Gay8 Festival Returns for Another Exciting Year

Sunday, Feb 19

Want to feel good and have fun? Get ready for Gay8 (“Ocho”) Festival as it returns for another feel-good year of live music, tasty foods, and blissful fun under the umbrella of community building, diversity, and inclusion.

The free festival, which has become a staple in the Little Havana neighborhood, is presented by First Horizon and will take place on Sunday, February 19 (President's Day Weekend) in the world-famous “Calle Ocho” once again growing its footprint from SW 17th Avenue to SW 12th Avenue from 11am to 11pm.

This year's festival theme is “Abriendo Caminos” or “Clearing The Way” – intended to mean “giving access to” and “lifting up communities.” With an impressive lineup of musical acts on eight stages and more than 100,000 people expected, “Gay Ocho” promises to be bigger and better than ever before. The Kickoff Party will be on Satur day evening beginning at 8pm at Cuba Ocho, located at 1465 SW 8th Street, featuring TIMBA LIVE.

Headlining the festival on Sunday is “Nic

N'Taya” at 9pm on the Bacardi Stage and “Dancing Queen: An ABBA Salute” at 4pm on the First Horizon Stage. These bands will be joined by the Leslie Cartaya Band, K-NELA, Karina Iglesias, Robbie Elias, Cachita Lopez, Son Lokos, Lena Burke, Alexander Star and The Golden People, L-YEN, Lucy Grau, and more. The “Rumba Stage” located next to Cuba Ocho will open with Zumba Classes at 1pm and feature “Las Mulatason” and “Miami Girls Tumbao” during the day. The festival features a diversity of performances on the Girl Central Stage, the Wigwood Stage, the WEPA Stage, and the Salsa Stage (Salsa Dancing).

In addition to the music, festivalgoers can also enjoy the fashion extravaganza

“The Fashion Fete” produced by The House of YAS and Alternativo Art located in Domino Park. There is also a pet fashion show curated by Miami Dade Animal Services, a section where anyone can “record “your story” called “Te Cuento” in an audio booth near the 2506 Memorial, a variety of food vendors, art installations, and other interactive experiences, as well as two VIP areas open from 12pm-8pm with tickets for these experiences on sale at gay8festival.com for $150; and a historic, culinary walking tour at 11am with tickets available on the site for $35. The festival closes with an authentic street “Comparsa” (Street Dance) at 9PM – not to be missed.

"The Gay Ocho Festival is a platform for bringing people together from all over the world for one day of fun and (as our hashtag says) to “Live Your Story Here,” said Damian Pardo, founder and Chair of 4Ward Miami (the non-profit producing entity). "Our goal has always been to bring people together who may not usually share space and to provide a fun, unique and memorable experience that broadens their understanding of South Florida. We can't wait!"

The Gay8 Festival is free to the public, and prices are set with affordability in mind. For more information, go to gay8festival.com.

By Romeo San Vicente

the films "Selma," "13th" and the limited series, "When They See Us," so this project is definitely in the right hands. Look for this one sometime late in 2023 or maybe 2024.

Penelope Cruz stars in Italian trans drama 'L'immensità' Italian filmmaker Emanuele Crialese ("Golden Door," "Once We Were Strangers") has been open about being a transgender man for years now, but he has taken the opportunity of his new higher-profile, Penelope Cruz-starring film "L'immensità," to remind the world of that fact. Set in Rome in the 1970s, the autobiographical story revolves around a family led by and Cruz's mother character. Of her three children, one is a trans boy, and he fights for his place and his identity in the world when the family isn't

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Vera Farmiga, Nick Offerman, Connie Nielsen and Grammy- and Emmywinning actress Jasmine Cephas Jones. The story revolves around the roots of racism in America, told through the prism of social, economic, and cultural factors. It's a subject DuVernay has explored with great skill and emotional power in supportive. The film had its North American premiere at the Sundance Film Festival after European runs in 2022 and will most likely take a bow theatrically in the U.S. later this year. With anti-trans sentiment out of control among cultural conservatives, now is exactly the time for more trans stories to be told. Buy a ticket.

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We've spent the interim between seasons one and two of "Schmigadoon!" catching up on some of the musicals referenced in the wild song-filled comedy series (note to everyone: "Carousel" is a trip that might scar you forever), so we're ready for the next round. The second season will follow stars Cecily

Strong and Keegan-Michael Key as they enter the world of "Schmicago" with a storyline that will no doubt be steeped in famous musicals of the '50s, '60s and '70s. The regulars this time around will include song-and-dance man Tituss Burgess ("Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"), Broadway regular Patrick Page and a variety of other special guest stars. Musical theater kids, gets ready for the April 7 drop on Apple TV+ for an ongoing game of "Spot the Obscure Reference."

Romeo San Vicente's Celebration Tour will involve watching "Who's That Girl?" over and over.