

Paul Rudnick on his latest book “Playing the Palace,” the royal family and what you should be reading this season.

Watermark Issue 28.13 // June 24 - July 7, 2021

Tampa Bay cover photo by Dylan Todd. Central Florida cover photo by Tomás Diniz Santos.

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WatermarkOnline.com

Health Care for All Pinellas Proud

Push for Equality

Dream Team

page SPEKTRUM opens facility in Melbourne, new home in Orlando.

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

page State Rep. Michele Rayner launches congressional campaign.

Eunic Ortiz, candidate for Florida’s state Senate, talks equality.

Top LGBTQ talent sounds off for Audible’s “Hot White Heist.”

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

Publisher’s

Rick Todd PUblisher

Rick@WatermarkOnline.com

Desk

iming is everything,

depending on your perspective. For example, my birthday is Jan. 13. That means there is one, at best two paychecks between the big gift giving holiday season and my personal little gift getting holiday.

As a child, this sucked. I have a very distinct, yet vague, memory of my mother trying to explain to me that they wanted me to have a special Christmas and with my birthday being so close, I shouldn’t expect much come Jan. 13. God love her for trying, but the little kid in me couldn’t wrap his brain around that concept. In retrospect I can’t tell you whether the gifts on my birthday were less than they would have been if my birthday was any other time, but in my version of history that was the case. The older I got the more I understood the struggle, the more I appreciated what my parents had done to make both the holidays and my birthday

watermark staff

Owner & Publisher: Rick Todd • Ext. 110 Rick@WatermarkOnline.com Business Manager: Kathleen Sadler • Ext. 101 Kathleen@WatermarkOnline.com Editor-in-Chief: Jeremy Williams • Ext. 106 Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com

something special for me. Now I see it all as an opportunity. If I didn’t get something I wanted, or forgot something I wanted to do for Christmas, then I get the chance to do it for my birthday. My perspective changed. Now, if I felt jaded about my birthday, I can’t imagine how my mom feels about hers. She was born on June 26. I know what day her birthday is, I just don’t always realize it on the actual day. My whole family has been notorious for messing up her birthday, always. I remember years ago I came home from work and the answering machine light was on – to give you some insight to how long ago this was and how old I am now. I clicked play and

heard a message from my oldest brother wishing my mom a happy birthday. I was surprised because I hadn’t yet made the connection that today was June 26 and that meant it was indeed her birthday. In a panic I deleted the message from my brother and took my mom out to an amazing birthday dinner. I did eventually confess my transgressions to my brother and thanked him for the reminder. He got a good laugh out of it. Since taking the job at Watermark, I have not been able to participate in her annual celebration because I inevitably have to work at a pride event. I am certainly not blaming pride, just maybe my perspective on my choices. I would usually err on the side of drinking my way through pride. When I got sober it was simply celebrating throughout the weekend. My mom seems to take it all in stride. Certainly, she handles it better than that whiny younger me that wanted more toys every Jan. 13. This year it all feels different. Not too long ago I was talking to my mom on the phone. It’s my M.O. to use the time I spend driving between Central Florida and Tampa Bay to catch up with her. On this particular call I was giving commentary on everyone’s driving skills or lack thereof. My mom simply said, “I use to run around all the time like I was in a hurry to get somewhere. Now I just slow down and enjoy the ride.” She set off a light bulb in my mind. Perhaps it’s more important for me to put the brakes on and spend more time with the most important woman in my life. This year I will be celebrating the life of the mother who always makes my birthdays special, the woman who always gave me the last scoop of ice cream and with the friend who always has a way of putting life in perspective. So keep your phone on, Ma. When my booth

Tampa Bay Bureau Chief: Ryan Williams-Jent • Ext. 302 Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com

Sales Director: Danny Garcia • Ext. 108 Danny@WatermarkOnline.com

Creative Designer: Dylan Todd • Ext. 107 Dylan@WatermarkOnline.com

Senior Orlando Account Manager: Sam Callahan • Ext. 103 Sam@WatermarkOnline.com

Creative Designer: Ezri Ruiz • Ext. 301 Ezri@WatermarkOnline.com

Tampa Bay Account Manager: Michael Wier • Ext. 105 Michael@WatermarkOnline.com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

shift at St Pete Pride ends, I’ll be calling you on my way to Orlando for your 75th birthday dinner. Happy Birthday! I want to celebrate someone else today, Kathleen Sadler. If you follow Watermark closely, you will know that Kathleen is Watermark’s Business Manager. She recently hit the seven-year milestone with us, but this issue will be her last. Kathleen and her husband recently welcomed their first child into the world and Kathleen will be spending her time with her newborn baby. It is a bittersweet moment for the paper. It has been an amazing journey and we are so full of joy to see Kathleen grow into a

Perhaps it’s more important for me to put the brakes on and spend more time with the most important woman in my life.

wonderful mother. When a new employee asks what they can do to be successful at Watermark, I jokingly reply, “It’s simple. Just learn to read my mind.” No one has been better at this than Kathleen. She has been my right hand, my confidant and at times my teacher for many years and I will miss her daily input into our little production here. As sad as I may be to see her leave, I am more excited for the person her baby will become having Kathleen as their mother. We strive to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue.

contributors Melody Maia Monet has her own YouTube channel where she answers lesbian and transgender life questions you are afraid to ask. You can find it at YouTube. com/MelodyMaia. Page 19

Jason Leclerc is

chief economist and partner at Crescent Consulting. He has published two short story collections, Momentitiousness and Black Kettle, shares poetry at PoetEconomist. blogspot.com, and regularly contributes Op-Eds. Page 21

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 27 Sabrina Ambra, Nathan Bruemmer, Scottie Campbell, Miguel Fuller, Divine Grace, Holly Kapherr Alejos, Jason Leclerc, Melody Maia Monet, Jerick Mediavilla, Greg Stemm, Dr. Steve yacovelli, Michael wanzie

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

distribution LVNLIF2 Distributing, Ken Carraway, Vanessa Maresca-Cruz

Orlando Office

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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central florida news

Family of Pulse victim donates $25K to The Center Orlando Jeremy Williams

RLANDO | Fred and Maria Wright – the parents to Jerry Wright, one of the 49 victims whose lives were taken in the 2016 Pulse tragedy – donated $25,000 to the LGBT+ Center Orlando in matching funds raised during LGBTQ Pride Month. The Wrights, in a video message posted to The Center’s Facebook page June 9, said they felt compelled to donate the funds after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $150,000 from the state budget that was allocated to The Center to be used for the Orlando United Assistance Center (OUAC), which serves and supports the immediate family members of the 49 individuals taken in the Pulse tragedy and the survivors. “We all carry scars from that night; some in empty chairs in our homes, some with lives confined to wheelchairs and some with scars to the soul that can be just as painful. We cannot forget them,” Maria Wright said in the video message. “Which is why while the governor sends the message that we do not matter, that our loss and sacrifice is unimportant, we know otherwise and we are doing what we think is right,” Fred Wright continued. The Heart of Florida United Way agreed June 10 to match the Wright’s donation making it so The Center would receive an additional $2 for every dollar donated during Pride Month up to a total of $75,000. The Center announced on its social media June 17 that it met that goal. DeSantis’ vetoing, which also included removing $750,000 intended for temporary housing for LGBTQ homeless youth, came on the second day of LGBTQ Pride Month and just a week before the five-year mark of the Pulse tragedy. The Wrights’ donation match announcement came days after Orlando-based business Quantum Improvements Consulting (QIC) donated $25,000 to The Center Orlando, bringing the total donations for Pride Month over $100,000. QIC also donated $25,000 to the Zebra Coalition. Christian Kelty – the writer, director and star of the hit Orlando Fringe show “The Little Merman from The Black Lagoon” – also stepped up to help raise funds for Zebra Coalition, committing to donate $5 from every ticket sold during its shows at HÄOS on Church June 18 and 19. The funds Kelty raised are being dollar matched by four different small businesses in Central Florida that also wanted to help: Carla Stanton at Mainframe Real Estate, REMIXED, Mainframe Real Estate and YogaMix.

If you would like to donate to The Center Orlando, visit TheCenterOrlando.org, and if you would like to donate to Zebra Coalition, visit ZebraYouth.org.

Open for business:

SPEKTRUM Health opened its Melbourne facility last month.

Photo from SPEKTRUM Health – Melbourne’s Facebook

Health Care For All SPEKTRUM opens in Melbourne, gets a new home in Orlando Tomás Diniz Santos

RLANDO | SPEKTRUM Health opened its doors to the public in 2019 as a primary health care option with “top-quality” services for LGBTQ individuals. Joseph Knoll, the founder of SPEKTRUM and an openly gay Advanced Practice Registered Nurse for the facility, created the nonprofit organization with the mission to “empower individuals to achieve their peak mental and physical health goals” by “[engaging] with community organizations for meaningful and trusting relationship endeavors that will meet the needs of the LGBTQA+ community,” according to the organization’s mission statement. The nonprofit, which operates thanks to private donations and grants, opened a new location on the Space Coast in Melbourne, Florida in May of this year. Since then, their patients — who have predominantly been attending with the use of online check-ups

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

— now have a physical location closer to them where they can seek physical or mental health care in person. “A lot of patients we have were either telehealth or were driving hours to Orlando. I don’t like the idea of someone driving an hour to be seen if they are sick,” Knoll says. While COVID-19 affected the ability for health care organizations to provide many of their services in 2020, SPEKTRUM Health was able to continue its services thanks to its large portion of telehealth patients prior to the pandemic. Knoll says they didn’t have to close their facility once due to the virus. Some of the services that SPEKTRUM Health provides include primary care, sexually transmitted infections (STI) treatment and prevention, med-psych management, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for transgender patients, weight management and HIV treatment and prevention, including Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). Along with opening its new facilities in Melbourne, SPEKTRUM

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

Health is also relocating its offices in Orange County. While still providing health care — both in-person and virtually — SPEKTRUM Health will move from its current location at 2100 N. Orange Ave., Suite A to 5205 S. Orange Ave., Suite 110 on July 1. Since opening the new facility in Melbourne, Knoll has found that two of the most requested services at the new location from new patients have been STI testing and mental health care requests. Knoll added that opening the new location was important for this very reason. He wanted to increase accessibility to their telehealth patients as well as be available with much needed services for new patients in Brevard County. The name SPEKTRUM comes from the idea that their health care stands out, hence why they bold each letter in the name, and is for everyone no matter where you identify, according to Knoll. “I’ve had some experiences with some other organizations in town and I thought I could create something better with my background,” Knoll says. “I always wanted to create a better health care option for the community that I was a part of.” SPEKTRUM Health Melbourne is located at 1920 S. Babcock St. SPEKTRUM Health Orlando will be located at 5205 S. Orange Ave., Suite 110 starting July 1. Both offices are open Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, visit SPEKTRUM.Health.

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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central florida news

Rep. Val Demings announces run for U.S. Senate Jeremy Williams

RLANDO | U.S. Rep. Val Demings officially announced that she will challenge Sen. Marco Rubio for his Senate seat in 2022. Demings made the announcement in a video released to her social media June 9 where she talked about her upbringing in Jacksonville, becoming Orlando’s first female police chief and being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2017. “People ask me, Val, where do you get your tireless faith that things can always get better? I got it here in Jacksonville, Florida,” Demings began in the video message. “When you grow up in the South poor, Black and female, you have to have faith in progress and opportunity. My father was a janitor and my mother was a maid. She said, ‘Never tire of doing good, never tire.”

As representative of Florida’s 10th District – which includes parts of Orange, Lake and Polk Counties as well as Orlando’s popular Disney, Universal and SeaWorld theme parks – Demings has championed for several LGBTQ issues. Last September, Demings and Illinois Congressman Mike Quigley introduced The Science in Blood Donation Act of 2020, which would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revise its recommended guidance on reducing HIV transmission through blood donations. Current guidelines prevent men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood unless they have not been sexually active for at least three months. “Every day, across the United States, donated blood marks the difference between life and death. There is no substitute,” said Demings in a September press release. “Yet our country turns away thousands of healthy

and willing blood donors based solely on their gender identity and sexual orientation. This policy is based on fear, sigma, and prejudice, not science. Expanding the donor pool by hundreds of thousands of healthy Americans would save lives every day in emergency rooms and hospitals around the country.” Three months later, Demings joined more than 140 political leaders in calling on Congress to pass the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 extending protections to LGBTQ people in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations and more. Demings was also one of the three sponsors – along with Congressman Darren Soto and Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy – of H.R. 49, the bill that would go on to pass both the House and Senate to designate Pulse as a National Memorial and Museum.

“I am proud to have worked with [Soto and Murphy] on H.R.49. The memorial will serve as a national symbol of hope, love, and unity. #ForThe49,” Demings tweeted on the same day she announced her Senate run. “I’m running for U.S. Senate because I will never tire of standing up for what is right. Never tire of serving Florida. Never tire of doing good,” Demings posted when her announcement video was shared. Demings support for the LGBTQ community has not gone unnoticed. Last month, the LGBT+ Center Orlando announced it would honor Demings and her husband, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, with the Lifetime Achievement Award during the organization’s ninth annual Harvey Milk Breakfast & LGBT+ Center Diversity Awards being held July 21. The Congresswoman was also named one of Watermark’s Most Remarkable People in 2020.

Rubio responded to Demings’ announcement with a video of his own, attacking the Congresswoman calling her a “do nothing House member” and “a far left liberal Democrat.” “I’ve always known that my opponent for the Senate was gonna be a far left liberal Democrat, today we just found out which one of them Chuck Schumer’s picked,” Rubio said. “I’m looking forward to this campaign because it’s going to offer the people of Florida a very clear difference.” Rubio is one of several high-profile Florida Republicans who will be up for re-election next year including Gov. Ron DeSantis and Congressman Matt Gaetz. Florida will vote on its next senator Nov. 8, 2022.

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

tampa bay news

bridges light up for Pride Ryan Williams-Jent

AMPA BAY | The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) allowed iconic bridges in Sarasota and St. Petersburg to be lit in rainbow colors for Pride Month after all. Sarasota’s John Ringling Causeway Bridge and St. Petersburg’s Sunshine Skyway Bridge were each lit up with Pride. Requests were previously denied. The reversal followed controversy surrounding Jacksonville’s Acosta Bridge, which in early June was scheduled to be lit in rainbow for a full week. The colors lasted one day before officials deemed the bridge in violation of state regulations, reversing course June 9. Tampa Bay officials were subsequently notified June 16 that FDOT would approve Pride colors for the Ringling and Skyway bridges. Under a new policy, however, they would be required to provide county resolutions supporting the requests. Sarasota Mayor Hagen Brody shared the news with city officials via email. He did so after a meeting of FDOT district secretaries across the state. In an initiative spearheaded by Sarasota’s Project Pride, he also formally recognized Pride this month for the first time. Brody noted that FDOT “reconsidered our denial to light the Ringling Causeway Bridge in recognition of Pride Month” and as a result, “is reversing that decision and affirming our request as a matter of ‘broad community interest.’” In St. Petersburg, FDOT contacted the city’s LGBTQ liaison Jim Nixon. He requested the Skyway’s lighting as a part of Light Up with Pride in 2020 and 2021, an initiative he launched that illuminates local landmarks. “The Sunshine Skyway is a gateway to Pinellas County and a crucial iconic symbol for the Tampa Bay region,” Nixon says. “Having the Sunshine Skyway lit for Pride Month [celebrates] the large LGBTQ community that calls Tampa Bay home.” Sarasota’s county commission met June 21 to pass a resolution to light the Ringling. Due to time constraints and because the Skyway connects Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties, FDOT accepted letters of support from Hillsborough County Chair Pat Kemp, Manatee County Chair Vanessa Baugh and Pinellas County Chair Dave Eggers, provided June 18. “As we continue to celebrate Pride Month, already impacted by the pandemic … It’s my hope we can recognize the struggle that has come before and provide some comfort to our LGBTQ+ BIPOC and trans community that still faces violence and discrimination in housing and employment,” Nixon says. Each bridge was scheduled to be lit for seven consecutive nights until the morning of June 29. The colors will be on full display during the culmination of St Pete PrideFest 2021 and as Sarasota closes out its own historic June. “This is what Pride Month is all about,” Project Pride President Jordan Letschert says. “Not just celebrating the progress of the past but ensuring progress today and tomorrow – staying visible and overcoming whatever hurdles we face, together as a community.”

RUNNING WITH RAYNER:

Michele Rayner announces her bid for U.S. Congress in Largo on June 14.

PHOTO COURTESY MICHELE RAYNER

Pinellas Proud Michele Rayner runs for U.S. Congress Ryan Williams-Jent

ARGO, Fla. | State Rep. Michele Rayner, the first Black, openly LGBTQ woman elected to the Florida Legislature, officially launched her campaign to represent Florida’s 13th Congressional District on June 14. That includes Pinellas County’s St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Largo, the site of the Lighthouse Church of Jesus where Rayner made her announcement. The church was founded and led by her grandfather. Rayner is seeking to succeed U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist. The longtime LGBTQ ally is currently running for governor to oust Gov. Ron DeSantis. “I am truly honored and grateful for the opportunity to make my case to the people of Florida’s 13th Congressional District,” Rayner shared during her announcement. “Pinellas County is my home – I was born and raised here in Clearwater.” The candidate noted that her mother was one of St. Petersburg’s first Black social workers and that an uncle of hers served as a state representative in the district she historically won last year. Another was the first Black secretary of the Florida Dept. of Corrections.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

“I was taught from a young age to always do good, to strive to serve others, and to serve my community,” she explained. “That’s why I became a public defender, that’s why I became a civil rights attorney and I have been honored to continue this path of public service as a state representative.” It’s as a state representative that Rayner championed a number of issues. She served on the Health & Human Services Committee, the Justice Appropriations Subcommittee and more. She also vehemently fought against Senate Bill 1028, the anti-transgender legislation signed into law by DeSantis June 1. “During the debate on the bill aiming to ban trans children from playing in sports, I was distraught – and my words seemed to fall short of the gravity of the situation before me,” Rayner wrote for Watermark afterwards. “I watched my colleagues coldly advocate for policies that would hurt Floridians including my friends and neighbors,” she noted. “I watched while partisanship won over the people we serve.” The representative expanded on that and more during her announcement.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

“Despite our best efforts, Democratic attempts to provide economic relief, racial justice and public safety for the people of Florida have been stymied time and time again by far-right, partisan Republicans in Florida’s legislature,” she explained. “The systemic nature of the issues we are facing had me looking at where I can make the most impactful changes.” That’s in Washington, D.C., Rayner asserted. “I am running for Congress because I believe that is where I can do the most good for my community: the community that raised me, the community that I love,” she said. “We need representatives in Congress who understand that politics is a calling to public service, not self-service.” Rayner also reflected on the historical nature of her campaign. “If elected, I will be one of the first openly Queer Black women to serve in Congress, and I intend to continue to serve my community with the same determination, tenacity, selflessness and commitment to public service that I have employed throughout my entire life here in Florida,” she advised. “That is my promise to you.” Rayner joins LGBTQ ally State Rep. Ben Diamond and Eric Lynn, who served as a congressional aide on President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign in the Democratic Primary. You can watch her announcement video at WatermarkOnline.com and visit MicheleForFlorida.com for more information.

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

tampa bay news

Pinellas County Schools vow reform after attack on nonbinary student wearing pride flag Ryan Williams-Jent

argo, Fla. | Pinellas County School officials are vowing reform after a nonbinary student at Seminole Middle School was attacked late last month for displaying a Pride flag. Leo Hoffman, 12, was targeted May 28 during a picnic marking the end of the school year, just ahead of Memorial Day weekend. Their father Benjamin Hoffman publicly detailed the incident on June 1. “For those of you who don’t know, my youngest child identifies as non-binary and omnisexual,” Hoffman wrote. “They prefer to be called Leo. Well, this past Friday at school (Seminole Middle School, located in Largo, FL) during a sixth-grade picnic, Leo was attacked by a group of boys for displaying a rainbow pride flag. “One boy first snatched the flag and threw it in the trash,” he continued. “Leo retrieved the flag

and decided to pin it around their neck like a cape. The same boy grabbed it again and Leo refused to let go. Other boys joined in and pulled Leo to the ground where they were dragged across the pavement, kicked and had liquids poured on them.” Hoffman included video of the incident, which was also tweeted by one of Leo’s siblings. The 45-second clip has been viewed more than 220,000 times in the weeks since. “Most alarming is not just the attack itself but notice as you watch the video the complete lack of adult intervention,” Hoffman also shared. He noted that after contacting local authorities, he was advised the school would be handling punishment. “I want justice for my child, no child should be afraid at school,” he asserted. “That’s why I am sharing this video.” The incident drew international attention. Locally, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, an LGBTQ ally who is also

running for governor, released a statement advising his office had contacted the school. “I hope the students in question will be able to learn from this and do better in future,” Crist said. He was assured disciplinary action was being taken. Pinellas County Schools Public Information Officer Isabel Mascareñas also confirmed officials had taken action. She noted that Dr. Michael Moss, the school’s principal, utilized the holiday weekend to investigate the incident as multiple students were directly involved. “The principal has kept in regular contact with the family of the student who was holding the flag,” she tells Watermark, “offering support to their child to see how the school can support them. He also directed his teachers to meet with their students to review and reinforce the school’s values: respect, tolerance, cooperation and diversity.”

A group of students were subsequently suspended from the school, and an unconfirmed number were reassigned to alternative schools. While the current school year ended June 9, the students will not return to Seminole Middle next year. “Pinellas County Schools does not – does not – tolerate this behavior,” Mascareñas stresses. “The district welcomes everyone. We teach our students to accept and respect others; this is a district that values diversity and prioritizes inclusion.” Hoffman also reflected on the school taking action via social media. “I want to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of support for Leo,” he shared. He noted that Moss personally confirmed the disciplinary measures and that his family is seeking a criminal investigation through the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, which has been unable to comment on the matter.

Mascareñas says that in the coming year, Seminole Middle will adopt and implement Olweus, a bullying prevention program designed for elementary, middle and junior high school students. It touts decades of implementation and according to the program’s website, seeks to reduce existing bullying, prevent the development of new bullying and achieve better peer relations at school. Officials will also use restorative practices “to help the students who were suspended understand the seriousness of what they did,” Mascareñas adds. They hope to show them “how and why to be more accepting and understanding of others.” Seminole Middle will also address reform over the summer. Mascareñas promises that the principal will be “inviting members of the LGBTQ community to help his staff better address the needs of students and support them and develop a plan for the new school year.”

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

state news

Officials: Deadly Pride parade crash appears unintentional Wire Report

ORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. | A member of a men’s chorus group unintentionally slammed into fellow chorists at the start of a Pride parade in South Florida, killing one member of the group and seriously injuring another, the group’s director said June 20, correcting initial speculation that it was a hate crime directed at the gay community. Wilton Manors Vice Mayor Paul Rolli and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said the early investigation shows it was an accident. The 77-year-old driver was taken into custody, but police said no charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing. The elderly driver had ailments that prevented him from walking, according to a statement June 20 from Fort

Lauderdale Police, who said he was cooperating with the investigation and there was no evidence drugs or alcohol was involved. “The early investigation now indicates it looks like it was a tragic accident, but nobody’s saying finally what it is,” Rolli told The Associated Press in a phone interview. The driver and the victims were a part of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus family, a small 25-member group of mostly older men. “Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver is also a part of the Chorus family. To my knowledge, this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community,” President Justin Knight said in a statement Sunday, calling it “an unfortunate accident.” Rolli was on the float in front of the chorus truck along with Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis and other city officials

at a staging area where the floats were being readied. Trantalis said the driver of a pickup truck suddenly accelerated when he was told he was next in the parade, crashing into the victims. The driver continued across all lanes of traffic, ultimately crashing into a fence on the other side of the street, police said. Rolli was on the other side of the float and didn’t witness the crash, but jumped off immediately and ran to the victims. In the confusion, it was unclear what happened. “People were really distraught and some people were crying,” said Rolli, who explained that the crash happened in an area where the floats were lining up, so there weren’t as many parade-goers. “I was getting phone calls from people I knew at the other end waiting for the parade saying, ‘Is this true? Is that true, do we have anything to worry about?’ You don’t know at that point.”

Fort Lauderdale Police said no arrests have been made saying they are conducting a thorough investigation with the FBI, noting in a statement they are “considering and evaluating all possibilities.” Trantalis, who is Fort Lauderdale’s first openly gay mayor, initially told reporters the act was deliberate, adding to the confusion June 19. “It terrorized me and all around me ... I feared it could be intentional based on what I saw from mere feet away,” he said in a Twitter statement Sunday. “As the facts continue to be pieced together, a picture is emerging of an accident in which a truck careened out of control.” Wilton Manors is a tight-knit community near Fort Lauderdale with a vibrant downtown filled with cute shops, where people line up for Rosie’s famous hamburgers or to

gossip and drink at Georgie’s Alibi Monkey Bar. Photos and video from the scene showed Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in tears while in a convertible at the parade. In a statement June 19, Wasserman Schultz said she was safe but “deeply shaken and devastated that a life was lost.” “I am so heartbroken by what took place at this celebration,” she said. “May the memory of the life lost be for a blessing.” A spokesman for the chorus said the director did not want to give interviews, adding that many members of the small group witnessed the fatal crash and were deeply shaken. “The reason people like Wilton Manors is the whole community is one big family and that’s how we treat each other ... and this has really rattled a lot of people,” said Rolli. “Even if it’s an accident, just the loss of a life.”

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

In Memory of John “Tweeka” Barber 1972 - 2011

nation+world news

In-person Pride events take place worldwide Michael K. Lavers of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

ctivists around the world are holding in-person Pride events this year. Organizers of Tijuana GLBTI Pride in the Mexican border city say a decrease in coronavirus cases allowed them to hold a march June 19. Tijuana GLBTI Pride organizers also planned to distribute condoms at a gay bar in downtown Tijuana. “The GLBT community and owners of entertainment venues and establishments in the region have also suffered a blow with the arrival of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus a year ago,” wrote Tijuana GLBTI Pride Coordinator Lorenzo Herrera on his group’s website, noting the decrease in coronavirus cases in Mexico’s

Baja California state has allowed businesses to reopen. “It allows for the reopening of establishments like bars and cantinas. The Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration, a Minnesota-based organization that works with LGBTQ migrants and refugees around the world, and Alight on June 13 held a digital Pride brunch on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border with Jardín de las Mariposas, a shelter in Tijuana for LGBTQ migrants and asylum seekers. Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko, an LGBTQ advocacy group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, planned its Pride event in the city of Bukavu for June 26. The Spanish Embassy in D.C. commissioned London Kaye, a Los Angeles-based artist, to create a crocheted mural that features Federico García Lorca, a gay Spanish poet and playwright who Spanish Nationalists executed in 1936 shortly after the country’s Civil War began. The mural is currently displayed

above the entrance to the Spanish ambassador’s former home in Columbia Heights. Tbilisi Pride on July 5 scheduled a march in the Georgian capital. The group says the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on LGBTQ Georgians. “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gay people experience oppression and discrimination on a daily basis,” they note. “Hate groups are constantly trying to stir up hostility in society towards us.” “We need to make our voices heard by our family, friends, colleagues, fellow citizens and the state,” proclaimed Tbilisi Pride. WorldPride 2021, which will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Malmö, Sweden, from Aug. 12-22, will feature both virtual and in-person events. Uganda Pride will hold their Pride events in October, as opposed to this month, because the government has imposed a partial lockdown in response to an increase in COVID-19 cases.

rights and deserve the same protections” Cardona said. “I’m proud to have directed the Office for Civil Rights to enforce Title IX to protect all students from all forms of sex discrimination. Today, the Department makes clear that all students – including LGBTQ+ students – deserve the opportunity to learn and thrive in schools that are free from discrimination.” In contrast, the Trump administration interpreted Title IX to exclude cases of anti-transgender discrimination in schools. In fact, the Justice Department under Trump filed a legal brief in defense of an Idaho law against transgender kids in sports. Just this year, a number of states have enacted similar laws. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, said upon signing into law a measure banning transgender kids, that status would go “based on biology.” Arkansas has enacted a law over the veto of its governor making criminal the providing of transition-related care to transgender kids.

The notice of interpretation is consistent with the executive order President Biden signed on his first day in office instructing federal agencies to prohibit anti-LGBTQ discrimination to the furthest extent possible in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. In his executive order, Biden specifically spelled out students should be able to go school without being “denied access to the restroom, the locker room or school sports.” It wasn’t immediately clear whether the Biden administration would follow up on the memo with legal action against states with anti-transgender laws. The Education Department didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry on the issue. The White House has consistently referred questions on whether the Biden administration would take up legal action against states enacting anti-transgender laws to the Justice Department, which hasn’t responded to multiple requests for comment.

Discrimination against LGBTQ kids illegal Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

he Biden administration officially declared its position that discrimination against LGBTQ kids in schools is illegal under federal law June 16. The Education Department, in a notice of interpretation signed by Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, declared it would enforce Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars discrimination on the basis of sex in schools, to prohibit discrimination both on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. “The Supreme Court has upheld the right for LGBTQ+ people to live and work without fear of harassment, exclusion, and discrimination – and our LGBTQ+ students have the same

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in other news Harris makes pride history Kamala Harris became the first sitting U.S. vice president to participate in an LGBTQ Pride event June 12. She and her husband, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, joined more than 1,000 LGBTQ participants in D.C.’s Capital Pride Walk, drawing loud cheers and applause. The appearance was unannounced. Harris wore a shirt with the words “Love is Love” and Emhoff wore a T-shirt featuring a rainbow-colored design. The vice president also made brief remarks, calling for Congress to pass the Equality Act. “We need to make sure that our transgender community and our youth are all protected,” she shared. “There is so much more work to do and I know we are committed.”

anti-lgbtq baker loses case A Colorado State District Court Judge ruled against the baker who had previously refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding and won a partial narrow victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in that case in 2018. The judge found June 15 that Jack Phillips violated Colorado’s anti-discrimination law, citing the fact that at issue was a “product” and not freedom of speech or expression. Jones said that Phillips’ refusal to make the plaintiff, Autumn Scardina a cake with blue icing on the outside and pink on the inside to celebrate her gender transition was in violation of the law. He was ordered to pay a $500 fine.

trans activist murdered Andrea González, executive director of the trans advocacy group Organización Trans Reinas de la Noche, was shot to death in broad daylight June 11 in Guatemala City. “Reinas de la Noche is in mourning over the irreparable loss of Andrea González, a leader and activist for the human rights of trans people,” the group shared June 12. “Her legacy will endure in each one of us and her light will never be extinguished.” The U.S. also condemned González’s murder, noting she previously worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Violence and discrimination based on gender identity remains widespread in Guatemala.

Hungary passes anti-LGBTQ law

Hungary’s National Assembly approved legislation June 16 which conflates being LGBTQ with pedophilia. The measure prohibits sharing any material with anyone under the age of 18 that portrays or describes homosexuality or gender identity. It purports to protect minors against pedophilia and was approved 157-1. “These proposals, which have dark echoes of Russia’s anti-gay ‘propaganda law,’ will further stigmatize LGBTI people, exposing them to greater discrimination in what is already a hostile environment,” David Vig, director of Hungary’s branch of Amnesty International shared ahead of time. Lydia Gall, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, said equating sexual and gender diversity with pedophilia hurts the dignity of and endangers the LGBTQ community.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

viewpoint

Melody Maia Monet

Trans of thought

Unified by Pride

s Pride month winds

down — at least for those of you outside Orlando since our Pride festival isn’t until Oct. 9 — I can’t help but reflect on what it meant to me in particular as a transgender and lesbian woman. This June had more significant LGBTQ+ happenings than any I can recall in recent memory. Perhaps as the newly installed communications director for Come Out With Pride Orlando, I was somewhat forced by profession to pay closer attention than in the past but some events were of such import they would have demanded my notice in any year.

June 1 saw me back in Orlando after a Memorial Day weekend spent in Pensacola photographing beautiful lesbians. What awaited me was an important reminder that Pride is more than a party. You see, Gov. Ron DeSantis chose the first day of the month to sign anti-trans legislation that would ban trans girls and young women from playing sports in public secondary schools through college. A totally unnecessary and discriminatory law based on what we know of the tiny number of trans women competing in sports, as well as the science behind medical transition and its effects on trans sports performance. Now the fact that he signed it wasn’t a surprise since it had been on his desk for weeks, and painting trans women as threats to cisgender women seems to be the demonization du jour of the Republican party nationwide. That he would choose such an auspicious date though couldn’t be seen as anything less than a shot across the proverbial bow of the rights for all LGBTQ+ people. Indeed, he would sink to despicable new lows the next day by striking funding that would have gone to housing for queer kids and trauma recovery services for Pulse survivors. That DeSantis and Republicans across the country chose this moment to single out one of the most marginalized groups in the LGBTQ+ community for

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discrimination, was every bit a calculated risk that it would appeal to their base, while not losing them much support amongst a generally gay rights supporting public. They may even had held out hope of driving a wedge between those who support gay people but find

“Unified by Pride,” if you will, and I have seen evidence of that as well. The very day that DeSantis signed the anti-trans bill into law, a rally was called for at several cities across Florida in protest. At Orlando City Hall, beyond the usual trans people

survivor and queer man Brandon Wolf took the stage. He used part of the precious few minutes allotted to him with the world watching to paint a picture of working to create a community where trans kids are protected and Black trans women are celebrated in life instead

themselves much more unsure of their support of trans rights. A position without some merit. I spent a lot of time this month explaining to gay, cisgender people, who saw the new law as reasonable, why the trans youth sports ban is unfair and does great harm to the mental health of the most vulnerable segments of the trans community. However, I will say that I think the governor and Republicans in general have made a grave miscalculation. Besides the fact that these laws will quite obviously fail in court as unconstitutional and in the end will amount to no more than craven political theater for the sake of pandering and fundraising, I also get the sense that the bold-faced cruelty of them hasn’t been lost on the rest of the gay community. We have seen this sort of backlash before when strides have been made in LGBTQ+ rights and it has always served to galvanize us. We become

representing themselves and various organizations, in attendance were gay legislators and leaders from local and statewide LGBTQ+ nonprofits. For the first time that I can recall at similar rallies for trans issues, local television media were on hand covering the proceedings. And in another first, we all stood in the early evening sun under the Progress Pride flag, with its incorporated trans flag, having been raised just that morning thanks to the work of gay city officials. I could feel and see the love from the gay community towards its trans siblings. However, by far the most prominent example I witnessed happened during the Pulse 5-year Remembrance. In what was already a very emotionally charged atmosphere as Orlando observed a significant milestone date of an event where hate took 49 members and allies of the gay community, Pulse

of honored in death. Even knowing Brandon and how he has shown up for the trans community on his platform, it came as a surprise to me that he would choose to highlight the struggles of trans people in that moment. A powerful call to action and reminder that we are all in the fight together. Nobody has ever accused me of being a wide-eyed optimist, but I am encouraged. At least as encouraged as I can be with state governments actively trying their best to make my life, and the lives of people like me, as difficult as possible. The trans community may be very small, but I saw this Pride month that we have friends and that will make all the difference.

The trans community may be very small, but I saw this Pride month that we have friends and that will make all the difference.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

viewpoint

Jason Leclerc

The other side

of life

Who’s your Jesus?

s your Jesus the son of

God, a Savior who came to Earth, suffered on the cross and wiped away your sin so that you might have eternal life?

Is he the miracle worker who rose from the dead? Is he a historical figure who espoused the dignity of all human life? Is he love embodied? Is your Jesus a socialist? A Democrat? A capitalist? A Republican? A contradiction? A myth? My Jesus is all of these. When you start out believing that He’s divine, everything else seems reasonable. I understand that, for some of us, Jesus falls nearer the bottom of these options than the top. The magic (deity) of Jesus is strong enough to be as much or as little as we need Him to be. Regardless of where he falls on this spectrum for you, there are lessons that he taught us that are at least as useful as their literary value. I aim to connect here on that level: at the intersection of learning and humanism. For me, Jesus is the man that walked into a metropolitan, commercial city center – ostensibly a temple – to witness religious leaders and government officials exploiting pilgrims who were doing their best to follow the law in the face of wider persecution. And then he got angry. “In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there,” John 2:14 reads. “And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.” Then, before he was crucified, he did it again! In case the first time wasn’t enough, the Gospel of Matthew tells of a second such incident. It was so important that Jesus turned the tables twice. From these two events, four powerful messages are conveyed.

1. Don’t abuse your power, especially not in the name of God. 2. Don’t exploit the powerless pilgrim who seeks only to do what’s best. 3. Don’t get rich on the back of the weak, the faithful or the dispossessed – especially if they are part of your tribe. And 4. It’s ok to be angry in the face of injustice. So, in this month of Pride and Pulse remembrance, when there are those who would question our motives as we march – solemnly and thoughtfully and visibly and, yes of course, gaily – into city centers, let’s respond with our own Jesus’ explanations. For too long, you Pharisees have erected secular and religious institutions that have enforced systemic barriers to inclusion in the full benefits of America’s promises to certain communities. You have done so, when not in the name of our Jesus, in the name of enlightenment revolutionaries. You have denied us of liberty based on our skin color, gender and sexuality long enough. We are, by Jesus’ example, rightfully angry. For too long, you Pharisees have erected walls and customs and attitudes that prevented our presence amongst you. Our children, huddled masses, yearning to breathe free, have been exploited and used as bogeymen to polarize against and fundraise off of. Like the Pharisees in the market, you told us that if we sacrificed our doves and oxen – our sustaining assets – then we would eventually receive your lawful support. And then you kept raising the prices of those same prayers, finding new pilgrims to disenfranchise. We are, by Jesus’ example, rightfully angry. For too long, you Pharisees have created costs of basic living – like healthcare – and required technologies – like transportation and communications – without which our most vulnerable neighbors are trapped within

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inescapable socioeconomic borders, unable to fully exercise their full rights as citizens. When the price of access to citizenship is prohibited by the costs of survival and when those are measured in profits that exceed fair trade, it is a sign of injustice. We are, by Jesus’ example, rightfully angry. The first Pride was an uprising of angry citizens

The first Pride was, by Jesus’s example, a turning of the tables; a setting free; a spectacle. So when Pride is challenged, when asked why we should be remembering our anger, why we should continue to stand against abuse of power, exploitation and injustice when we “have come so far,” it’s for the same reason Jesus came back to the

Whether it follows that your Jesus is a Democrat or a Capitalist or some other type of mythic construction, we should all take this lesson of His anger to heart and remember that love and anger aren’t contradictory. Love and anger, by Jesus’s example, are complements that swirl together in ongoing Pride, protest and progress. May we renew our love

against the institutions that were preventing full access to the rights that should have been conveyed as nothing more or less than citizenship. The first Pride was a protest against abuse of power, against exploitation and against injustice ingrained in the most basic institutions of the economic structure.

temple a second time. We need to continue advocating for new pilgrims and new generations: we are bound by our righteous anger to turn tables and to share sacrifice. We are united in Pride by love which, by Jesus’s example, is the strongest power in the universe.

and righteous anger, in the Spirit of Pride, each day, together. May your Jesus bless you, may he continue to bless us all.

We are united in Pride by love … the strongest power in the universe.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

Jason Leclerc (@JLeclercAuthor) is chief economist and partner at a technology consulting firm. He has published two short story collections, “Momentitiousness” and “Black Kettle.”

www.NationsLandscaping.com

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

viewpoint

Eunic Ortiz

The Push for equality Continues Candidate for Florida’s State Senate, District 24

or the first time in

more than 20 years, Florida’s government has signed into law explicitly anti-LGBTQ legislation legalizing discrimination – a bill that bans trans kids from playing sports. It was signed on the first day of Pride this year.

Just a few days later, Florida’s governor eliminated nearly one million dollars in funding for programs which serve the LGBTQ community in Florida. Among the budget cuts was a program that would bring mental health services to survivors and family members of victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting. And to continue his crusade against the LGBTQ community, the DeSantis administration initially denied permits for rainbow light displays in honor of Pride month on bridges in cities across the state. If it wasn’t obvious before, it certainly is now: cruelty has always been the point. It is 2021. Lawmakers must stop playing politics with our lives and start governing to make our lives better. Floridians faced real challenges in 2020. Amidst a pandemic, we saw the broken infrastructure of our unemployment system and what happens when leaders do not have a plan in place to provide adequate access to healthcare. And instead of responding to the real concerns we had in front of us, the DeSantis administration and Republican lawmakers decided it was better to suppress and restrict voting rights, criminalize peaceful

protest and prioritize bills that make it harder for Floridians to get by. All of this happened just in the last 12 months – and I felt compelled to serve my community in a new way by running to be the leader we need in Tallahassee. That’s why I am running for Florida’s State Senate. As a lesbian who grew up in Pinellas County, I can’t think of a better place where I would want to serve. I first learned to stand up for my rights and my community as a student at Tarpon Springs High School, where I was a member of the school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance, and I carried that work forward into my career. I graduated at the height of the 2008 recession. Like many, I found myself grappling to find a job. This led me to the tough decision to leave home for a work opportunity and then eventually into government and community activism in New York City. One of my proudest achievements during my time there was bringing together nearly 40 organizations from across the city to speak with its Department of Health about healthcare access for the LGBTQ community. It was the first time these organizations and the government sat down in a room together to talk, and more importantly, to listen. We made a real impact: together, we were able to change archaic, discriminatory policy and start the path that would guarantee equal access to healthcare for all LGBTQ New Yorkers – regardless of their race and where they lived. My career in government, activism and labor has shown me that when people from different backgrounds come together, listen to each other and work collectively for a better life, we have the power to make real change.

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If elected, I would be the first lesbian woman in the Florida Senate. I would also be the only Hispanic elected official in Pinellas County. The historic nature of my candidacy highlights the fact that in 2021, LGBTQ representation in our government

competition who not only see me and my family as less, but by those who see our community that way – and those who believe candidates like me have no place in government. We need representation that looks like us in Tallahassee to ensure our state’s future

county we happen to live in, deserve representation in Tallahassee that puts the people first. Lawmakers must stop with the attention seeking tactics and get back to the work at hand: making Florida a state where we all have the opportunity to thrive.

is weak, at best. The priorities of Florida’s senators this year shows us why representation is absolutely necessary. For those of us who identify as LGBTQ, we know the feeling of someone looking at us and thinking we are less than simply for who we love or our gender identity. I know I will face that from

reflects what we deserve. Like many others, I felt compelled to do something after feeling so disillusioned watching what was unfolding. There is a lack of representation, decency and empathy in our state legislature, and I am hoping to change that. All Floridians, regardless of our race, gender identity, who we love, or what

Eunic Ortiz is a candidate for Florida’s State Senate, District 24. She has spent the last 13 years working with government and labor and advocating for communities. She grew up and currently lives in Pinellas County. For more information about her campaign, visit EunicForFlorida.com.

The historic nature of my candidacy highlights the fact that in 2021, LGBTQ representation in our government is weak, at best.

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

talking points Those with ‘deeply held religious beliefs’ are often the parents who force their LGBTQ children out of the home and onto the street. I’ve met with those kids. 40% of homeless youth in this country are LGBTQ. Re-visit your party’s platform before you open your mouth about #pride. —Chasten Buttigieg, responding to GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel after she posted a “Happy Pride Month” tweet

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Oprah’s new book pick is novel ‘The Sweetness of Water’

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prah Winfrey’s next book club pick is a debut novel set in Georgia at the end of the Civil War: Nathan Harris’ “The Sweetness of Water.” The 29-year-old Harris, whose book came out June 22, has said he wanted to show what it was like in the South after slaves were emancipated. “The Sweetness of Water” takes place at the end of the Civil War in the imaginary town of Old Ox, Georgia, and tells the story of two brothers, freed from slavery, working on a farm to save money for the journey north to find their mother paralleled with the story of a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers. “I was captivated by the work of Nathan Harris and look forward to discussing this debut novel with all of his new readers,” said Winfrey in a statement. “The Sweetness of Water” is available wherever books are sold.

legal same-sex

marriage, marking an increase of 10 points

David Archuleta comes out as part of LGBTQ community

avid Archuleta announced in an Instagram post June 12 that he’s a member of the LGBTQ community. The 31-year-old singer, who placed second on season seven of “American Idol,” is a devout Mormon who grew up in Murray, Utah and now lives in Tennessee. “I like to keep to myself but also thought this was important to share because I know so many other people from religious upbringings feel the same way,” he wrote. “I came out in 2014 as gay to my family. But then I had similar feelings for both genders so maybe a spectrum of bisexual.” Archuleta’s announcement comes as Pride Month is being celebrated around the world.

Marvel’s Loki confirmed gender-fluid in Disney+ series

he Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) new Disney+ original series, “Loki” premiered June 9 with many fans quick to spot a small detail in the show: Loki is in fact gender-fluid. In the first episode, the word “Fluid” can be seen under the MCU anti-hero’s gender on their Time Variance Authority file. Loki is already confirmed to be gender-fluid in the comics. Tom Hiddleston, the actor who portrays the God of Mischief in the MCU, said in an interview “[The] breadth and range of identity contained in the character has been emphasized and is something I was always aware of when I was cast 10 years ago.” New episodes premiere every Wednesday on Disney+.

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49ers kick off Pride with NFL’s 1st gender-neutral gear

he San Francisco 49ers premiered its 2021 49ers PRIDE Collection at the start of Pride Month and became the first NFL team to offer gender neutral gear. The new array of team-branded and Pride-themed clothing — which includes tops with rainbow logos, tees and jackets — is the league’s first and only “genderless” collection. The team has also created 49ers PRIDE, the official community of 49ers fans who identify as LGBTQ+ and allies. “We created 49ers PRIDE to make space for all of our LGBTQ+ fans and allies and it quickly became an incredible community,” said 49ers’ chief administrative officer Hannah Gordon. Check out the Pride gear at 49ers.com/Fans/Pride.

since 2015 and

the highest percentage

since 1996

when only 27% of people were in support.

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—Gallup Poll, May 2021

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Welcome

to the

Gayborhood LGBTQ-centric neighborhoods show year-round Pride

Tiffany Razzano

here’s the Castro in San Francisco,

Photo by Dylan Todd

Northalsted — also known as Boystown — in Chicago and the West Village in New York City. For decades, these famous enclaves have offered inclusive spaces that cater to the LGBTQ community, offering them a place to live, work and play.

Even if you don’t live near one of these hotspots there are still plenty of Gayborhoods to explore in your own backyard here in Florida. In the Central Florida and Tampa Bay areas, there are several neighborhoods of note: The Grand Central District in St. Petersburg, GaYbor in Tampa, and The Mills 50 District and The Milk District in Orlando. We take a look at these local Gayborhoods, how they’ve grown and

changed over the years, and what’s in store for them down the road.

The Grand Central District, St. petersburg

ven before the Grand Central District was formalized, local business

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owners and St. Petersburg leaders recognized the potential for the area that would become the city’s preeminent LGBTQ neighborhood and the birthplace of St Pete Pride – the state’s largest LGBTQ-focused celebration – in 2003. Local realtor, GayStPete House owner and St Pete Pride co-founder Brian Longstreth recalls the city’s original vision for the area in the late 90s: Central Avenue Tomorrow. “Before it was ever the Grand Central District, part of the plan was to increase density to help retailers with more pedestrian foot traffic,” he says. By 2001, the Grand Central District was founded and focused on the goals of Central Avenue Tomorrow, including building up the area’s residential base and drawing new businesses to the area while supporting those that already existed.

Longstreth says the district was “on the cusp” of attracting more residential developments when the 2007 recession hit. This derailed much of the work previously done. Years later, “now the developers are coming in,” he says. Some big projects have popped up in the eastern section of the district, including the Artistry St. Pete, Vantage St. Pete and 1701 Central. There are also projects on the district’s western edge near the Grand Central Bus Station, Driftwood on Central and even across from the former Georgie’s Alibi, the defunct LGBTQ hotspot. “A lot of our empty lots are being scarfed up and residential units are being planned,” David Foote, executive director of the Grand Central District Association explains. “That’s going to really reshape the district when you

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Continued on pg. 30 | uu |

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.

(bik-TAR-vee)

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:  Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. Your healthcare 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.

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:  Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” 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 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, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.  The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%). These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY. 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. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.

ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults 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:  dofetilide  rifampin  any other medicines to treat HIV-1

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY Tell your healthcare provider if you:  Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.  Have any other health problems.  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.  Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:  Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, 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.

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

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

BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, and LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. Version date: February 2021 © 2021 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0369 04/21

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

HUGO LIVING WITH HIV SINCE 1995 REAL BIKTARVY PATIENT

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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. See Hugo’s story at BIKTARVY.com. 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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6/16/21 8:18 PM

| uu | Welcome to the

Gayborhood from pg.27

have all these residents living on Central Avenue.” The district has also welcomed a number of new businesses in recent years, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout that crisis, the district “didn’t really lose any businesses,” Foote says, only “older businesses” that couldn’t transition easily in this digital world, such as Brown’s Trophy’s and an upholstery shop. And every week he fields questions about the fate of Haslam’s Bookstore, which has been “closed over a year with no word about what’s going on,” he adds. Longstreth says the mix of businesses remains varied, as well. “One of the things I’ve always appreciated about the Grand Central District has been the larger diversity of businesses for a small district,” he says. “You have home decor, antiques, professional services and a lot of bars and restaurants now.” The area still retains its LGBTQ identity as home to numerous bars catering to the community: Punky’s Bar & Grill, Lucky Star Lounge and the Garage. The new LGBTQ-focused bar Cocktail – located across the street from two other new businesses, Grand Central Brewing and Hatchet Hangout, as well as Dog Bar, the LGBTQ-friendly staple – has been a game changer since it opened in May. “Everything has kind of been moving forward and then you inject a business like Cocktail and that just shows you there’s an LGBTQ market that still wants a gay bar, that still wants to go to a place of their own,” Foote says. “Now the block’s been completely brought to life in the midst of COVID.” Cocktail owner David Fischer was compelled to open his upscale bar in the heart of the Grand Central District because of the area’s history as a gayborhood. “The concept was created because I thought there was a need to have a nicer bar that catered to the LGBTQ community than what was currently being offered in the Tampa Bay area. An elevated cocktail experience

tampa strong: Tampa Pride makes its return in 2021. Photo by dylan todd

proud president: GaYbor President Walter Giovanni accepts a 2021 Watermark WAVE award for the popular district in March. Photo by dylan todd

was missing,” he says. “Grand Central, I felt, was the right place to put it … to me, it has been known as more of the gayer area of the city and from a business perspective, it made sense to put it there.” In the same building, at 2355 Central Ave., he plans to renovate

biggest LGBTQ destination in the city of St. Pete.” With a range of businesses slated to open, from Mutts & Martinis (a doggy water park with a full bar) to ParBar (a mini golf-themed bar), he expects the district will maintain its reputation as the gayest part

warm welcome: Patrons attend a grand opening party for Cocktail in St. Petersburg’s Grand Central District in May 2021. Photo by dylan todd what we are. We own this,’ to just capitalize on it and let businesses come in and build up around that as much as makes sense for them.” For more information about the Grand Central District, visit GrandCentralDistrict.org.

We are kind of the Castro Street of St. Pete, if you will, and we’re proud to wear that badge. If you’re not agreeing with that, then don’t move to the district. — Grand Central District Association Executive Director David Foote the original Mara Jean Hotel to create an LGBTQ boutique hotel. He will also open a pool bar called the Wet Spot to the side of the property. Cocktail aside, all businesses in the district are LGBTQ-friendly and a lot of the ownership and management are part of the LGBTQ community, Foote notes. “We could easily say we’re the

of the city. “We are kind of the Castro Street of St. Pete, if you will, and we’re proud to wear that badge. If you’re not agreeing with that, then don’t move to the district,” Foote says. “We’re the epicenter, the LGBTQ destination for entertainment and places that cater to that audience. And we’re not afraid to say, ‘Here’s

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

the GaYbor District, tampa

n 2007, a group of LGBTQ business owners in Ybor City joined forces to form the GaYbor District and to promote what they already knew: the

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Historic District was the gayest part of Tampa. At its height, Ybor City was home to many LGBTQ-owned and LGBTQ-friendly bars, restaurants and shops catering to the community, says Walter Giovanni, GaYbor’s newly elected president. Now, it’s down to just two bars, Southern Nights and Bradley’s, both located on the district’s infamous 7th Avenue. While many establishments have come and gone in the district, Ybor City faced two major hits in recent years. The first came in late 2018, when Hamburger Mary’s Tampa, the drag-themed bar and restaurant that operated in Centro Ybor, shut its doors for good. The other major loss was more recent, when the Honey Pot dance club closed, a casualty of the pandemic. “COVID really did play a huge role in, you know, why certain businesses could not survive, especially with mandates regarding occupancy. A lot of business owners couldn’t sustain it,” Giovanni says.

caring community: One of the many LGBTQ-affirming murals in The Milk District. Photo by Tomás Diniz Santos Even before the pandemic, though, the loss of LGBTQ businesses was a trend in Ybor City. “Back in the days of GaYbor there were more LGBTQ owners invested in Ybor City,” Giovanni says. “Pride was an economic booster back in its day. The LGBTQ community was an economic engine.” The LGBTQ community is still “injected into this district,” he adds, which is why GaYbor is working hard to rebrand itself as an organization and Ybor City as a whole. “We want to be more active in the community,” he notes. “We want to remind LGBTQ visitors that Ybor City is a safe space to visit in Tampa. And we want to build up leadership. We want the youth to be our new LGBTQ leaders. “I’m an old queen and I don’t want to do this forever,” he muses. “I want to create a blueprint and a roadmap for people to follow long after I’m gone.” A big piece of GaYbor’s work is educating business owners in the district, he explains. “We want to educate our allies, teach them to be more inclusive and show them that how when they open up their businesses to the LGBTQ community, it’s profitable.” He nods to Reservoir Bar as an example of successful allyship. “They’re a huge ally and they’re such a staple here,” Giovanni says. He’s also hopeful that on the other side of the pandemic more

LGBTQ-owned businesses will move to Ybor City. “Our district goes in waves. Ybor has its ups and dry spells. It’s really about the movement of the crowd,” he says. “But the spirit of diversity and inclusivity is still alive in Ybor City.” The recent loss of the Honey Pot was “heartbreaking,” he adds. But he’s hopeful that anchor business could return to the district. He says that he’s heard the owners of Honey Pot “are still looking, so we hope to see them again soon.” The return of Tampa Pride in May was also a step in the right direction for Ybor City to retain its reputation as the city’s LGBTQ district, Giovanni says. It was a needed event following such a difficult year. “There was just an energy at Tampa Pride and seeing all those rainbow flags gives you that feeling of ‘OK, we’re back,’” he says. “It was that comeback we needed and all the businesses were ecstatic. That energy of acceptance and commonality, that synergy was there. It gave us the sign that Ybor is back.” It can only mean big things for Ybor City moving forward. “The magic is still here,” he says. “It’s all about creating that space. We like having our allies be diverse and inclusive, but LGBTQ-owned businesses are still necessary. Diversity breeds more diversity, though, so events like Pride and having allies in the community will hopefully attract some more LGBTQ owners to invest in Ybor City

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again. For now, we’re out there changing minds.” For more information about the GaYbor District, visit Facebook.com/ GaYborDistrictCoalition.

The Milk District, Orlando

preeminent gayborhood and cultural hub, the Milk District got its start as “an informal gathering of businesses who identified the area,” Zac Alfson, the district’s executive director says. In 2018, the Milk District – named for the presence of T.G. Lee Dairy in the area – formalized through the Main Street America Institute. Long before this, the area had been considered a haven for the LGBTQ community thanks to serving as the home for the iconic Southern Nights Orlando. The nightclub served the community for decades before closing in the mid-2000s. It reopened in 2014, taking over the space that once housed RBARR Discotek & Cocktail Boutique and, before that, Revolution Nightclub. Southern Nights has long served as “a cornerstone institution for us,” Alfson said. Another staple in this area is also Pom Pom’s Teahouse & Sandwicheria, which has been open for more than 15 years. “It’s a late-night place people head to after the club and there are things on the menu that are LGBTQ-related,” he says. “It’s

now open: Club Hollywoof Daycare & Boarding is one of the new LGBTQ-owned businesses in The Milk District. Photo courtesy club hollywoof long been a place where the LGBTQ community is welcome.” But he could easily say the same about every business in the district, he adds. “Just about every business, with a couple of exceptions, are very welcoming and very safe.” The district is “more than gay-friendly,” Alfson adds. In a recent survey of more than 350 business owners and leaders in the community, he says that 97 respondents – just under 30% – said they considered themselves part of the LGBTQ community. He does advise that the district doesn’t intentionally position itself as a gayborhood. “A lot of what we do is very organic,” he explains. “We don’t want to position ourselves as being the grand wizard over all things. There’s really not any organization around it, but we support all our businesses and individuals in doing what they’re doing.” Its identity as an LGBTQ hotspot is fully embraced, though. There’s some public art honoring the late gay leader Harvey Milk. The district also sells a Pride-themed T-shirt through its online shop. Coming out of the pandemic, the Milk District is still going strong. Businesses in the community rallied to support one another as they shifted gears and tried to survive. “We have a number of legacy businesses that have been open 40 or 50 years and a lot of new businesses. We had businesses that were only open a couple of months or a year before this

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pandemic started for them,” Alfson says. “They were just getting their operations solidified and getting their feet under them when this all came,” he continues. “I think the community really supported those business, and the district in general, and kept them alive.” At the heart of the community are its LGBTQ bars, Southern Nights Orlando, Southern Craft and District Dive. But there’s a wide range of businesses in the area from arts-oriented initiatives to restaurants to service-oriented establishments. There’s been some growth and movement in the district as well, as Etoile Boutique, which sells vintage and unique pieces – including some by local queer makers – expanded its footprint in the last year, Alfson says. Other new businesses include Mosaic Salon and Club Hollywoof Doggie Daycare & Boarding. Next month, Milhouse, a shared space with a number of well-known local food and drink spots will open. And a favorite food truck in the area, Chicken Fire, will plant roots by opening a brick-and-mortar space in the district. For some business owners, the district’s LGBTQ identity is a major draw. Brett Barbour and his husband started Club Hollywoof out of their home. As business grew, they knew they’d need to find a dedicated space for their services. They found the Continued on pg. 33 | uu |

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| uu | Welcome to the

Gayborhood from pg.31

perfect space and opened during the pandemic. Barbour said he couldn’t imagine moving their business anywhere else. He says “I love being in more of a gayborhood ... You have more support from the community.” He enjoys the area so much that as he and his husband look for a new home, they’re checking out houses on the market in the Milk District. “We love it here. It’s more like suburbia outside a regular city. It’s not so right smack dab in the middle of the city,” Barbour says. “But there’s so much art and it’s so walkable. There are so many businesses. Everything you need is right here. And it’s gay-friendly. Even the straight business owners have Pride flags.” For more information about the Milk District, visit TheMilkDistrict.org.

The Mills 50 district, orlando

ong before the Mills 50 District was the Mills 50 District, it was often referred to as the ViMi District, a nod to the area’s Vietnamese community, George Wallace, executive director of The Center Orlando says. The area has long been known for its LGBTQ community. “When I moved here in 2002, it was kind of cool moving from a small rural town in New Hampshire and coming down and seeing rainbow flags, even back then,” Wallace says. The Center moved into its current location in the district in 1999. There was also a gay bookstore and video store, as well as other LGBTQ businesses. “It was a really colorful, fun neighborhood,” Wallace recalls. “It still is, but things have changed. Now it’s a super queer-friendly neighborhood. And we’re very proud to have The Center here in the heart of Mills 50.” For more than two decades, The Center has called the area home, serving as a cornerstone for the LGBTQ community. “We’ve always been pretty prominent. We have one of the largest footprints as far as

the center of it all: The Center has been a beacon of inclusivity and progress in Orlando’s Mills 50 District since 1999. Photo by Tomás Diniz Santos buildings go,” he says. “When you’re driving down Mills Avenue, we fly the Progress flag 365 days a year. We’re this bright yellow building that you really can’t miss.” The Center’s presence certainly influenced the types of businesses that opened in the area, he adds, noting that “it’s great to see people of every color of the rainbow flag congregating around The Center.”

It also hosts Zebra Coalition, a nonprofit that provides short-term housing to LGBTQ youth ages 18 to 24, as well as other services and resources. And, of course, the district is represented by Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, the city’s first openly gay commissioner. Though Mills 50 lost Ritzy Rags, a wig shop, in April 2020 when the business, which called

close, and it wasn’t because of the pandemic.” Among the new businesses are Lacastro Store, Out of the Closet, Java J’s Café, the House on Lang boutique, Eleanor’s Barber Shop, Boutiq Medical Clinic, Matcha House Tea & Creamery, Single Orchid Tattoo and a cell phone shop. A highly anticipated business in the works is Pour Choice, a self-serve taproom that will be opening soon.

It was a really colorful, fun neighborhood … Now it’s a super queer-friendly neighborhood. And we’re very proud to have The Center here in the heart of Mills 50. — The Center Executive Director George Wallace There are numerous LGBTQ business owners in Mills 50 these days, Joanne Grant, the district’s executive director, says. Eddie Nickell and Nick Olivieri, a culinary power couple, have owned and operated numerous businesses over the years. They currently own Bites & Bubbles and before that, owned Funkey Monkey and Bananas Diner.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

district home for about 30 years, moved to the College Park area, a number of new businesses moved in during the pandemic, Grant says. “We had probably eight or 10 new businesses open, which was pretty amazing, and they’re all doing well,” she explains. “We only had one business

“I think that’s pretty impressive to have businesses open during a pandemic and do well,” she says. Mills 50 fully embraces its identity as a gayborhood, Grant adds. Banners recognizing Pride Month are hung throughout the district and a Love Wins T-shirt

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is available through the Mills 50 shop online. The district also had one of the LGBTQ-themed murals on the side of The Center refreshed and facilitated the painting of a new mural on the building. In addition, the district is known as an arts and foodie destination. Grant notes that public art can be found throughout the area and its wide range of restaurants cater to every tastebud. “There are so many amazing restaurants, all owned by local owners,” she says. “We’ve got everything: Asian, Cuban, Mexican, Mediterranean. You name it; we’ve got it.” That’s because Mills 50 is booming, she says. Between its reputation as a diverse gayborhood, a foodie hotspot and a haven for the arts, every day she answers calls from businesses that want to move into the district. “We’re very lucky. I have people calling all the time, saying, ‘We want to locate our business in Mills 50. Can you help me?’” she says. “It’s a good problem to have.” For more information about the Mills 50 District, visit Mills50.org.

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Enjoy dinner and drinks delivered to your box at our revamped outdoor venue.

King Crimson July 26

The lineup keeps growing. FRONTYARDFESTIVAL.ORG Mainstage at Senee Arts Plaza

Dave Koz & Friends August 1 Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin & Marc Cohn N ovember 13

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arts and Entertainment

Writer Paul Rudnick on his latest book ‘Playing the Palace,’ the royal family and what you should be reading this season

Jeremy Williams

aul Rudnick is a well renowned

playwright, screenwriter, novelist, essayist, tweeter and blogger. If the medium requires words, then Rudnick tops the shortlist of anyone looking for witty, cleaver and hilarious material.

He is responsible for plays “Jeffrey,” “I Hate Hamlet, “The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told,” “Valhalla,” movies “In & Out,” “Addams Family Values, “Sister Act,” “Coastal Elites,” the film version of “Jeffrey,” books “Gorgeous,” “I’ll Take It,” “Social Disease,” “I Shudder” and many more. He is also working on the book for “The Devil Wears Prada” musical with Kate Wetherhead which will feature music by Elton John and lyrics by Shania Taub. The musical is set to premiere at

Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre July 19-Aug. 21, 2022. Rudnick new book, the romantic comedy “Playing the Palace” is out now from Berkley Books. It tells the story of New York City event planner, Carter Ogden, and his chance encounter with Prince Edgar, the first openly gay Crown Prince of England. As the two begin a whirlwind romance, they have to decide if love is enough to overcome the odds stacked against them.

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We chatted with Rudnick after the release of his latest book to discuss the novel, his obsession with the British royal family and what he thinks you should read — other than “Playing the Palace” — this summer.

Where did the idea for “Playing the Palace” come from? Were Prince Harry and Meghan Markle the inspiration for the story?

I’ve been thinking about this book, at least this story, for years. I’ve always wanted to do a royal, romantic comedy and I knew I wanted it to have a gay couple at the center but I hadn’t been sure exactly what the story would be or if it would land as a play or a screenplay or a novel, but once I got the voice of Carter Ogden — the story’s hero, a sort of hapless romantic party planner who the whole thing happens to — suddenly it presented itself to me. I realized, “Oh

right. this wants to be a book in this guy’s voice.” I’ve always been, like so many people at home, royalty obsessed. The Meghan story really did feed into it because I loved the idea of that status imbalance. Meghan was a successful, American actress but she was a commoner, she was biracial, she was someone who would not necessarily be thought of as the first choice for a royal spouse and I think Carter is very much in that realm. He’s somebody who’s an outsider and makes his way through a world of rules that he doesn’t always understand or agree with. I love watching Meghan and Harry. I remember I turned on the Oprah interview and I thought “Okay, I’ll watch five minutes of it and then switch off,” and I of course was glued to the entire

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Continued on pg. 37 | uu |

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most sense as a novel. That’s when you can go one-on-one with the reader and you can really get inside someone’s brain, and it becomes in the best way this kind of delicious gossip that has got you sitting down and telling you what really happened. You can manage that on stage or in a film but you get the most direct connection in a book.

| uu | Jersey Prince from pg.35

thing and would happily watch a daily Meghan/Harry/Oprah show. I thought they handled themselves beautifully and I thought Meghan has been under such intense stress, which I think even her earlier career in the spotlight could not have prepared her for, and that was something that I wanted to get at in “Playing the Palace.” What does it mean to live and have a romantic life with the scrutiny of the entire planet, especially on the internet where every move you make and every outfit you wear and every sentence you utter is dissected and condemned and celebrated.

When did your obsession with the British royal family start?

I think it probably really intensified during the Princess Diana years because she had such genuine star quality and she was also one of the first royals in my awareness who used her celebrity and her media clout to do some real good. I remember when she went into AIDS wards at hospitals and talked to people with AIDS and held AIDS babies and really made sure that that entered the public consciousness. That was a huge step. I mean, there were almost no celebrities doing anything even close. I so admired her for that and it seemed so smart of her as well. I think there’s that way in which the royals have almost transplanted movie stars in the world’s consciousness. They’re these figures of distant glamour and we can project all our personal fantasies on, especially because they are one of the few groups of celebrities who have some mystery to them because they don’t give that much access, they don’t give that many interviews so we can make it all up [laughs] and we do. I’ve always admired Queen Elizabeth as well just because I think she always behaves impeccably. Sometimes people have accused her of being chilly or distant but when you think how long she’s reigned for without ever, at least out in public, feeling sorry for yourself or complaining. She’s really been an example of good behavior. Plus I love the way she dresses. I think so many successful people sort of retreat into a kind of drabness and with constant caution, and there she is in sunshine yellow and rainbow plaids all the time. I’ve always heard

Have you already thought of writing a sequel?

Royal Obsession: Writer Paul Rudnick’s latest book, “Playing the Palace,” let him explore his obsession with the British royal family that began with Princess Diana. Photo by Matthew Murphy, courtesy Berkley Books

that’s so people can find her in photographs [laughs].

In “Playing the Palace,” is Prince Edgar modeled more after Prince William or Prince Harry, or did you have someone else entirely in mind when coming up with that character?

I was actually more interested in the idea of the responsibility he has as the first openly gay royal. We haven’t really had that, at least not on a major English level, but I thought when I watched so many actors come out and sometimes they’re fearful and what they worry about often is that they’ll be asked to become role models and spokespeople, and that makes them nervous. What I found is that once they actually are out they tend to welcome that. They realize, “Oh my god, what was I so afraid of?” But I thought the first openly gay English prince will have to carry that burden for all the rest of us. That he will have to behave perfectly at all times in a way that will be completely impossible. That he’ll be criticized both by conservatives for existing at all and also by hardcore lefties for not being gay in the correct way, not being gay enough, not being enough of a spokesperson. I thought that this will not be easy. On one hand, why would you feel sorry for someone in a position of such enormous privilege and wealth. On the other hand, I wanted to create a character that was coping, that realized “Okay, this won’t be easy but it’s something very necessary and something that can also be joyful.” So Edgar

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came more from trying to really imagine what that person might be going through. You know, he’s charming and good looking like so many of the royals are, but they had it a little easier because they’ve got a lot of back up and I thought the first gay man or woman is going to be out there alone and that will be both very exciting and very nerve-wracking to watch. It happens to so many who are “the first” of anything whether because of race, gender or sexuality they are microanalyzed and there’s an unfairness to that but on the other hand, you so admire those people for shouldering that burden. I didn’t have one specific prince in mind but more the idea of the phenomenon. The character of Carter has some things in common with you, specifically both of you being from Piscataway, New Jersey and now living in New York. You both use lots of pop culture references in your daily lives. How much of Carter Ogden is actually you?

Plenty, he’s a guy who I know very well. But he’s also inspired by so many gay people in New York I know who sort of cobbled together lives, whether they’re in the arts or in design, they have all sorts of ambitions but they still need to make a living. They still need to have roommates and they tend to live in fifth-floor walk ups in Bushwick, in Brooklyn. I just admire their spirit. The idea that they want the excitement of a gay life in the big city. They are cater waiters or they spritz perfume on you at Bloomingdale’s, they’re

personal trainers or they hand out flyers or they go on the internet and try to make a living as an influencer. I just wanted to create one of those guys. Somebody who was living by his wits and enjoying himself but also feeling a little bit battered by the world. So he shares a lot of my personal background; Carter being from New Jersey and being someone who New York represented a certain kind of dream. And then falling in love with a prince which is something that can only happen I think in a city where those unlikely collisions are possible. That was, in a way, a part of his dream because once you say “I’m going to cross the river into Manhattan,” you’re sort of planting your flag and saying “I want to be where anything is possible.” How do you decide what form your story ideas will take? At what point in the process do you decide this is going to be a play or this is going to be a film or a book?

I’ve learned in my career to let the characters in the story dictate the form. So rather than saying “I’m going to write a book or I’m going to write a screenplay,” I figure out the story first and then see where does it want to live, does it need the visual scope of a movie. With “Playing the Palace,” I wanted it to have an intimacy because it’s about a guy who’s dealing with these huge stakes of entering the world of the royals but I wanted it all to be from his point of view. It wasn’t just about the palaces and the rituals but it was about what he goes through. Once I knew Carter was going to narrate it, that made the

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Anything is possible and I think because the book covers a very specific moment in their lives and they’re at the very beginning of their life together as the story ends there certainly could be. I’d love to explore them further. Who knows what will happen but I’d be very curious to see how these guys make their way in the world, especially because at some point in the future Edgar is going to be the King of England. So I would love to see what happens next with Carter and Edgar. When I found out you were writing this book, I added it to my summer reading list immediately. Along with “Playing the Palace,” do you have a couple summer reading list suggestions?

I just finished a couple of books that are spectacular. One is “Detransition, Baby” by Torrey Peters, who’s a trans writer and it’s just the most gloriously well written book and incredibly entertaining as well. It’s one of the first deeply authentic narratives of trans lives. There’s another book by a writer named Jen Silverman called “We Play Ourselves” which takes place on both coasts and it’s a very witty and very smart examination of jealousy and young people making every possible mistake on the ambition ladder. There was another book called “Last Call [A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York ]” by Elon Green which is a nonfiction book. It’s about a serial killer who preyed on gay men in New York and the bar scene in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and it’s meticulously researched and horrifying but also fascinating because it’s with one of those stories that didn’t quite get the attention it deserved I think because it involved gay murder victims. It’s a very well written description of that time period and this particular crime. “Playing the Palace” is out now and available wherever books are sold.

6th Annual Masquerade

Saturday, July 31, 2021 Tampa River Center For more information and to purchase tickets and sponsorships visit MyEPICMasquerade.org Proceeds benefit EPIC (Empath Partners in Care)

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Podcasts

Dream Team

Top LGBTQ talent sounds off for Audible’s ‘Hot White Heist’

(above)

a true original:

“Hot White Heist” is now exclusively streaming on Audible, created and written by Adam Goldman, bottom right. Photos courtesy 42west

Ryan Williams-Jent

dam Goldman has been ahead of

the curve for most of his career, whether it’s been intentional or not. So much so that the writer, director and occasional actor muses that he’s also “the Beyonce of streaming entertainment.” That’s because years before Apple, Disney, Warner Bros. and every other entertainment juggernaut entered the streaming wars – and even prior to Netflix’s first original series dropping in 2013 – Goldman introduced the internet to “The Outs.” The LGBTQ-focused, original web series premiered in 2012 on Vimeo. The scripted series detailed the lives of Mitchell – a character Goldman played because “we needed someone who didn’t mind

not getting paid and wanted it to see the light of day” – his best friend Oona, played by co-writer Sasha Winters, and his ex-boyfriend Jack, played by Hunter Canning. The three characters navigated LGBTQ life in New York while captivating audiences across the world. The show was crowdfunded through two Kickstarter campaigns, the first of which raised nearly $1,700. The second exceeded its $8,000 goal to bring in more than

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$22,000 with just over 500 backers, proving yet again that audiences were ready for original LGBTQ content. Vimeo funded a second season after that. Guest stars included LGBTQ icons like “Cabaret” and “X-Men” actor Alan Cumming, who met with Goldman after praising the series on Twitter, and comedian Bowen Yang, who went on to join the on-air cast of “Saturday Night Live” in 2019. Other fans included Russell T. Davies, creator of the groundbreaking drama “Queer as Folk” and more recently HBO Max’s “It’s A Sin.” The screenwriter called the series “absolutely gorgeous” and “beautifully shot.” “We just wanted to get it made,” Goldman reflects. “So we wrote it, shot it, edited it and put it up on Vimeo. At the time, people were saying nobody wanted to watch television on their computer. “This was like 2011, 2012,” he continues. “‘House of Cards’ was coming out and people were saying, ‘why would I stream a TV show on Netflix?’ It was just the right timing … it became really easy to put your own stuff online and we were there for that.” Even so, Goldman adds that “if you had told me in 2012 that Disney was going to be investing several billion dollars into streaming … I would have laughed you out of the room. It’s pretty crazy.” The entertainer went on to create “Whatever This Is,” another series which featured Cumming as a guest star. The veteran performer subsequently hired his newfound friend and collaborator to write material for the 69th annual Tony Awards, which Cumming hosted alongside Kristin Chenoweth in 2015. Now the pair is partnering for “Hot White Heist,” an Audible Original streaming exclusively on the popular podcast and audiobook service. Its six, scripted episodes star a dream team of high-profile, openly LGBTQ actors and premiered in its entirety on June 17. Just in time for Pride Month.

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“‘Hot White Heist’ follows a crew of misfits from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum as they attempt the stickiest heist in history: stealing a hidden supply of sperm samples from the U.S. government,” the project is officially described. “Why? To help a scrappy lesbian cult in Montana finance a top-secret project, of course. Or, to put it more simply, it’s a sperm bank heist.” The podcast was written, produced and created by Goldman. Cumming directed while also serving as a producer via his Club Cumming Productions, along with Broadway Video. The entertainment company was founded by “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels to produce “original comedic content for every platform.” Rachel Ghiazza, the executive vice president and head of U.S. content at Audible, noted that’s exactly what they’ve done with “Hot White Heist.” “The masterminds at Broadway Video continue to create amazingly original series that have our listeners laughing nonstop,” she shared when the project was announced in February. “These exceptionally funny and smart storylines paired with rosters of distinguished voices are audio entertainment at its best.” “The collaboration and medium allow us to work with talented creators telling stories from new perspectives,” Broadway Video Enterprises President Britta von Schoeler added. “Producing [“Hot White Heist”] during the pandemic provided some much-needed levity. We hope [it will] do the same for Audible’s growing listening audience.” The concept for “Hot White Heist” stemmed from a tweet. Reflecting on the heist genre – crime films that involve teams of people carrying out daring thefts – Goldman says he shared that “I wish we had a queer heist, and no, it wouldn’t be a sperm bank heist. “And then I was just like, ‘Oh. I guess that actually is ridiculous enough to work,’” he recalls. He held onto the idea and sent a pitch to Cumming, who’d just founded his production company. It seeks to produce content that’s eclectic, inclusive, daring and joyful, a perfect fit. “We have really similar sensibilities and he sort of understood how fun it would be to have all of this queer talent together,” Goldman says. “He has such incredible talent and instincts that it made sense for him Continued on pg. 41 | uu |

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

| uu | Deam Team from pg.39

to direct this. It was a challenge because he was directing over Zoom and I was sort of there giving notes with him, but he really nailed it.” “I have worked for Audible as a performer and writer many times, but I’m really excited to be making my directorial debut with ‘Hot White Heist,’ Adam Goldman’s hilarious, witty, and biting script,” Cumming shared ahead of its release, “and to be bringing together so many friends from my LGBTQ+ family to be in it!” The impressive ensemble is led by Yang, now a longtime friend of Goldman’s. The podcast’s creator says he always had the performer in mind for his LGBTQ-focused tale. “I wrote the lead character, who’s a guy named Judy for Bowen,” he says. “He’s been blowing up in the last year or two and is an incredibly friendly, humble, talented, smart and funny actor. So even before I knew he could do it, I was writing it in his voice.” “It’s been a very special honor to lead the cast of ‘Hot White Heist’ and act alongside queer performers whom I’ve admired so much,” Bowen shared when the series was announced. The performer promised it is “a funny, caper-y thrill” while musing that “I’d like to take this opportunity to announce that I am gay!” Rounding out the cast are Cynthia Nixon (“Sex and the City”), Abbi Jacobson (“Broad City”), Jane Lynch (“Glee”), MJ Rodriguez (“Pose”), Shannon Woodward (“Westworld”), Stephanie Beatriz (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), John Cameron Mitchell (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”), Cheyanne Jackson (“American Horror Story”), Jonathan Bailey (“Bridgerton”) and Tony Kushner, the writer of “Angels in America” who plays himself. Fan favorite performers from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” are also featured. They include season six winner Bianca Del Rio, season nine finalist Peppermint and Brian McCook’s Katya Zamolodchikova from season seven, who was also a finalist on “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” season two. Cumming cameos in a voice role as well. Goldman says the casting process was later in the creative process and that ensuring LGBTQ actors filled the LGBTQ roles

representation matters: The LGBTQ cast of “Hot White Heist,” an Audible original. Photo via audible.com came naturally for the project. “It’s a really big conversation,” he says of the debate. “I think that actors should not be limited by their own life experience when playing a role – but that being said, it’s not like acting is a meritocracy anyway. “I think it’s really contextual,” he continues, “and it was always part of the pitch, almost like a queer sort of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ thing. There’s all this incredible queer talent that people know and love and who are really good at what they do – so we thought, what if we asked a bunch of them to be involved in this thing that can be entirely of our community?” “Hot White Heist” was also initially conceived as a feature

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film. Goldman says that while he always received positive feedback when meeting with interested parties, there was reluctance given its subject matter. “It’s a sperm bank heist,” he deadpans. “It’s about people stealing sperm. That’s kind of ridiculous and raunchy, so even though they’re stealing the sperm samples to sell them for money – it’s nothing gross – I think there was a little hesitation about that.” He went back to the drawing board. The concept landed at Broadway Video and “got in front of Lorne Michaels,” Goldman says. “He loved the idea and said, ‘we have this partnership with Audible, let’s do that.’” It was the collaboration with Audible and Broadway Video that

helped attract the podcast’s talent. The proven partners “made their ears perk up,” Goldman explains, “and also Alan had relationships with some of them.” “But I think at the end day, if the project or script isn’t fun, people aren’t going to sign up, especially people who have a lot of offers coming in and have a lot of stuff on their plate,” he also notes. “So it’s a point of personal pride for me that people read this ridiculous story and thought it was fun and funny enough that they wanted to lend us their voices, because it is. It’s super silly.” It’s also groundbreaking, highlighting talent and characters from across the LGBTQ spectrum. Goldman says at its core, it’s

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a tale about members of the community coming together to accomplish something. “Judy, Bowen’s character puts together this team,” he explains, “and he says, ‘we’re only going to hire queer people.’ His mantra is ‘representation matters,’ even within the show. We have a lesbian on the team, a bi couple on the team, a trans hacker on the team. We tried to make it as much of the community as possible.” Having the confidence to do so stems from his early work. “‘The Outs’ was really important to me for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that it was a personal story that centered on the LGBTQ community,” he says. Its fans continue to advocate for the series, which remains available to stream at TheOuts.com years later. “Even if it didn’t get picked up by HBO, it shows there’s an audience and a hunger for these stories,” Goldman notes. “It gave me the ability to be unafraid in telling stories about queer people.” Doing so with a cast that is 100% openly LGBTQ is particularly exciting. The majority of the “Hot White Heist” crew also identify as members of the community. “I’ve had the most success artistically when I’m making something that I wish already existed in the world,” Goldman says. “This is definitely one of those cases and we made it. It’s been really rewarding.” Part of the “cultural hole” Goldman hoped to fill was that the project “is just fun.” He urges listeners to give the Audible original a chance for that reason. “I was really happy with the way that we managed to make something really fun, light and enjoyable for queer people in a year that was really hard for a lot of people,” Goldman says. “I think we succeeded. Dive in and see where it takes you.” All six half-hour episodes of “Hot White Heist,” an Audible Original and Broadway Video production, are now streaming exclusively on Audible. Listen at Audible.com or in the Audible app, available on iOS and in Google Play Store. The podcast is intended for adults only and is included with Audible Plus, the platform’s all-you-can-listen service. 30-day trials are available. Learn more about creator Adam Goldman and his work at ThatAdamGoldman.com.

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community calendar

event planner

arts+entertainment

Central Florida

Central Florida COMMUNITY: Five Years After the Pulse Tragedy, May 29-Aug. 15, Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando. 407-836-8500; TheHistoryCenter.org “A Streetcar Named Desire,” June 11-27, Osceola Center for the Arts, Kissimmee. 407-846-4643; OsceolaArts.org Orlando Neighborhood Cleanup, June 26, Downtown, Orlando. 407-228-1451; Facebook.com/AnnaForFlorida OUTAthletics DeLand, June 26, NIKA, DeLand. 386-232-8551; DeLandPride.org Official NYC Youth Pride Watch Party and Ball, June 26, The Viera Studio for the Performing Arts, Melbourne. 321-541-0536; SpaceCoastPride.org Rainbow Cook-off, June 27, Abbey Bar, DeLand. 386-232-8551; DeLandPride.org “The Birdcage” 25th Anniversary, June 27, 28 & 30, participating theaters, Orlando. FathomEvents.com PFLAG Greater Orlando Bingo Charity Event, June 29, Hamburger Mary’s, Orlando. 321-319-0600; HamburgerMarys.com/Orlando Disney in DeLand, June 29, Cafe DaVinci, DeLand. 386-232-8551; DeLandPride.org “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars” Viewing Party, July 1 & 8, Stonewall Bar, Orlando. 407-373-0888; Facebook.com/ Stonewall.Orlando Plastique Tiara, July 2, Southern Nights, Orlando. 407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsOrlando

The Pride Chamber’s Golf Outing and Business Expo Saturday, June 26, 8 a.m. Dubsdread Golf Course, Orlando The Pride Chamber hosts a fun-filled day of golfing, connection and food with a golf outing at Dubsdread and a Business Expo to follow at Celebration Gardens. Registration and an eye-opener bar start at 7 a.m. with tee off at 8 a.m. The Business Expo starts at 12:30 p.m. For more information and to register, go to BirdEase.com/TPCGolfandExpo.

Silver

Cage

The Center 24 Test-a-thon Saturday, June 26 - Sunday June 27, 10 a.m.-10 a.m. The Center Health and Human Services, Orlando

“The Birdcage” —the groundbreaking 1996 comedy starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane — celebrates its 25th Anniversary with a re-release in select theaters in Orlando, Tampa and Sarasota June 27, 28 and 30. Go to FathomEvents.com for more information and to purchase tickets.

Photo courtesy FathomEvents.com

44th Annual Fireworks at the Fountain, July 4, Lake Eola Park, Orlando. 407-246-2728; Orlando.gov/ Events 4th of July Special Cabaret with the Dazzling Divas, July 4, The Lounge at The Artisan Downtown, DeLand. 386-873-4675; ArtisanDowntown.com Lunch w/ The Center’s ED, July 6, LGBT+ Center, Orlando. 407-228-8272; TheCenterOrlando.org

Tampa Bay Rainbros Pride Party, June 25, Park & Rec DTSP, St. Petersburg. 727-245-9100; Facebook.com/ParkRecDTSP Salty’s Pride Party 2021, June 25, Salty’s, Gulfport. 727-592-4983; SaltysGulfport.com Drag Brunch, June 26, Red Mesa Cantina, St. Petersburg. 727-896-8226; RedMesaCantina.com

St Pete Pride Picnic + Fireworks, June 26, Straub Park, St. Petersburg. 727-342-0084; StPetePride.org Kristine W. & Acid Betty, June 26, Cocktail, St. Petersburg. 727-592-1914; CocktailStPete.com OUT and PROUD 365 Block Party & T Dance, June 27, Grand Central District, St. Petersburg. 727-258-4850; ComeOUTStPete.org “The Birdcage” 25th Anniversary, June 27, 28 & 30, participating theaters, Tampa. FathomEvents.com

Book Club: “1984” by George Orwell, July 1, Gulfport Public Library, Gulfport. 727-893-1074; MyGulfport.us/GPL

The LGBT+ Center Orlando will hold its first ever 24-hour Test-a-thon in honor of National HIV Testing Day. From 10 a.m. on June 26 to 10 a.m. on June 27, free HIV and Hep C testing will be available at The Center Health and Human Services building, located at 1200 Hillcrest St., suite 102 in Orlando. The event will feature live entertainment, free food, raffle prizes and giveaways. For more information, visit TheCenterOrlando.org.

Tampa Bay

Plastique Tiara, July 3, Southern Nights, Tampa. 407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsTampa

Shade Showdown

July 4th Pool Party w/ The Cheaters, July 4, Hollander Hotel, St. Petersburg. 727-873-7900; HollanderHotel.com

Shade Showcase’s unconventional, onenight competition features 10 entertainers vying for a grand prize of $1,000 and other prizes. Morgan Le Shade hosts this LGBTQ-expansive evening. Learn more by following @TheShadeShowcase on Instagram and visiting Facebook.com/ CitySideLounge.

Sarasota

So You Think You Can Drag, June 30, Southern Nights, Tampa. 407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsTampa

“Sophie Tucker: The Last of the Red Hot Mamas,” June 2-July 11, Florida Studio Theatre, Sarasota. 941-366-9000; FloridaStudioTheatre.org

Field Trip to view the Skyway Exhibition, June 30, Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Tampa. 813-221-2222; FMoPA.org

“The Birdcage” 25th Anniversary, June 27, 28 & 30, participating theaters, Sarasota. FathomEvents.com

Friday, June 25, 9 p.m. City Side Lounge, Tampa

Pride in Business Luncheon Wednesday, June 30, 11:30 a.m. Centre Club, Tampa Join the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber as it recognizes 52 years since the Stonewall Uprising during the return of our Annual Pride in Business Luncheon with a panel of LGBTQ community leaders to discuss the early days of the LGBTQ Civil Rights Movement: successes, challenges and the work still left to do. A n pre-event networking will begin at 11 a.m. For more information, visit TampaBayLGBTChamber.org.

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

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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Saturday, June 26 Noon–6 PM ON STAGE

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A Happy Ending

Sunday, June 27 11 AM–6 PM

F O R A L L E V E N T S & I N F O R M AT I O N

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announcements

tampa bay out+about

CONGRATULATIONS Trevor Burgess and Gary Hess donated $250,000 to nonprofits throughout Tampa Bay June 8. Recipients included Equality Florida, Metro Inclusive Health and more. Chuck Henson and Joe Diaz were engaged June 13. GayStPete House’s June 13 Pride Poolside Fashion Show raised more than $4,000 for The Grand Central District. Southern Nights Tampa celebrated its sixth year June 19. Olivia Rae Taylor was crowned All American Goddess 2021 on June 20. St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Darden Rice, who could become the city’s first openly LGBTQ mayor, was endorsed by Largo City Commissioner Michael Smith and former Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner June 16. The trailblazers were the first openly LGBTQ officials elected to represent their respective commissions. The two “have both done so much to improve their communities during their careers in public service,” Rice shared. “I appreciate the work they’ve done for the people of Tampa Bay and I am honored to have their endorsements in my campaign for mayor.” Learn more at DardenRice.com. Pasco Pride announced their 2021 return on June 15. Their festival’s theme will be “Stronger Together” on Oct. 9 at Heritage Park in Land O’Lakes. Visit PascoPrideFestival.com for details.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS Tampa U.b.U. Salon artist Jeremy Beauchamp, Tampa Bay bartender Jeremy Fetters, St. Petersburg realtor Todd Fixler, Diamond in the rough Lindsey Burkholder (June 24); Tampa Bay community activist Guadalupe Vargas, St. Pete twirler Dan Radwanski, Tampa outdoor enthusiast Scott Buttelwerth, Nielsen manager Will Edwards (June 25); Metro Inclusive Health Chief Marketing & Experience Officer Brian Bailey, Tampa Stageworks Theatre Artistic Director Anna Brennan, Hudson’s Furniture manager Aaron Horcha, Helping hand Amy Dalzell (June 27); Rising Tide Innovation Center’s Thompson Davis Kellett, Family woman Arleen Batronie (June 28); Tampa Bay photographer Morgan Le Shade, Musician Todd Wathen (June 29); Tampa Bay bartender Jerry Watson, Tampa Bay realtor Steve Blinder (June 30); Mellow Mushroom Sarasota owner Karen Atwood, St. Petersburg leather man Matt Wolf, Mad Theatre of Tampa’s DJ Holt (July 1); Tampa philanthropist Matt Bachman, Metro Inclusive Health CEO Lorraine Langlois, Sawmill performer Sofonda Cox, St. Pete graphic guru Michael O’Connell (July 2); Tampa Pro Massage owner Cory Jeffries (July 3); Accuracy Painting’s Abe Gadikian, Career coach Tim Durling (July 4); Tampa Bay performer Kori Stevens, St. Pete swarmer Christopher Nason, Come OUT St. Pete ambassador Kristina White, a.k.a. Lady Fatalya (July 5); Balance Tampa Bay’s Steve Watson, Educator Brad Rice, Tampa Bay entertainer Georgia Moore, Tampa Bay entertainer Mya Valentine (July 6); Sarasota Opera director of marketing Carlos Eduardo Vincente, USF IT guru Angel Arcelay, Tampa Bay actor Chris Stein, Capital man Keith Williams (July 7).

2 3

FAMILY FOCUS: Daphne Ferraro entertains all ages at Straub Park for St Pete Pride’s We Are Family celebration June 12. PHOTO

COURTESY ST PETE PRIDE

NEW RELEASE: Author Rob Sanders welcomes fans to the June 8 book launch for “Two Grooms on a Cake” at Tombolo Books. PHOTO BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT

STRONGER TOGETHER: Brian Longstreth (L) and Sam Xatan commemorate Juneteenth at the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum with Come OUT St. Pete June 20. PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

COMEBACK CROWD: Watermark Wednesday attendees raise funds for Metro Inclusive Health June 16 during our first Tampa Bay networking social in more than a year. PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

DYNAMIC DUO: Stephanie (L) and Mike Callahan celebrate Pesky Pride at the Pesky Pelican Brew Pub June 13.

PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

IN SERVICE: Past, present and future LGBTQ service members and partners reflect on Pride Month at MacDill Air Force Base June 10. PHOTO COURTESY

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE

GALLERY GALS: Collectors Camille Barbone (L) and Dawn Ingianni (R) pick up artwork from Chad Mize at MIZE Gallery June 14. PHOTO COURTESY MIZE GALLERY

DREAM TEAM: Managers Chris Hannay (L) and Melvin Theriault get welcome guests to Cocktail June 18. PHOTO

BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT

7 watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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3 3 W E L L A P P O I N T E D R O O M S A N D S U I T E S ~ T H E S PA I S O P E N TO T H E P U B L I C

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

announcements

central florida out+about

CONGRATULATIONS The Dru Project raised nearly $22,000 in the weeks leading up to June 12 for LGBTQ youth culminating with the Brews for Drew fundraiser at Burton’s Thornton Park June 13. Watermark’s monthly Central Florida social Third Thursday returned June 17, benefiting and hosted at the LGBT+ Center Orlando. With the help of AIGA Orlando and Native Screen Print Co. creating and selling limited edition totes, prints and stickers, the event was able to raise more than $1,000 for The Center Orlando.

Hanks Orlando celebrates 34 years in business July 1.

CONDOLENCES David Rich Giaquinto, former owner of the Peacock Lounge and former Walt Disney World cast member passed away June 18. He’s survived by his husband Daniel Giaquinto Rich.

RESEARCH STUDY Three of the nation’s largest blood centers — Vitalant, OneBlood, and the American Red Cross — in partnership with The LGBT+ Center Orlando are seeking participants to join a new groundbreaking FDA-funded study in Orlando to consider new approaches for determining blood donation eligibility for men who have sex with men. If you are a gay or bisexual male between 18-39 years old and interested in becoming a blood donor, you may be eligible to participate. To gather the necessary data the blood centers are partnering with LGBTQ Centers in eight cities across the nation. The study looks to enroll 250–300 gay and bi men in Central Florida who meet the study eligibility criteria.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS Arkham Assailant Amanda Hippensteel (June 24); Orlando Fringe Patron winner Nanci “Mama B” Boetto, The Ribbon Project founder and Embellish FX proprietor Ben Johansen (June 25); Mother to the publisher Ginger Bentz, “God is a Scottish Drag Queen” performer Mike Delamont, former Watermark intern Sophia Mackrides, roller derby team captain Amber Luu (June 26); Orlando realtor Chad Gibson (June 17); O-Town DJ and aspiring MD Chris “Cub” Mendez, Central Florida visual designer Adam McCabe (June 29);Photographer Dixie Lee Todd (July 1); “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Coco Montrese, Tim Vargas of Embellish FX, Former Putnam County Courier Journal editor B.J. Laurie, actor extraordinaire Tommy Wooten, Central Florida drag entertainer Lisa Lane, Assistant General Manager at JJ’s Fusion Grille Sandra Nasrallah, Equality Florida’s Salvatore Vieira (July 2); Central Florida performer Rob Ward(July 4); Orlando drag performer Ed Dobski aka Trixie Deluxe, co-owner of Shelbie Press Debbie Simmons, owner of Pom Pom’s Teahouse Pom Moongauklang (July 5); Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, owner of John Michael Exquisite Weddings and Catering Michael Thomas (July 6); comedian Ronni Radner, Montessori teacher Natasha Kay (July 7).

Drag Brunch: Dollya Black (L) and Torah Himan at Estefan Kitchen in Orlando for Dining with Divas June 19. Photo by Danny Garcia

Picture Show: (L-R) Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, Sean Mundyschein and Josh Bell at the Dr. Phillips Center’s Frontyard Festival in Orlando for J.D. Casto’s “My Portrait of Pulse” featuring the Orlando Gay Chorus. Photo by Jeremy Williams

Remembering the 49: Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan poses with OPD’s Pulse remembrance vehicle in front of the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando June 7. Photo

courtesy Patty Sheehan

courtesy Leigh Shannon

courtesy The Dru Project

courtesy Loc Robertson

courtesy Jeremy Williams

Showgirls Night: (L-R) Twila Holiday, April Fresh and Dena Cass are fabulous showgirls at Secrets Hideaway Resort & Spa in Kissimmee June 15. Photo

For Drew: (L-R) The Dru Project’s Shawn Chaudhry, Brandon Wolf and Sara Grossman during the Brews for Drew event at Burton’s Thornton Park in Orlando June 13. Photo by Albert Harris,

Restorative Yoga: QLatinx hosts “Inhala Exhala” new moon yoga event for members of the community at the LGBT+ Center Orlando June 10. Photo

That’s Entertainment: (L-R) Tymisha Harris, Leigh Shannon and Billy Mick enjoy HÄOS on Church in Orlando June 13. Photo

Cocktail Hour: Jerick Mediavilla (L) and state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith enjoy a delicious beverage at Las Carretas Mexican Restaurant in Winter Park June 18. Photo by Omar Mediavilla

8 watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

wedding bells

William Constantinou and Francisco Lopez from St. Petersburg, Florida

Engagement Date:

Dec. 24, 2019

Wedding Date:

Oct. 3, 2020

Officiant:

The couple’s two best friends, Cheryl Magee and LA King

Wedding VenuE: Chattaway

Catering: Chattaway

Wedding Song:

“All of Me”

Photographer:

Tristan King and James King, Jr.

Music:

DJ Hoof

Colors:

Burgundy and navy blue

Wedding Cake: Dee Workman

Flowers:

Purchased from Artistic Flowers; arranged by Chattaway staff

Photos by Tristan King and James King, Jr.

illiam Constantinou came out

later in life. He was around 30 years old and from the get-go, told himself he would never date someone significantly younger than him.

“I didn’t want to go through any of that childish stuff,” he says. The New York native had been living in Philadelphia for more than a decade and began frequenting the city’s LGBTQ clubs. One night he crossed paths with Francisco “Frankie” Lopez – a Philly native known by many in the Tampa Bay area by his drag persona Monique Love. Lopez was just 22 at the time. He’d brought a date to the club and was also initially flirting with one of Constantinou’s friends when the two first met. It was everything Constantinou didn’t think he wanted in a boyfriend. But there was an undeniable, immediate attraction between the two, Constantinou says. Even after making snarky comments to Lopez, they couldn’t get enough of one another. Even in such a large club – it had five dance clubs across three floors – they kept crossing paths. By the end

of the night, Lopez asked him if he had a boyfriend. When Constantinou replied, “No,” Lopez quickly asked, “You want one?” They spent the entire day on the phone and made plans to meet the following Sunday. They lived on opposite sides of Philly – Constantinou on the north side, Lopez on the south side – so whenever they met up, they hung out in Center City. “The gayborhood,” Constantinou says. During their first few years together, the happy couple had spent some time visiting Tampa Bay, where Constantinou’s brother and partner lived. His mother and grandmother eventually moved here as well. Three years after they started dating, when Constantinou was laid off when his employer downsized, they decided it was a good time to join them. They moved to St. Petersburg in 2003. “I thought, ‘why don’t we just move away?’” Lopez says. “It was

something different, a change, ‘let’s just get up and go.’” They got rid of anything they couldn’t fit in their car and moved in with Constantinou’s brother. This gave them time to find work and establish themselves in the area. Before long, they found an apartment around the corner from the Chattaway, the popular restaurant in in St. Petersburg. Lopez found work at the Suncoast Resort Hotel, a former LGBTQ staple, and also worked at Chattaway. Working at Suncoast, he met many of the area’s drag performers. In Philly, he’d won several competitions and he looked up to his new friends – especially Alicia Markstone and Esme Russell – who encouraged him to begin performing locally. “It just took off from there,” he says. He began building a name for himself as Monique Love, performing just about everywhere in the area. Currently, he performs primarily at Punky’s Bar & Grill. He and Constantinou built a home for themselves. They’d talked about getting married, especially after marriage equality, but they weren’t eager to rush. “We knew were committed to each other,” Constantinou says. “We

weren’t going anywhere. For us, that commitment was more important.” Then, two years ago, a friend asked Lopez why the two weren’t married. Lopez jokingly responded, “I don’t know. He’s never asked me.” With their 20th anniversary approaching in 2020, Constantinou decided to surprise Lopez with a proposal. They normally host a big Christmas Eve party, so he decided he would pop the question then. But he needed to plan. Every holiday, Lopez gifts a crystal angel figurine to one or two people in his life who need it that year. In 2020, Constantinou told him to order an extra angel, but wouldn’t tell him why. He also needed their friends on board, while keeping the secret. He consulted them on his engagement ring and proposal plan. While they were helpful, they also posed another problem. “Everybody in town knows Frankie,” Constantinou says. “To keep a secret from him is hard.” That year, more people RSVP’d yes to their Christmas party than normal. “They all wanted to see me propose,” Constantinou explains. There were more people at their party than had ever attended before – and they were used to big parties, he adds. “There were so many people between our Christmas lights, so many people covering our front lawn. So, we did it on the front stoop in front of everybody.” After Lopez gave out his first angel figurine, Constantinou pulled out another angel and the ring box. “I said, ‘It’s been 20 years,’” he recalls. “‘Will you marry me?’ And he called me an ‘a**hole.’ Then he said yes, and everybody cheered.” They planned to get married in May 2020, but their plans were pushed back because of the pandemic. Still, they wanted to get married before the end of the year to mark their 20th. That led them to organize an event at Chattaway in October. “We said whatever happens, happens,” Constantinou says. “It was simple. It was everything we wanted and more, and we were glad we waited.”

— Tiffany Razzano

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

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 24 - July 7, 2021 // Issue 28 .13 wat e r m a r konline .com

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Watermark Issue 28.13: Welcome To The Gayborhood!

Articles inside

Central fl out + about

tamPa bay out + about

PublIsHer’s desk