SGN August 1 2026

I SS U E 9

VO LU M E 5 4

AU G U S T 2 0 26

2026 Primary Endorsement Guide page 7

Denny Blaine stays nude! page 4

SCOTUS affirms Trans sports bans page 12

VIFF 2026 preview page 18

Shakespeare in the Park 2 0 2 6

The

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WinTer’s Tale Directed by Erin Day

coriolanus Directed by Linda Lombardi

Backyard Bard / Smaller PlayS for Smaller ParkS

T emPeST and THe TWo NoBle kINSmeN THe

Directed by Garth Ball

! e e Fr JUly 10 – aUG 15 Seattle • Fall City • LynnWooD normandy park • redmond • Vashon

Photo by Daniel Wood

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IN THIS ISSUE OP-ED 3 SEATTLE NEWS 4 OBITUARIES 5 2026 PRIMARY ENDORSEMENTS 7 2026 PRIMARY VOTER CHEAT SHEET 11 NATIONAL NEWS 12 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 14 FILM 18 BOOKS 21 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 22

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Contributing Writers André Aram • Alice Bloch Frank Gaimari • Miryam Gordon MK Scott This issue is dedicated to ADVOCATES OF EQUALITY: Patricia "Patty" Echo Pelandini (1946–2025), Henry "Bob" Raketty (1950-2025), and William "Bill" Pelandini (1946-2026) "If we desire a society that is democratic, then democracy must become a means as well as an end.”

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Dare to speak a word on the bus — it’s good for the culture!

A critic of nativism and The Stranger’s “How to Seattle”

BY M A D I S O N J O N E S , S G N M A N AG I N G E D ITO R

RIDE WITH PRIDE BUS SEATTLE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Spend any time in the Emerald City and you’ll be sure to find those eager to espouse a doctrine of what is or isn’t proper Seattleite behavior. As our once secluded, hilly town on an isthmus has become more and more metropolitan, people’s attempts to assimilate (or even ward off) transplants with a laundry list of norms and etiquette — or even stranger purity tests — have gone too far.

Culture is not static. What starts off as a novel trend can end up becoming a deep-seated tradition later, but people every day choose which traditions are worth adhering to, rejecting, or swapping out for something else.

Seattle culture is not a monolith but rather an amalgamation of various groups that came to call this place their home, as is the story for the rest of the US (for better or for worse). And just like the broader culture, the city has also historically expected newcomers to assimilate, which hasn’t always been the most fair or equitable process — just take a look at the American Indian residential school system that stripped children of their families, language, culture, etc., as an example.

Some may fear that our home is losing the unique attributes that once made it distinct from other places — and that is a very understandable, human reaction. It doesn’t help that every day we see beloved local institu-

tions on the verge of closing down, or worse, disappearing entirely (note the rise of projects like Vanishing Seattle as a result). And with the advent of social media homogenizing culture around the world, those feelings have only been exacerbated.

But make no mistake: it isn’t the friendly Trans woman from the Midwest, Palestinian refugee, or Chicano transplant from SoCal not adhering to the “Seattle Freeze” that is causing our city to lose its beautifully unique identity — it’s the billionaires and multinational corporations.

As Seattle locals, we have watched for years as very rich people act with little to no regard for the things we hold dear and sacred (Stuart Sloan’s attack on Denny Blaine Park as a historically Queer nude beach being one of many examples). Culture naturally evolves with time, and given that, we should embrace differing attitudes as our hometown becomes more multicultural.

However, what we have been experiencing has been nothing short of a full hollowing out of the city’s cultural soul purely in the name of increasing profit margins for a small minority of very affluent people. What will ultimately determine the fate of our cultural soul in all of this is how we decide to collectively respond to these pressures.

What I find to be the most quintessentially “Seattle” is not these super-

AUGUST 2026

ficial indicators, used against others as arbitrary litmus tests of people’s “nativeness,” but rather having a collectivist mindset and irreverent attitude toward the system. The WTO protests, longshoremen strikes, and 1990s grunge culture all shared a working-class attitude of rejecting the conformist pressures of American corporate capitalism. That is the true culture of Seattle I have come to know and love the most.

One of Seattle’s best-known figures, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, made it a point of his career to reject the system, wearing dresses and kissing his bandmates on SNL as a way to trigger the corporate media networks and “piss off the rednecks and homophobes.” SGN publisher George Bakan embraced a large-tent mentality in his activism, and advocated for the inclusion of Bisexual and Transgender people at Seattle Pride at a time when some Gay and Lesbian activists didn’t want to; he also fought against police harassment of Gay cruising in public parks.

And so I argue that the true, authentic “how to Seattle” is actually the opposite of what The Stranger and others prescribe: dare to speak on public transit, use an umbrella sometimes, embrace where you’re from, and rebel against the system! But most importantly, don’t feel the need to rank your “Seattleness” against anybody else’s.

SGN

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SEATTLE NEWS Judge allows Denny Blaine Park to remain open but orders city to further abate “public nuisance” activities

BY M A D I S O N J O N E S , S G N M A N AG I N G E D ITO R On July 15, King County Superior Court Judge Samuel Chung ruled against neighborhood group Denny Blaine Park for All’s request to ban nudity or fully close down a historically LGBTQIA+ park and beach along Lake Washington. Although Denny Blaine Park will remain open, the judge did grant the group’s request to further abate what its members see as “public nuisance” activities.

In July 2025, Denny Blaine Park for All’s request for an abatement planwas granted, after homeowners adjacent to the park (including millionaire and QFC founder Stuart Sloan) began witnessing nude beachgoers and alleged sexual acts. In response, the city established a fence between the upper and lower parts of the park, deeming one side as “clothing required” and the other “clothing optional.” Public nudity is legal in the city of Seattle, unless it knowingly causes “reason-

able affront or alarm” to others.

Unsatisfied with the results of the initial plan, the group lodged another lawsuit, seeking to either completely ban nudity at the park or close it down entirely. Although both of those requests were denied, Judge Chung ruled that further actions must be taken: the city must “adequately staff the area in and around the park to monitor and to report incidents of inappropriate behavior and compliance,” as well as “adequately maintain the Park grounds, including vegetation, to prevent and discourage lewd behaviors.”

Friends of Denny Blaine, a group that functioned as interveners in the trial, sharing information about the LGBTQIA+ history and significance of the park, said in a statement that they “respectfully disagree with portions of the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. In particular, we

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believe the ruling gives substantial Park. We are reviewing the order careweight to conditions that predate the fully and evaluating our next steps.” abatement measures now in place, Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans and does not fully reflect the signifi- responded to the ruling in a video, cant improvements at the park over thanking Friends of Denny Blaine for the past year — improvements the evi- their contributions to the trial. “This is dence at trial documented. an amazing win,” she said.

“We be lie ve that the e vide nce Denny Blaine Park for All has not reflects that the Park is not currently a issued a statement regarding the nuisance and that the Park should ulti- court’s decision, as of press time. mately be restored to its full historical status as a fully clothing optional

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AUGUST 2026

C E L E B R AT I N G 5 2 Y E A R S !

OBITUARIES Michael Alan Ramey, 1938–2026

MICHAEL ALAN RAMEY JOHN MULLEN

Michael Alan Ramey, born August 2, 1938, in Washington. DC, died peacefully, as he wished, on June 12, 2026, in Seattle, after voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED), supported by loving friends and the wonderful people at A Sacred Passing.

Mike lived by the philosophy of “tikkun olam,” a Hebrew phrase that means “repairing the world” through social justice and ethical behavior.

Mike’s advocacy for social justice extended in many directions. He took a studied approach and worked to find merit in viewpoints that contrasted with his own.

Mike arrived in Seattle in 1964, after four years in the United States Air Force. In 1967, he joined the Dorian Society, a Gay rights organization, and he helped print the first edition of the Dorian Columns newsletter. He worked for Gay liberation in the 1960s and participated in the rise of political power of the Gay community. He attended parties where politicians were invited to hear the civil rights concerns of

Queers and receive handwritten checks supporting their campaigns.

Leaders like Seattle Mayor Wes Uhlman became strong political allies through such campaigns.

In the 1970s, Mike fought the antiGay Proposition 13 by signing up voters in Gay bars with a clipboard and flashlight.

In 1984, Mike and a few others were instrumental in founding Adult Children of Alcoholics in the Seattle area.

Mike printed thousands of schedules and helped deliver them to meetings all over the region. Ever the stickler for detail and process, Mike made sure that the meetings were run without crosstalk and followed the guidelines.

Mike also lived through the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and ‘90s. When his partner Tom Smith was succumbing to the disease in 2003, Mike experienced the love and support of members of the Lesbian community, who stepped in and helped Tom escape the horror of the disease and end his life on his own terms. Mike viewed this support as a bond with the women’s community that could never be broken and a debt that could never be repaid.

In the years that followed, he witnessed the expanding alphabet of the Queer community reorganize and grow to recognize more of our members. Just days before he died, Mike made his final political contribution to Trans Pride Seattle.

In recent years Mike could be found at every No Kings event, marching

in frigid rain at the third event. He stopped for hot soup on the way home and called a friend from the restaurant, saying, “I’m goddamned cold, but the march was wonderful.”. He also printed and handed out thousands of signs.

For months, Mike protested at Tesla Takedown Tuesdays. Standing in front of Tesla on Westlake Avenue while passing cars honked, he held onto his three-wheeled walker with his No Kings placard attached. (Under this pressure, Tesla abandoned the location.)

Seattle’s Madison Market Central Coop was a daily stop for Mike. The staff was an important and kind community for him, and he believed in their mission. He was member 808 and always rounded up his purchase total for the food bank. At the register, he was known as “808 round up.” He also monitored the condiment station and wrote letters to the management about the napkin holder —attempting to stabilize himself with one hand on his walker while trying to pull out an upside-down napkin with the other was a “real pain in the ass,” he said. But the ice cream selection was amazing, and the soups kept him nourished.

Since 2008, Mike enjoyed senior living at Capitol Hill’s Council House.

He watched the sun come up from his 12th-floor apartment window and marveled at his good fortune to live where he did and as he wished: an openly Gay man and vibrant part of the community. He offered his computer skills to neighbors and kept packages moving

in the mail room. He believed that the tiny address labels were an injustice to aging eyes and did what he could to correct it by pulling out his marker and writing the apartment numbers in large script. He was grateful for the staff at Council House and enjoyed the friendship of many of his neighbors.

As he neared the end, Mike laughed to a friend that he did his best at tikkun olam but said, “I’m leaving you a world of upside-down napkins.”

At just short of 88 years of age and having survived prostate cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and skin cancer, his body was giving out.

He could no longer stand on his own.

He could no longer march, but as he told a friend, “I can still stir the pot.”

Fittingly, he chose to end his time on Earth on his terms. Legally, ethically, and with help from loving friends, his caring doctor, and the amazing women at A Sacred Passing, Mike began VSED on June 8. In his final days, he was held in comfort and compassion. With a view of Lake Washington, he sat peacefully in the sun; birds and squirrels continued their business of life all around him while Mike let go. Mike passed peacefully on June 12.

Mike asked that his final words be remembered as: “Thank you all. It’s been a great life!”

Editor’s note: Mike Ramey is mentioned in Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging (University of Washington Press, 2003).

Lois Thetford, 1945–2026 Lois Thetford, 80, died on May 24, 2026, in Seattle, soon after a cancer diagnosis. Lois had been a vital member of the Seattle Lesbian and Queer community for over 50 years, and her unexpected loss came as a painful shock to many.

Born in Christiansted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, on November 25, 1945, Lois became an anti–Vietnam War activist while a student at Cornell University. One of her first political activities upon arriving in the Seattle area in 1971 was organizing with soldiers who opposed the war at Fort Lewis Army Base near Tacoma.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Lois was a tireless organizer in the Gay and Lesbian movement, helping found the Seattle Gay Liberation Front and several Lesbian-feminist organi-

zations, including Leftist Lezzies, Groundswell, and the Lesbian Mothers National Defense fund, which provided critical support to Lesbian mothers fighting for child custody.

In the 1990s, she worked with Dyke Community Activists and Allyship (now Queer Power Alliance). At the time of her death, she was serving on the board of QPA. Lois’s life, relationships, and politics were always driven by kindness and empathy, and she was a strong advocate for the idea that everyone deserves access to compassionate, competent healthcare. She expressed that commitment in Seattle through her work as a founder of and practitioner for the Fremont Women’s Clinic and the 45th St. Clinic. She was a pioneer in establishing the profession of

physician assistant and continued to work as an instructor and mentor at MEDEX Northwest, the University of Washington’s PA education program.

She was also a strong advocate for healthcare for the homeless, developing practices and procedures as well as providing hands-on care until her retirement at the age of 80.

She was an avid quilter, birder, and lover of languages, puzzles, and people. She always wanted to be useful, working with younger Queers, answering medical questions for friends, and continuing to instruct her students, even after she retired from teaching last fall.

Lois is sorely missed by her spouse, Jean Rietschel, who was her partner of 50 years; her daughter Robin; her grandson Maxwell; her brother, sis-

LOIS THETFORD TINA GIANOULIS

ter, and numerous other loving family members, along with a whole network of dear friends in the Seattle Queer community and beyond. Her loss left the world a poorer place.

A memorial for Lois is planned in Seattle on October 24, 2026, with specific details to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to the Seattle Coalition on Homelessness.

Michael Gerard Stegmann, 1961–2026

MICHAEL GERARD STEGMANN JAMES PETERS

Michael Gerard Stegmann died in Seattle on July 11, 2026, following a head injury, surrounded by his family and close friends. He was 65.

Mike grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona,

V I S I T U S O N L I N E S G N .O RG

and graduated from Saguaro High School in 1979. He moved to Seattle in 1987 and made the city his home for the rest of his life.

For decades, Mike worked as a waiter in some of Seattle’s best-loved restaurants, including The Surrogate Hostess, Café Septieme (in both Belltown and Capitol Hill), St. Cloud’s, and Redwing Cafe. He was loved by generations of regulars — and by their children, who grew up watching him work the room with warmth and wit.

In the early 1990s, Mike became a central figure in Seattle’s Queer political scene as an active member of Queer Nation Seattle, where he built lifelong friendships. His outgoing personality and singular gift for connect-

ing with people made him a familiar face across Capitol Hill and Belltown throughout the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s, and later in Columbia City and Seattle’s South End — anyone who walked those neighborhoods with him knew to expect frequent stops so Mike could greet a friend, or several.

Mike founded Stop the Torture, a graphic design company that produced countless posters for some of the most seminal grunge-era concerts at the Crocodile Cafe. He also brought his flair for performance to local public access television, improvising and cross-dressing his way through many episodes of KOOK-TV. A baritone with a deep love of music, Mike sang and produced two CDs of

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Americana covers, along with three full-length studio albums for Jimmy Peters, the Binkies, and Russ Records, often with personnel from Tom Bennett and the Rolling Blackouts.

Over the years, Mike opened his home and his heart to a long line of beloved dogs — Cody, Ralph, Mr. Handsome, and Tiger among them — who were frequent companions on his walks around town.

Mike will be remembered as a fearless Queer activist, a devoted dog-lover, an enthusiastic pot smoker, a graphic designer, a singer and music producer, and above all, a friend to many.

He is survived by his mother, Gandolpha Stegmann, and sisters Julie and Laura.

SGN

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Y T E F A REAL S .

L L A R O F Y T I N G I D

re. e h t t e g o t y a w e h t is I) B G ( e m o c In ic s a B Guaranteed

So, what is GBI?

It’s money that people with lower incomes can count on no matter what.

GBI helps people become more stable.

Housing security improves1, 2, 4 People find better jobs1, 3 or start businesses4 They build financial stability and savings1, 2, 3, 4 People also report better mental health3 and less substance use4

GBI would make our community more stable.

Stable communities have less crime. GBI in Seattle is money spent in Seattle. $500 a month isn’t enough to live on, but it would close the gap for rent and other essentials. The best part is we already have a system that could easily be adapted into a GBI. Find out more about my plan to help keep people housed, reduce crime, and put money back into Seattle’s economy: silasforseattle.com/GBI

1. United Way of Pierce County. (2024). GRIT data summary.

2. Dwyer, R., Palepu, A., Williams, C., Daly-Grafstein, D., & Zhao, J. (2023). Unconditional cash transfers reduce homelessness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(36), Article e2222103120.

3. Moore, E. (2024). Reimagining workforce safety net: A guaranteed basic income approach (GBI Evaluation Final). Workforce Development Council of Seattle–King County.

4. Bartik, A. W., Rhodes, E., Broockman, D. E., Krause, P. K., Miller, S., & Vivalt, E. (2024). The impact of unconditional cash transfers on consumption and household balance sheets: Experimental evidence from two U.S. states (NBER Working Paper No. 32784). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Paid for by Silas for Seattle, PO Box 20792 Seattle, WA 98102

2026 PRIMARY ENDORSEMENTS

Pramila Jayapal

(US House of Representatives 7th District)

BY S G N E D ITO R I A L B OA R D

PRAMILA JAYAPAL NATE GOWDY

Our endorsement for the 7th Congressional District of Washington is Pramila Jayapal! The only incumbent in our endorsement guide, Rep. Jayapal has been one of the biggest champions to date for Trans and Queer rights (as well as progressive policies) in the US House of Representatives. With LGBTQIA+ protections being undermined left and right under President Trump, she has been defiantly standing up against it all.

Although most of our 2026 endorsement guide has been oriented around progressive challengers shaking up the establishment and status quo, we also want to show that we don’t have a complete vendetta against incumbents this election cycle!

Rep. Jayapal is running for reelection this year, Now that she is reaching her tenth year in office, we wanted to highlight some of the vital work she has done as a progressive legislator and LGBTQIA+ advocate in the US House of Representatives.

In the time since she entered office, Rep. Jayapal has become the lead House sponsor for the Medicare for All Act and the Transgender Bill of Rights, the co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus’s Transgender Equality Task Force, and the co-chair

of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. She also consistently opposes US military support for Israel (voting with half of the House Democrats to cut $3.3 billion in military aid), and she has not accepted donations from AIPAC. Rep. Jayapal told The Advocate in June that she believes the Democratic Party needs to be fully resolute in its support of LGBTQIA+ people, particularly given the attacks on Transgender rights all across the country. At home, she has been involved with campaigns to protect LGBTQIA+ rights. At the No Hate in WA State campaign launch party in June, Rep. Jayapal spoke to the importance of protecting Trans and Queer youth at school and in sports.

At her last Seattle town hall in January, she did not mince words about

how much Trump has undermined the safety of marginalized people and the integrity of US democracy.“This moment calls for us to do everything we can to protect our democracy, because they are trying to steal it from under our eyes,” she said.

Although her track record of endorsing other progressive candidates hasn’t always been perfect (she endorsed Mayor Bruce Harrell over Katie Wilson, only to change it to a dual endorsement after the primary), Rep. Jayapal has been on point with her critiques of and policy remedies for our broken system. With (hopefully just) two more years of Trump in office, we need an unabashed LGBTQIA+ ally and progressive voice in Washington, DC. Vote Jayapal.

Kshama Sawant

(US House of Representatives 9th District)

BY S G N E D ITO R I A L B OA R D

KSHAMA SAWANT DAVID JULIAN

Our endorsement for the 9th Congressional District of Washington is Kshama Sawant! On Seattle City Council, Sawant was a driving force behind progressive policies and government accountability that made our city a better place. Sawant’s candidacy against Rep. Adam Smith as an independent socialist might be the change we need in Washington, DC. for the last two years of Trump’s presidency.

Love her or hate her, none can dispute that Sawant has been an effective grassroots campaigner who has moved the needle (pardon the pun) on progressive causes in the city, as well as throughout the country. Her years of relentless advocacy for working-class, LGBTQIA+, and social jus-

V I S I T U S O N L I N E S G N .O RG

tice issues has garnered her respect among supporters, and admonishments from the establishment: billionaires, corporations, and both political parties.

Now aiming her sights at Rep. Smith, who has been facing mounting criticism from constituents (the Bellevue City Council even voted to ban targeted protests outside private homes, after such a protest outside his house), Sawant is looking to capitalize on public discontent with him, and the Democratic Party as a whole for its lack of opposition to Trump’s agenda, to become Washington’s first independent socialist representative.

Sawant served on Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2024. During that time, she made good on her campaign promise to increase the city’s minimum wage to $15/hour. She also was the champion of a “Renters Bill of Rights,” which instituted a 180-day rent increase notice, and relocation assistance across the city. She also proposed a millionaires’ tax and expansion of the public transit system. Since her departure from the council, she has continued to put her energy into organizing through Workers Strike Back, holding rallies to oppose AI data centers and ICE raids.

One of our strongest values at the

SGN is LGBTQIA+ rights, and it should come as no surprise that Sawant’s views are just as progressive. In 2016, Sawant was the first Seattle politician to openly support Trans Pride. As a city councilmember, she championed funding Pride Place, the city’s first LGBTQIA+ senior housing complex.

Sawant also continues to be active in organizing and campaigning around Trans and Queer rights rallies and events, like the Trans Solidarity March on June 26, 2026.

Other progressive policies she advocates for include ending US military aid to Israel, opposing the construction of AI data centers, and holding Big Tech accountable for its layoffs.

Unlike most candidates, Kshama Sawant is running as an independent socialist, under her own party’s banner (Revolutionary Workers). Being a socialist, she is a strong advocate for renters’ rights, universal healthcare, taxing the rich, and workers’ rights to unionize. And with more and more voters looking away from the traditional two-party system toward other, more progressive (and dare we say) socialist alternatives (DSA membership is at an all-time high of 120,000), Sawant is poised to offer Rep. Smith his biggest challenge yet.

One of the biggest objections Sawant

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has against Rep. Smith’s 29-year tenure is his consistent support for US militarism abroad. As chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Smith has voted until very recently to continue military funding to Israel; however, he has also continued to accept money from pro-Israeli political action committees, amounting to $532,044, according to Track AIPAC. With US public opinion of the Israeli government at an all-time low, following years of relentless military strikes and the high death toll in Gaza, voters across the country are demanding that their politicians to take a more hardline approach: both against accepting money from foreign government lobbying groups like AIPAC, and in favor of ending of US financial support to the Israeli military (which sat at $3.3 billion for FY 2025).

The Democratic Party leadership’s overall anemic response on the issues voters care about most, as well as Trump’s and the Republican Party’s unabashed assault on US democracy, has many rightfully doubting the effectiveness of our current political system. With this in mind, maybe what we need is a firebrand socialist representative who is unequivocal in her support of working-class people.

Vote Sawant.

SGN

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2026 PRIMARY ENDORSEMENTS Erin Chapman-Smith

(Washington State House of Representatives 29th District, Position 2)

BY S G N E D ITO R I A L B OA R D Our endorsement for Washington House of Representatives 29th District Position 2 is Erin Chapman Smith! Chapman-Smith has spent a decade as a housing advocate for Queer and Trans youth, and now hopes to enact policy as a state legislator to help tackle the issues that those struggling with housing and affordability face in her district.

ERIN CHAPMAN-SMITH ERINFORWA.COM

As a Transgender woman with a passion for community care, Chapman-

Smith has worked for over ten years in shelters around the Puget Sound area, helping LGBTQIA+ people find housing. At first with YouthCare Seattle and now as executive director of ROOTS Young Adults Shelter, Chapman-Smith knows a thing or two about what resources people are lacking and the causes of their collective plight.

With the housing and broader affordability crises at an all-time high in Washington and her district in par-

ticular, she is looking to proactively address the problem by tackling their root causes whether they be wage stagnation, rising healthcare costs, a beleaguered social safety net, the cost of housing, etc.

Chapman-Smith promises to deliver policy that will not only alleviate but also bolster working-class people’s abilities to handle the challenges they face in everyday life.

Vote Chapman-Smith.

Kelabe Tewolde

(Washington State House of Representatives 37th District, Position 1)

BY S G N E D ITO R I A L B OA R D

KELABE TEWOLDE KELABEFORWASHINGTON.COM

Our endorsement for the 37th Legislative District Position 1 is Kelabe Tewolde! Tewolde has a life’s experience and working-class politics that are as rooted in the 37th as they come. Looking to challenge incumbent Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, Tewolde offers a boldly progressive and grassroots alternative for the district.

Tewolde is another younger, progressive challenger looking to replace a 28-year incumbent and shake up the status quo in Olympia. Raised in Seattle by an Eritrean refugee single mother, Tewolde grew up in an immigrant household that faced challenges of poverty, housing insecurity, and medical debt.

Having witnessed similar struggles by his students in the Rainier Scholars program who live in the 37th, as well as his friends and relatives,

Tewolde was inspired to seek public office for the sake and well-being of his community.

The housing and cost-of-living crisis in his district, like much of the region, is a top priority for the candidate. In particular, with the Central District and other historical South End neighborhoods having had residents displaced for decades due to gentrification, Tewolde is looking to enact the changes needed from within the state legislature.

In 2025, Rep. Santos voted against HB 1217, a rent stabilization bill (now law) that caps increases at 10% in a 12-month period. In a district that’s majority renters, Tewolde questions whether Rep. Santos has the best interests of her working-class constituents at heart. Even a 10% increase each year, Tewolde believes, is still too high for most people to afford in the 37th.

But that isn’t the only objection the candidate has with Rep. Santos’ voting record. As the House Education Committee chair, Santos also voted in favor of cutting 2,000 slots from the Transition to Kindergarten program proposed by Gov. Ferguson.

As an educator himself, Tewolde is gravely concerned with (and also well-versed in) how underserved communities, like those in the 37th, are

impacted by a lack of state and local investment, and how access to early education is so instrumental in determining life outcomes and other social issues like crime.

He also has substantial evidence to back his concerns: a 2010 study found that children who fail to read proficiently by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school; and the World Literacy Foundation found that over 70% of the US incarcerated population are below a fourth-grade reading level.

Equity and inclusion in education is another issue he cares about, and Tewolde is staunchly against the two anti-LGBTQIA+ ballot measures coming up in November.

Yet Tewolde is also not at all shy about having the more practical, albeit loaded, conversation around “how are we going to pay for it?” given Washington’s near $500 million revenue shortfall. Rep. Shawn Scott’s decision to pursue the Millionaires’ Tax (which won’t start receiving money until 2029) instead of the Well Washington fund seemed unnecessary to Tewolde, because, as he puts it, “Why not pursue both?” He notes that the Well Washington fund would have brought money to education sooner, while the Millionaires’ Tax will take time to kick in.

He also has ideas for how the state can rebalance its tax structure and the B&O taxes that he says have caused so many small businesses to leave. For the candidate, conversations around funding and revenue have too often been used as a cudgel for politicians not to deliver on vital social services, especially for marginalized populations. To him, the threats of “businesses leaving” if there are higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations has been proven false in other places. like New York City and New Jersey and Massachusetts, where the number of millionaires has increased since its millionaire tax in 2023.

“When we start to focus on corporate interests over people, we lose,” Tewolde said.

Overall, Kelabe Tewolde has many well-thought out plans for how he hopes to tackle the slate of issues the 37th District and Washington residents are dealing with. Ultimately, what we found most appealing about him is his commitment to put everybody people over the interests of the Seattle’s most affluent and powerful.

“Howard Schultz is not my barometer of success for the city. Working class people are who we want to prioritize,” he said.

Vote Tewolde.

Jaelynn Scott

(Washington State House of Representatives 37th District, Position 2)

BY S G N E D ITO R I A L B OA R D shown time and again her commitment to tackling the systemic issues that marginalized communities face.

She now intends to take that to the next level as a state legislator.

Our endorsement for Washington House of Representatives 37th District Position 2 is Jaelynn Scott! As a longtime LGBTQIA+ community activist and executive director of the Lavender Rights Project, Scott has

Scott is an articulate and passionate civil rights advocate. As a community leader, she has been at the forefront of challenging the anti-LGBTQIA+, antiBIPOC rhetoric and legislation that has increasingly become the norm since Trump’s reelection. In her time as executive director of the Lavender Rights Project, Scott has been able to build an intersectional and cultur-

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ally informed set of programs and resources for the city’s residents. With the challenges facing marginalized communities becoming more acute, Scott hopes to counteract the harm being done at the federal level as a state legislator.

A firm believer in the necessity of progressive policy, Scott is running on a platform of universal healthcare and childcare, corporate and AI data center taxes, opening a public bank, and the decommodification of housing, among other things. She is inspired to institute these ideas in order to strengthen, aid, and protect those who are in most

need of government assistance.

After losing her job as a flight attendant following the 9/11 attacks, Scott struggled to get back on her feet and teetered on the edge of homelessness.

She credits the support of a social worker for helping her pull her out of that desperate situation, and since then she has believed in the value of having a strong net of social services.

Now running for state office, she hopes to bring that vision to fruition.

“I want that for all Washingtonians.

I want that for everyone in the 37th,” she said.

Vote Scott.

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2026 PRIMARY ENDORSEMENTS Tatiana Brown (Washington State Senate 37th District)

BY S G N E D ITO R I A L B OA R D particular, Brown raised doubts as to Street’s commitment to environmental justice, given that he works with Microsoft’s chief technology officer, Kevin Scott, who is one of his emerging-technologies advisors (Scott has been the main driver behind the company’s partnership with OpenAI).

Her biggest contention is that Street will be much more lenient about the fate of eight AI data centers along the Columbia River Gorge in votes coming in the next legislative session. Without verification from the Street campaign as to whether her critiques hold any weight, we cannot say for certain how he would vote the issue.

However, considering that Microsoft has committed $2.5 billion to AI implementation, it isn’t a stretch to assume Street as a senator would be more sympathetic to his employer and other tech companies, who are very keen to begin data center construction despite their very negative environ-

TATIANA BROWN TATIANAFORWA.ORG

Our endorsement for the Washington State Senate 37th District is Tatiana Brown! As the underdog in a race against Rep. Chipalo Street, we chose Brown due to her unabashed commitment to environmental and social justice.

With Rebecca Saldaña leaving to run for King County Council, her 37th District Senate seat is now up for grabs. Soon after Saldaña announced her intention to run, Rep. Street announced his bid for the newly opened position.

Street’s campaign did not respond to our request for an interview, which is a shame, considering the questions Brown had about his track record. In

mental impacts (a single AI data center can go through up to 5 million gallons of water per day!). A 2024 report by ProPublica and the Seattle Times found that more than 65% of Washington’s data center tax breaks since 2018 had gone exclusively to Microsoft.

One thing we know for certain is that Brown is running a campaign that is unequivocally against those negative environmental impacts. In fact, she is in favor of passing a statewide moratorium on new hyperscale AI data centers, and would pursue regulations to require developers of data centers to pay for their energy use, as well as lower their usage during peak hours and comply with existing energy laws.

But her commitment to environmental advocacy is not the only draw Brown’s campaign has for us. She has plans for the 37th that span from closing corporate loopholes and adding more brackets to our capital gains tax to helping residents get proper side-

walks.

An unapologetically Queer woman, Brown says she was inspired to pursue public service because of the legacy of “badass women” in Washington who have fought for her and other people’s rights, including Sen. Saldaña and US Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who both served as the 37th District’s senator.

In 2019 she worked on the campaign to expand Medicaid for immigrants in Virginia (her home state and one of the states to do so). Her work in mutual aids groups, where she says people fill in the gaps where public policy fails, inspired her to move to Washington and pursue a dual master’s program at the University of Washington.

Young and bright, Brown offers representation for the 37th District that we believe would not be influenced by the demands of tech companies and corporations but rather everyday people’s needs.

Vote Brown.

Hannah Sabio-Howell (Washington State Senate 43rd District)

BY S G N E D ITO R I A L B OA R D ing pro-LGBTQIA+ policies, including statewide domestic partnerships and marriage equality, antidiscrimination laws, adoption rights, and now Our endorsement for the Washing- Transgender protections. That kind of ton Senate 43rd District is Hannah record is hard to come by, especially in Sabio-Howell! Sabio-Howell has advo- this day and age, and he 100% deserves cated and organized for the rights all the credit for what he has achieved of working-class and marginalized for our community. people in our state. A Queer Filipina But as times change and the strugwoman, she is looking to unseat Sen- gles everyday people face evolve, so ate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen. too must our politicians. That is essenAlthough she has not held office and tially what Sabio-Howell is offering to is still relatively new to the political voters in the 43rd: a chance at represcene, her policy platform and cam- sentation by somebody who is firmly paign has tapped into the frustrations rooted in progressive grassroots and of younger people struggling to get labor organizing. by in the district. The popularity of In her career, Sabio-Howell hasn’t her candidacy, we believe, also repre- been afraid to challenge large corsents a broader shift in the priorities porations and stick up for everyday voters have for their elected officials. people. In 2024, when the Seattle City Council (under Sara Nelson) looked Without a doubt, the race for the to undo protections for food delivery 43rd District Senate seat has been workers, DoorDash alone spent $1 milone of the most contentious of this lion in lobbying. As communications election cycle so far. As the historical director for Whole Washington, SabioLGBTQIA+ newspaper in the commu- Howell and her organization were nity, we recognize the weight and sig- able to preserve those protections. nificance our endorsements hold for Additionally, she and her organization our readers and the race as a whole, were able to spearhead a Domestic given the two very qualified candi- Workers Bill of Rights that closed loopdates (a Gay man and a Queer woman). holes on labor standards for agriculSen. Pedersen has served the 43rd tural and domestic work (a remnant District for almost 20 years, first as a from the New Deal). member of the House of RepresentaAlthough relatively new to the tives (starting in 2007), then as its sena- political scene, she has been able to tor since 2013. During his tenure, Sen. accrue a substantial amount of indiPedersen, as an openly Gay elected vidual grassroots donations (claiming official, has been a pioneer in institut- $52,000 by the end of the campaign’s HANNAH SABIO-HOWELL HANNAHFORWASHINGTON.COM/

first month), and so far, through campaigning, she has inspired a significant number of young people to get civically involved — an important element that shouldn’t be understated.

Voters today are demanding more from their politicians (especially those who label themselves progressive). One demand is whether a candidate accepts or refuses corporate donations. During Sen. Pedersen’s last campaign in 2022, the biggest donors to his campaign committee were Boeing and Amazon (according to OpenSecrets). And over the last several years, he has accepted thousands of dollars from others corporations, like DoorDash, UnitedHealthcare, and Microsoft, among others. Politicians who accept money from corporations are often more inclined to support policymaking that benefits their donors over everyday people. And the refusal to take money from corporate PACs and special interests is one of the main elements drawing people to Sabio-Howell’s campaign.

Sen. Pedersen’s constituents (particularly those who are younger and working-class) have shown great discontent with their circumstances as of late. Perhaps he isn’t solely to blame for what 43rd District residents have been going through these past few years — skyrocketing housing and healthcare costs, an influx of LGBTQIA+ refugees without resources, massive layoffs, and anemic job growth — but if people feel as though their representatives aren’t doing enough to address their

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(very real) plights, then they start to look for alternatives.

The Millionaires Tax, Sen. Pedersen’s most recent accomplishment, won’t see funds begin to roll in until 2029; however, people and the programs they rely upon are suffering the consequences of both federal and state funding cuts right now. He may have his eye on the grand scheme of statewide governance, but in the process, he has unfortunately lost touch with the everyday experiences of constituents. And regardless of intentions, people are not happy with the status quo — plain and simple.

We believe Sabio-Howell would offer those in the 43rd District who are discontent a progressive champion and the shake-up of the status quo they are seeking, similar to the election of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson over former mayor Bruce Harrell. We also have no doubt that she would be just as much of a proactive LGBTQIA+ advocate (as well as for many other marginalized groups!) in the Senate.

The loss of Sen. Pedersen would have implications to the balance of Queer power in Olympia. As current Senate majority leader, another member (most likely a less progressive and less LGBTQIA+-friendly one) would take his place — and that is an important consideration. But, that shouldn’t completely overshadow the needs of the constituents that call the 43rd their home.

Vote Sabio-Howell.

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2026 PRIMARY ENDORSEMENTS Rebecca Saldaña (King County Council District 2)

BY S G N E D ITO R I A L B OA R D REBECCA SALDAÑA WWW.REBECCASALDANA.COM

Our endorsement for King County Council District 2 is Rebecca Saldaña!

Her decade of Washington State Senate experience, along with her commitment to coalition building and progressive policies, is ultimately what led us to choose her as the best option for the county council seat.

As far as political track records are concerned, Saldaña has accrued an impressive résumé of policy achievements that would be hard for most to match. Since taking over the 37th District Senate seat in 2017 from Pramila Jayapal after she was elected to the US House of Representatives, Saldaña has continuously delivered on the progressive legacy of her predecessor. Now she seeks to bring her expertise in state-level governance in Olympia to King County.

One of five kids, Saldaña grew up with a Mexican immigrant father who was a farm worker turned machinist and a Mennonite mother who was a social worker. Her upbringing in Delridge led her as an adult to pursue multicultural feminist and labor studies in college; it is also what ultimately sent her down a path of union organizing with farm workers and others.

Since she was elected a state senator, Saldaña became the chair of the Senate Labor Committee, leading and passing several landmark pieces of progressive legislation, including: paid family medical leave, the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, the Strippers’ Bill of Rights, the HEAL Act, and a statewide capital gains tax, to name a few.

As for why Saldaña has now decided to leave her decade-long stint in Olympia to pursue a seat on the King County Council, the reasons are both technical and personal but overall compelling to us.

“As an organizer, your job is to organize yourself out of a job,” she said in reference to her time in Olympia.

In her view, there is much more that needs to be done at the county level to urge cities into, as she puts it, “not acting as their own little fiefdoms” so as to address problems together. Citing herself as the only member of the council from a state legislative background, Saldaña hopes to act on the council as a bridge between the policymakers in Olympia and those on the King County Council, getting them to work better together.

And with District 2 serving the core of the county — from the U-District down to Tukwila — she also hopes to be a progressive champion for the area’s residents.

Saldaña shared with us how, since overcoming ovarian cancer, she has been uncovering a newfound Queer identity and her difficulties navigating coming out, both as a public official and a parent. During the pan-

demic, she began using she/they pronouns and describes herself as being on a spectrum of fluidity. One book in particular she mentions reading with her kids, I’m a Wild Seed by Sharon De La Cruz, has inspired her to “decolonize the shit out of my gender and sexuality” — sound off, diva! Having embraced her queerness publicly, Saldaña joined the Washington Senate Democrats’ LGBTQ+ caucus.

In re fe re nce to the two antiLGBTQIA+ ballot measures Washington voters will decide on in November, Saldaña had strong criticisms of the people targeting Queer and Trans youth in our schools, saying that “as gracious as people have been with me [coming out], I wish they could be as gracious with other people.”

All considered, we have no doubts that Saldaña would be a champion on the King County Council for us as a community and the residents of her district.

Vote Saldaña.

Nilu Jenks

(Seattle City Council District 5)

BY S G N E D ITO R I A L B OA R D NILU JENKS NEIGHBORSFORNILU.COM

political experience to the Seattle City Council.

Our endorsement for Seattle City Jenks cites the 2018 Parkland shootCouncil District 5 is Nilu Jenks! ing as a major turning point for her Among the candidates, Jenks stood political involvement. Living in Caliout in part because of her compre- fornia at the time, she helped implehensive and nuanced platform to ment the nation’s largest gun buy-back tackle the wide array of problems program and even organized against residents in the district face, includ- gun store openings. Then, in 2019, ing affordable housing, surveillance, she moved back to Washington state, immigration, and expanding the where she became a strong advocate city’s LGBTQIA+ resources. for ranked-choice voting. In 2022, Seattle voters approved Proposition Jenks is a first-generation Iranian 1B, which will see RCV instituted in American, born in Oklahoma to par- next year’s primaries. For the candients who lost their student visas and date, improving election outcomes became undocumented because of the and voter participation through RCV 1979 revolution there. As her parents is a vital step toward fixing the city’s had been naturalized through Rea- problems, in addition to helping gan’s 1986 immigration amnesty pro- restore people’s faith in the demogram (yes, Republicans used to treat cratic process, like other US cities immigrants like people — crazy!), have done, such as Minneapolis and Jenks began to develop her political New York City. conscience from a young age. Now the As a District 5 resident living in political and partnerships director at the Lake City neighborhood, Jenks FairVote Washington, Jenks is once believes conversations around supagain looking to bring her life and porting immigrants and other mar-

ginalized communities in Seattle have neglected her district, because often people have wrongly thought, as she puts it, “It doesn’t look good to give money to the North End.” For Jenks, this couldn’t be further from the truth, as her district, spanning the northern end of Seattle from Aurora Avenue to Northgate, has been home to a growing number of the city’s immigrant and working-class populations (with Lake City now harboring its most diverse preschool).

She said that everyday she sees the impacts of divestment in her community. As the advocacy chair at John Rogers Elementary, she had a student recently tell her, “We don’t eat dinner in our family.” More evidence: Aurora is currently the second largest location for juvenile sex trafficking in the nation.

If elected, Jenks intends to build a more unified identity for the district by instituting policies that strengthen community relations. That would include: supporting Seattle’s social housing developer to build more units;

ending CCTV surveillance; creating a community theater/arts space in Lake City; addressing food deserts by expanding the Lake City farmers market and establishing a municipal grocery store; and developing the Aurora corridor.

In terms of supporting the city’s LGBTQIA+ community, Jenks is keen on creating a dedicated shelter for Queer homeless youth and providing more money to Seattle’s LGBTQ Commission.

But overall, what really won us over was Jenks’s framing of all these issues as an intersectional refugee crisis that needs to be addressed: “I’m seeing climate refugees, immigrant refugees, Queer refugees coming here,” she said. Her ability to relate these seemingly disparate experiences together and compose a comprehensive strategy demonstrates to us that she has a lot of empathy, and shows the signs of a candidate who truly cares about their neighbors and city.

Vote Jenks.

Vote “Yes” on Seattle Proposition 1 (Library Levy Renewal)

BY S G N E D ITO R I A L B OA R D SEATTLE CENTRAL LIBRARY WIKIPEDIA

We are asking voters to choose “Yes” on City of Seattle Proposition 1! At a time when misinformation about and bans on LGBTQIA+ materials are accelerating across the country, the Seattle Public Library has served as a bastion of information, gathering, and archiving — and not just for Seattle residents.

Despite what some may argue (Seat-

tle Times editorial board, we’re looking at you), the proposed $480 million levy renewal for the Seattle Public Library is an overall straightforward matter in terms of what the city intends to use the money for, and how it will benefit residents: • $218.4 million for open hours and access (to keep the lights on, and programs running) • $58.5 million for collections and materials (so people can have

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access to new books, and old ones can continue to be digitized) • $85.9 million for building maintenance and capital projects (specifically, one historic branch needs to be retrofitted for earthquakes) • $38.2 million for technology and online services (to keep the online side of things functional) • $9 million for administration (our library staff needs to get paid) Ultimately, we believe $193 a year for

the median Seattle household is more than a fair price to contribute in order to maintain our world-class libraries and the services they provide. And although SPL admins have made a few questionable choices in the past (allowing antiTrans hate groups to use the Central Library for their event, for example), on the whole it is apparent to us the library system is just too vital of a resource not to fund in this current climate.

Vote “Yes” on Proposition 1.

C E L E B R AT I N G 5 2 Y E A R S !

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Voter Cheat Sheet FEDERAL US House of Representatives

District 7 Pramila Jayapal

Washington State House of Representatives 37th District, Position 1 Kelabe Tewolde

US House of Representatives

Washington State House of Representatives 37th District, Position 2 Jaelynn Scott

STATE

Washington State Senate 37th District Tatiana Brown

Washington State House of Representatives 29th District, Position 2 Erin Chapman-Smith

Washington State Senate 43rd District Hannah Sabio-Howell

District 9 Kshama Sawant

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KING COUNTY King County Council District 2 Rebecca Saldaña

SEATTLE Seattle City Council District 5 Nilu Jenks Prop 1 Library Levy Renewal Yes

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NATIONAL NEWS SCOTUS declares Transgender sports bans constitutional Idaho civil rights lawyer shares plight of Transgender residents

BY M A D I S O N J O N E S , S G N M A N AG I N G E D ITO R The US Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision on June 30 to permit bans of Trans athletes competing in women’s and girls’ sports. So far, 27 states have enacted laws that block Transgender women and girls from competing in school sports and sports leagues that align with their gender identity.

For its ruling, SCOTUS reviewed two cases: West Virginia vs BPJ and Little v.

Hecox. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote, for the majority, “In recent years, some biological males who identify as female have sought to play on women’s or girls’ sports teams… That modern development has triggered national and international concerns about safety and competitive fairness for female athletes, as well as related worries about preserving equal opportunity for women and girls to play sports.”

Throughout his 29-page opinion, Justice Kavanaugh referred to Transgender women and girls exclusively as “biological males who identify as female” and failed to recognize the existence of Transgender men and Nonbinary, Intersex, and other gender-nonconforming people.

Justice Sotomayor in the dissenting opinion wrote that “the majority holds that transgender girls like B.P.J. who wish to play girls’ sports are not protected by the Constitution.”

Little v. Hecox William Mitchell is the Idaho director of Legal Voice, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that focuses on gender discrimination cases in the Pacific Northwest. Mitchell told the SGN that

in 2020, Legal Voice took up the case of Boise State University student Lindsay Hecox, a Transgender woman who wanted to compete in intercollegiate sports at her college, after the Idaho state legislature passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. Mitchell explained that Hecox’s interest in sports waned over the course of her studies as she entered her last year, and she no longer wanted to go through with the case. Mitchell said of Hecox’s motivations that “Lindsay herself was really just beginning a personal coming out story. To be front and center with your name associated with a case of constitutional importance was just a bit too much.”

He said despite making the argument that her case was no longer active, “the Idaho court, and the federal court here, felt that the case had probably moved too far along, and that it had to stay active.” Once Hecox’s case was taken to the Supreme Court, it was grouped in with another case, BPJ v. West Virginia.

Right-wing testing ground Mitchell said that Idaho, with its Republican supermajority, for years has been a reliable testing ground for national conservative interest groups looking to see if various issues take root. Transgender rights, according to him, has unfortunately has been one of those that stuck.

“What I think animates lawmakers to legislate in this way is a very antiquated, protectionist attitude toward the sensitivities of women and girls,” he said. “We see legislation attacking

PROTESTERS WAVE TRANSGENDER PRIDE FLAGS OUTSIDE THE SUPREME COURT JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON

the Trans population in Idaho year after year.”

When asked about what motivates Idaho Gov. Brad Little to support these measures, Mitchell said the governor isn’t the ideologue he seems to be on paper; the fear of being challenged from his far right is what leads Gov. Little to support whatever anti-LGBTQIA+ bills the legislature proposes. Mitchell cited another top official, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador (a Trump darling), as being eager to run against him if the governor were to buck the MAGA party line.

Mitchell also said that the challenge of changing the climate in the state legislature is immense. Although Trans advocates can make more headway in private meetings with legislators, in public these lawmakers have much less political cover to appear sympathetic to the plight of Transgender constituents.

Hope and desperation Much like when OBGYNs and other reproductive health clinicians left Idaho in fear of being legally prosecuted when Roe v. Wade was overturned, Mitchell said that there have been Transgender people who have

fled the state. One example he gave was of a Trans park ranger who lived near Yellowstone, who has since left for Western Washington. Many others without the means to leave, on the other hand, have unfortunately had to endure the situation.

For example, May Pollard was a 16-year-old Transgender Idahoan teen whose story of suicide has recently made national headlines after her family struggled for years against anti-Trans legislation in the state.

Legal Voice, one of the oldest genderbased civil rights groups in the region, has worked with national groups like Lambda Legal and the ACLU to counter the Idaho legislation. Despite the numerous obstacles Trans advocates and organizers currently face in the state, Mitchell said he was hopeful that the politics of Idaho are starting to change.

“For the first time we have Democrats running in just about every legislative district,” he said. “That’s a big step for the party structure, which we really haven’t [seen] before.”

Although most will not win their races, the fact that people are starting to organize shows that an increasing number of residents are not as happy with the current climate of their state.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS The Brazilian model that transformed the fight for people living with HIV/AIDS

BY A N D R É A RA M , S P E C I A L TO T H E S G N On the map of developing countries in South America, Brazil stands out among its neighbors in the field of Queer health. It has become a global leader in the treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS, pioneering various social initiatives that have established it as a successful model for responding to the disease. The collaboration between public policies and multiple sectors — including healthcare professionals, researchers, LGBT activists, civil society, and nongovernmental organizations — was essential to building an advanced healthcare network, especially for a developing country.

However, it wasn’t always this way.

The first cases of AIDS in Brazil were observed between 1982 and 1984, when little was known about the disease. At the time, the young Brazilian infectious disease specialist Márcia Rachid treated the first cases in Rio de Janeiro, despite the lack of concrete information. Considered Brazil’s leading expert on HIV/AIDS, she became known for her compassionate care of patients at a time when the disease was a death sentence, and prejudice often led family members to abandon their loved ones in hospitals.

With the return to democracy in the second half of the 1980s, Brazil took

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BRAZILIAN LGBTQI+ ORGANIZATION GRUPO ARCO-IRIS PRESIDENT CLAUDIO NASCIMENTO CLAUDIO NASCIMENTO

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a remarkable step forward with the creation of the Unified Health System (SUS), which provided the population with comprehensive and free access to healthcare. The SUS represented an important advance, even in the face of an epidemic that proved to be one of the greatest challenges of the time.

Despite the various historical contexts and critical periods the country has experienced, Brazil’s Ministry of Health has developed targeted strategies to try to control the spread of the disease. Initiatives were carried out in collaboration with state and municipal governments.

Juliana Rebello, manager of the Sexually Transmitted Infections and AIDS Department at the Rio de Janeiro State Health Secretariat (SES-RJ), explained one of the main reasons Brazil has been seen as a success story in combating the epidemic.

“Brazil was a pioneer in promoting universal and free access to antiretroviral drugs, thanks to its stand against the pharmaceutical industry and the patent waivers the country secured at the time [1996],” Rebello said.

She also mentioned the effectiveness of the SUS, guided by the principles of equity and the guarantee of human rights, thereby ensuring access to healthcare for all.

SABRINA LUZ

LEANDRO BUENNO

is recommended for people who do not that 95% of people living with HIV are have the virus but are at higher risk of diagnosed; to ensure that 95% of those exposure. Currently, more than 83,000 people are on antiretroviral treatpeople in Brazil use PrEP under medi- ment; and, of those on treatment, to cal supervision, according to a survey ensure that 95% have an untransmisby Agência Diadorim (2024). Regarding sible viral load. Brazil met two of these the user profile, it was observed that targets in 2024. This success is largely 82% are Gay men, 55% are white or due to the expansion of PrEP availabilAsian, and 41% are between the ages ity, since testing is required to start of 30 and 39. However, there are other using it; thus, more people living with groups that are vulnerable to HIV and HIV were identified and immediately often lack access to this resource, such began antiretroviral therapy. (Another as the homeless population or resi- of the UN’s main goals is to ensure that dents of remote and extremely impov- AIDS is no longer a threat to global HIV prevention strategies health by 2030.)

Access to free antiretroviral drugs erished areas.

When PrEP users seek services to In addition to prevention strateprovided by the SUS has increased life expectancy and drastically reduced obtain the prophylaxis, they undergo gies, LGBT nongovernmental orgaAIDS-related mortality, as well as the testing for sexually transmitted infec- nizations (NGOs) have also played a tions (STIS), which is why the Min- key role through a variety of initianumber of babies born with HIV. “If it weren’t for the SUS, what would istry of Health views them as more tives. Grupo Arco-Íris, based in Rio de become of us? How many people health-conscious. On the other hand, Janeiro, is one of the oldest and most would have already died? I myself although it is recommended to use respected NGOs advocating for the wouldn’t be able to afford [the medica- PrEP in conjunction with condoms, it rights of the LGBTQI+ community in tion],” said Sabrina Luz, 43, a Trans- is very common — especially on dat- Brazil. In addition to providing legal gender woman from the country’s ing apps — for users to openly admit and social support and addressing northeast region who has been on to having unsafe sex because they various other needs, the organization antiretroviral treatment for 16 years. are using PrEP. These are generally also operates the Community Service “Actually, we’re privileged,” she added. young people who did not experience for HIV/AIDS. The focus is on access This international visibility helped the peak of the global epidemic in the to information, prevention, diagnosis, referral, and even treatment for spread the concept that health is not 1980s. certain specific STIs in a safe and a commodity and that the right to life Other initiatives inclusive setting, not limited solely to is non-negotiable. Educational iniAnother innovative initiative took healthcare facilities. tiatives were also crucial in raising According to Claudio Nascimento, awareness about the risk of HIV expo- place in São Paulo, the country’s ecosure and how to cope with a positive nomic capital. Two years ago, the the organization’s president, the typicity installed automated machines at cal users of this community service diagnosis.

“At no point did I think it would be select subway stations that provide are young, white, middle-class Gay the end of the road, because I already free PrEP, PEP, condoms, and HIV men; however, he seeks to broaden knew how the treatment worked,” self-tests, making access even more this demographic, as he explained: recalled singer Leandro Buenno, 33, convenient. However, to pick up the “We will always advocate for healthwhen he received his diagnosis dur- medication, users must first complete care for all, but today, most LGBTI+ ing a routine screening in 2017. “That a telemedicine consultation via an app people living in the periphery — who are poor and Black — still lack inforsame week, I started treatment and and scan a QR code.

In addition to these available pre- mation and access to these services.” became undetectable in a short period vention options, Doxy-PEP (doxycy- Nascimento pointed out that the curof time.”

Despite the progress made and the cline) — a postexposure prophylaxis rent challenge is to overcome this and wealth of information available, prej- for bacterial STIs — will likely become reach more young Black people. udice still exists, and it is not uncom- available in the second half of 2026.

“We need to build pathways so that mon for some people to conceal their Doxy-PEP is part of the combined pre- more people can have equal access to HIV status. Housewife Jéssica Mattar, vention strategy already in place in comprehensive healthcare,” he said.

Brazil, which includes regular testing, 35, had this fear.

“People in Brazil still are afraid to condom use, antiretroviral treatment, Brazil sets an example disclose their diagnosis. I used to have PEP and PrEP prophylaxis, and speAccording to data from the epidemithat fear, but after losing someone to cific care for pregnant women living ological bulletin released by the MinAIDS, I decided to speak openly about with HIV. istry of Health, the primary mode of Three years ago, the UN established transmission in Brazil remains sexual the issue,” Mattar said. She is the mother of four children and has been the following global targets: to ensure contact (75.3%). Recent information living with HIV for five years.

Although Brazil has made discrimination against people living with HIV/ AIDS a crime since 2014, this has not prevented Mattar from experiencing serophobia on occasion; however, she described how she reacted to it: “I always ignore these people, because they are shallow and uninformed.”

Regarding treatment, she said, “The SUS saves lives every day; having free access to medications, tests, and follow-up care makes all the difference, so that people can see me living in good health and with dignity.”

However, one of the most successful initiatives for preventing HIV infection was the implementation of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in healthcare facilities in 2018, although postexMEDICAL PROFESSIONAL PERFORMING posure prophylaxis (PEP) had already BLOOD COLLECTION AT A DONATION EVENT IN PIURA, PERU been available for several years. PrEP MANUEL CAMACHO-NAVARRO

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JÉSSICA MATTAR

from that organization estimates that more than one million people are living with HIV/AIDS in Brazil, which has a population of approximately 213.4 million.

Rebello recalled that, in 2025, the country marked 40 years of its response to the virus. “A major achievement of these policies was Brazil’s certification by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for having eliminated vertical transmission of HIV (mother-to-child transmission) as a public health problem,” she said. This victory was only possible thanks to regular testing, prenatal care, and the continued provision of effective treatment for pregnant women.

Another milestone worth celebrating was the record in 2024 of the lowest number of HIV/AIDS-related deaths in the past 32 years, according to 2025 epidemiological data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health.

The only period during which the country experienced a setback was in 2019, during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro: the suspension of contracts with public laboratories for the manufacture of generic drugs, the elimination of certain aspects of social participation policies aimed at combating discrimination and promoting the rights of LGBT+ people, and the cancelation of the HIV harm reduction policy, which consisted of providing free syringe exchanges for people who inject drugs. The situation would not change until a new administration in 2023, when health policy was restructured.

In contrast, recent US funding cuts to South Africa have derailed HIV prevention programs, precisely at a crucial moment for supporting the new preventive medication, lenacapavir, causing a setback in South Africa, which has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS on the African continent. Lenacapavir is the newest antiretroviral drug for preventing HIV infection. It is also part of the PrEP strategy; however, while PrEP requires daily pill intake, lenacapavir can be administered via subcutaneous injection just twice a year. Although it has already been approved by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa), there are currently no plans to incorporate it into Brazil’s Unified Health System.

The World Health Organization recognized Brazil as a global model for controlling the disease in 2001. Even though there is still no cure or vaccine, scientific advances have shown that living with HIV has become a manageable chronic condition. This marks a new era focused on risk reduction in the nation famous around the world for soccer and Carnival.

Note: The 26th International AIDS Conference, organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS), will be held in Rio de Janeiro from July 26 to 31.

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A dreamy season at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival

BY A L I C E B LO C H

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Ashland, Oregon Through October 25 Dreams are central to four outstanding productions of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) 2026 season, out of the seven I attended. For Shakespeare’s joyful comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, no explanation is needed. The epigraph chosen by Lorraine Hansberry for her stunning drama A Raisin in the Sun is Langston Hughes’ poem “What happens to a dream deferred?” The dreams and fantasies of a man dying of cancer — and trying to make an impact on climate change in the short time remaining to him — bring life and laughter to Keiko Green’s You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World. And Kate Hamill’s clever stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma concerns women’s dream of equality.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Angus Bowmer Theatre through October 25 The OSF produces this Shakespeare comedy frequently, and it’s always fun. This year’s production, directed

by Marcela Lorca, is an absolute delight: colorful, campy, and full of hijinks. The cast’s superb ensemble work made it difficult to single out individual actors, but I must mention that the usually serious and restrained Al Espinosa hammed it up gloriously as Bottom. Justin Huertas, who composed the songs and incidental music, was a charming Puck.

Sheila Tousey managed to make the single word “Wall!” hilarious. The set

by Luciana Stecconi and costumes

by Sonya Berlovitz (including a great donkey head for Bottom) are simply fabulous.

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HENRY IV PART ONE WITH WILLIAM THOMAS HODGSON, MJ SIEBER, AVA MINGO, AND KATE WISNIEWSKI JENNY GRAHAM

A RAISIN IN THE SUN WITH GRETA OGLES JENNY GRAHAM

A Raisin in the Sun Angus Bowmer Theatre through July 19 Directed by OSF Artistic Director Tim Bond, this is a perfect production of Hansberry’s perfectly constructed play.

The excellent cast made this story of a Black family’s determination to take part in the American dream gripping and moving, with moments of comic relief. Even when the characters had profound disagreements, the audience could understand and sympathize with each one’s point of view. As the family’s matriarch and moral center, Greta Oglesby gave one of the most memorable performances I’ve ever witnessed.

Scenic designer Scott Bradley created an evocative, realistic set for the apartment the family wants to escape.

You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World Thomas Theatre through August 21 Playwright Green and director Zi Alikhan fully capture the funny, annoying, and petty aspects of anticipatory grief in this intimate drama/ comedy. Tim Getman plays a man diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Accompanied by his

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wife (Amy Kim Waschke) and Nonbinary young-adult child M (Winter Olamina), he goes for the wild ride of dealing with death and wanting to do something to combat climate change before his demise. His drug-induced dreams and fantasies bring Greta Thunberg (Kat Peña, who also plays a well-meaning but infuriating relative) into the action.

Projection designer Nicholas Hussong makes judicious use of TV screens and expanded projections, and Lux Haac’s costumes for M are inventive and cute. Be sure to bring a handkerchief; most audience members were in a puddle at the end.

Henry IV, Part One Allen Elizabethan Theatre through October 10 This is a first-rate production of one of Shakespeare’s most popular history plays. The acting in both comic and dramatic scenes was terrific, with all actors’ excellent diction putting across the gorgeous text. As Prince Hal and Falstaff, respectively, William Thomas Hodgson and MJ Sieber delivered the goods, as did Daniel José Molina as Hotspur and Waschke as Lady Percy.

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I’m not usually a fan of fight scenes, but the battle in the final act was spectacular. (Kudos to fight director U. Jonathan Toppo.) Melissa Torchia’s beautiful, appropriate costumes occasioned the funniest ad-lib of the season, when Falstaff, approaching Hotspur’s corpse, exclaimed, “Leather, a bold choice!” My only complaint: Palmer Hefferan’s music before the play and during intermission was so loud and repetitive that it made me want to run for the exit.

Come From Away Angus Bowmer Theatre through October 24 This lovely musical has already played at Seattle Rep and the 5th Avenue Theatre, but even so, you might want to attend the marvelous OSF production directed by Laurie Woolery.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, when 38 planes from all over the world were grounded in Gander, Newfoundland, and the townspeople welcomed and cared for the people and animals onboard.

As usual, the OSF ensemble cast did a fantastic job; each actor mastered the accents and personalities of several characters. The musicians, who were onstage throughout, played with spirit and skill under the direction of Angie Benson. At the performance I attended, sound imbalances at the

beginning of the show made it difficult to hear the human voices over the instrumental music, but that problem was soon corrected.

The Taming of the Shrew Allen Elizabethan Theatre through October 11 Directed by Shana Cooper, this production provided good entertainment — singing, dancing, joking — and made efforts to dilute the sexism of the original by mixing up gendered costumes and roles and by tampering a bit with the text. Because these valiant efforts failed, I left the theater convinced that Shakespeare’s story is irredeemable. I found it painful to watch the obstreperous Kate (Erica Sullivan) succumb to what felt like Stockholm syndrome, when her new husband Petruchio (Molina) deprives her of food, sleep, and clothing until she becomes loyal to him and reprimands the other wives for disobeying their husbands. Up until now, I’ve considered the gory revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus and the antisemitic The Merchant of Venice the only Shakespeare plays I never want to see again, but I might have to add The Taming of the Shrew to the list.

Emma Allen Elizabethan Theatre through October 9

Most stage adaptations of classic novels fall flat, but Hamill’s brilliant adaptation of Emma, directed by Meredith McDonough, manages to shine.

This boisterous, big-hearted show serves as a fine antidote to the misogyny of The Taming of the Shrew and demonstrates how a well-known story can be updated successfully. Hamill’s script gives the title character (nicely portrayed by Alejandra Escalante) opportunities to speak directly to the audience, adds a couple of rousing monologues about the plight of the well-educated woman who has no purpose in society, and ends with a satisfying feminist reinterpretation of the marriage plot.

All members of the cast gave splendid performances; particularly funny were Kate Hurster (whose ear-splitting “Mother!” was unforgettable) as a schoolteacher, Kevin Kenerly as a randy cleric, and Royer Bockus as Emma’s clueless protégée. Composer and sound designer Hefferan used songs of Madonna, Gloria Estefan, Whitney Houston, the Beach Boys, Boyz II Men, and others to convey a playful atmosphere; choreographer Emily Michaels King, having set up the audience to expect a minuet, regaled us with disco dances instead.

Lex Liang’s liberal use of shocking pink in the sets and costumes added to the fun.

Coming up next: King Hedley II, Yellow Face, and Smote This Last year the OSF mounted an excellent production of Jitney, the 1970s play in August Wilson’s American Century Cycle. This year the cycle continues with King Hedley II, set in the1980s in the same Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh. This ninth play in the cycle, which has elements of Greek and Shakespearean tragedy, opens on July 16 in the Thomas Theatre, under Bond’s direction.

David Henry Hwang’s semiautobiographical play Yellow Face was inspired by the 1991 controversy over the original casting of Miss Saigon, in which a white actor played a Eurasian character. Directed at the OSF by May Adrales, Yellow Face addresses issues of Asian representation in American theater and film. It opens in the Angus Bowmer Theatre on August 5.

Rodney Gardiner’s one-man show Smote This: A Comedy about God and Other Serious $H*T had an OSF run in 2024 and returns this year under the direction of Raz Golden. Gardiner, who has been an OSF favorite for more than a decade, opens in the Thomas Theatre on August 27.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.osfashland.org.

Ellen Greene reflects on Little Shop of Horrors as the beloved musical celebrates 40 years

BY M K S C OT T Forty years after Little Shop of Horrors first charmed audiences with its irresistible blend of comedy, horror, romance, and unforgettable music, Ellen Greene still speaks about Audrey with the same warmth and affection that made the character an icon. As the actress who originated the role off-Broadway in 1982 and reprised it in Frank Oz’s beloved 1986 film, Greene remains at the heart of one of musical theater’s greatest cult classics.

On August 18 at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre, fans will have the rare opportunity to celebrate the film’s 40th anniversary — with Greene herself — during a nationwide screening tour, produced by Scott Stander. The event includes a live interview, a performance of Audrey’s signature ballad “Somewhere That’s Green,” and exclusive VIP meet-and-greet opportunities.

When I spoke with Greene, it became immediately clear why Little Shop of Horrors continues to resonate with audiences across generations.

“It’s because it has heart,” Greene said. “It has great music and a wonderful book, and it pulls you into this magical land full of whimsy that also has a very strong moral underneath.

It seems simple, but it’s actually a very complex world.”

“Came from inside” Many fans first discovered Audrey through the film, but Greene reminded me that the character was born on the off-Broadway stage four years earlier.

“I created Audrey,” she explained.

“She was just a sweet brunette on the page. Howard Ashman loved me and allowed me to create her.” That collaboration with the lyricist and book writer became one of the defining creative partnerships of Greene’s career.

Audrey wasn’t simply written for her — Greene built the character from the inside out. When asked about her inspiration, Greene dismissed the idea that Audrey came from anyone else.

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“There was no inspiration,” she said.

“She came from inside. I just knew who she was waiting to be born.”

She recalled standing in the unemployment line when she first heard “Somewhere That’s Green.” “The song touched me immediately,” Greene said. “I usually have to learn a song, but this one came out naturally. I knew who Audrey was inside.”

Greene went on to describe the remarkable amount of work that went into physically creating Audrey — from gaining weight to soften the character’s appearance to choosing her wardrobe, hairstyle, makeup, and even the unique speech pattern that audiences instantly recognize.

Technical challenges Perhaps even more impressive was the technical challenge of filming alongside Audrey II. Working opposite the massive puppet required Greene and Rick Moranis to perform entire scenes at just 12 frames per second, so the footage would appear natural when sped up in postproduction.

“I had to learn to act, sing, and dance in 12 frames per second,” Greene recalled. “Frank Oz taught me something completely new, and I’m very proud of that work.”

She credits Oz’s direction as one of the film’s greatest achievements.

“Only Frank Oz could have pulled off that plant,” Greene said. “There was no CGI. Everything was done by people. He’s brilliant. I can’t tell you how highly I think of Howard Ashman and Frank Oz.” Costars Despite starring alongside comedy legends Moranis, Steve Martin, John Candy, Bill Murray, Vincent Gardenia, and others, Greene said the production wasn’t filled with constant laughter.

“It was actually a very serious set,” she said. “Everyone loved the work, but making that film was a real undertaking.”

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She especially enjoyed filming her memorable “Yes, Doctor, Sorry, Doctor!” sequence opposite Steve Martin.

“He takes comedy very seriously,” Greene said. “And so do I.” One of Greene’s favorite memories remains filming “Suddenly Seymour.” She described the beautifully designed set — complete with grass growing through cobblestones — as one of the most romantic environments she’d ever worked in.

“We did 53 takes walking up those steps,” she laughed. “I had a good bum after it.”

Our conversation also touched on the film’s famous ending. Greene explained that the original ending mirrored the stage musical, in which Audrey and Seymour both die and Audrey II ultimately conquers the world. However, test audiences reacted negatively after Audrey’s death.

“They loved the film until I died,” Greene said with a laugh. “Then they lost the audience. Rick and I had to come back after months of filming to shoot the new ending — the one everyone knows today.”

The moral of the story Although many productions have interpreted Little Shop differently over the decades, Greene remains focused on the original intentions behind Ashman’s work.

“The moral is about greed, power, fame, and money,” she explained.

“If that’s what you’re seeking, you’ll

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become someone you don’t like. It’s about ethics, integrity, authenticity, and truth.”

For Greene, Audrey remains much more than a quirky musical character.

“She’s the heart of the play,” she said simply.

Before ending our conversation, I mentioned another personal favorite: 1990’s Pump Up the Volume, in which Greene played the unforgettable English teacher.

She smiled. “It seems to be having a little resurgence,” she said. “I loved working with Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis. I really loved that whole experience.”

Greene then left me with a message that extends far beyond any single film or performance.

“You only have one life,” she said.

“Be authentic. Appreciate what you have. Be kind, love people, tell them you care, and celebrate who you are.”

Forty years after Little Shop of Horrors first bloomed on movie screens, Ellen Greene’s Audrey continues to remind audiences that, even in a world filled with giant man-eating plants, the most powerful stories are still about hope, love, and finding somewhere — or someone — that feels like home.

STG presents Little Shop of Horrors’ 40th anniversary special screening and Q & A on August 18 at the 5the Avenue Theatre. More information is at www.stgpresents.org/events/little-shop-of-horrors.

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Excitement builds for the world premiere of Freak the Mighty at Seattle Rep

BY M I RYA M G O R D O N Freak the Mighty Seattle Rep (www.seattlerep.org) July 30–Sept. 6, 2026 Many people are excited to finally see the world premiere of Freak the Mighty, a musical coproduction between the Seattle Rep and the Cleveland Play House.

Maxwell Kane, a shy boy with learning disabilities, and Kevin “Freak” Avery, who has physical disabilities, feel like outcasts that don’t fit in — until they find each other. Armed with big imaginations, sharp humor, and rebellious spirits, the teens become “Freak the Mighty,” a duo ready to take on the world.

Freak the Mighty is based on the 1993 best-selling young adult novel by Rodman Philbrick, which was also adapted into a film, The Mighty, in 1998, starring Kieran Culkin and Sharon Stone.

The musical is suitable for all ages.

Dámaso Rodríguez, artistic director at the Seattle Rep, certainly agrees: “This is the kind of show you bring someone you love to see. Like the great comingof-age stories many of us grew up with, it’s filled with humor, imagination, and heart. But what makes it truly special is the way it centers characters who are rarely at the center of the story.”

The production had an initial developmental outing in Cleveland, where audiences embraced the message of finding your “people” when you feel left out and different. Part of the excitement here in Seattle comes from the identities of the producers: Junkyard Dog Productions (Kenny and Marleen Alhadeff, Randy Adams, and Sue Frost), which was behind the musical Come from Away, a global success with many tours and productions.

The Alhadeffs are a storied theater-

supporting local couple (with a Broadway-worthy performing daughter, Andi Alhadeff) who are now heavily involved in producing and promoting musicals they hope are destined for Broadway. After Junkyard Dog’s hugely successful world premiere of Come from Away at the Seattle Rep, all involved were motivated to “do it again,” and this is the resulting production.

With the book and lyrics by Anthony Drewe, and music by Ryan Fielding Garrett, we may be the first ones to see the next exciting Broadway show!

Freak the Mighty starts previews on July 30, with opening night on August 5. It seems like a pretty good bet to be a great evening of heartwarming music and story.

Other productions Junkyard Dog is also working on a couple of new musicals that may make

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their world premiere here (we can hope). 3 Summers of Lincoln starts during the Civil War, as President Abraham Lincoln crosses paths with one of his loudest and fiercest critics, the powerful abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Acclaimed playwright Joe DiPietro is writing the book for it, which was presented at La Jolla Playhouse in 2025.

Also, in development is Heart, which follows one precious heart on its vital, life-saving journey, impacting people’s lives along the way. Anne and Ian Eisendrath, longtime residents of Seattle, are working on an electronic score for it. (You might know that Ian was the executive music producer of KPop Demon Hunters!)

For more articles and reviews, go to: facebook.com/SeattleTheaterWriters Subscribe at: miryamstheatermusings.blogspot.com

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2026 Vashon Island Film Festival preview A conversation with Vashon Film Institute president Mark Sayre

BY S A RA M I C H E L L E F E T T E R S , S G N S TA F F W R IT E R a $1,000 prize awarded to a notable LGBTQIA+-made or -focused film programmed at VIFF. Here are the edited transcripts of our brief conversation: Sara Michelle Fetters: How does it feel to be on the cusp of another Vashon Island Film Festival?

MARK SAYRE

The fifth annual Vashon Island Film Festival kicks off August 13 with a gala screening of director Matt Johnson’s Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony and concludes on August 16 with presentation of the 2026 Tribeca award-winner Labrador — Autopsy of Silence directed

by Rodrigue Jean. In between are a series of shorts, narrative features, and documentaries, all of them showcased in the island’s iconic, singlescreen movie palace, the Vashon Theater. This year’s VIFF also boasts the return of the popular ShortCUTZ program, a series of a shorts produced on the island itself.

I sat down with Vashon Film Institute president Mark Sayre to chat about the 2026 festival, including the inaugural presentation of the Stuart Gordon Tribble “Superstar” Award,

Mark Sayre: It’s very exciting. It’s the fifth year, which I think for anyone that has run or works for a festival knows, that’s the hump year. Most festivals don’t make it this far, which is why I just found out that IMDb doesn’t even let you post as a festival until you make it through your fifth year. We’ll finally be able to do that, which I’m excited about. [laughs] SMF: I think the big news this year is both awesome yet also bittersweet.

An award is now going to be given out in the name of one of the island’s former residents, Stuart Gordon Tribble. Tell me more about him, why this award is so important, and what it is going to mean for recipients.

MS: We’re introducing a new award this year that we’re lovingly calling the S. Gordon Tribble Superstar Award, which will honor the legacy of Gordon, who was a beloved member of our community on Vashon and also the broader film world, where he worked in hair and makeup as the department head on many notable productions. I think

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most people that have spent time on the island, and certainly in town, would know who Gordon was. [The award] is a really lovely way for us to be able to honor his legacy.

We were excited to put a committee together that will select one notable LGBTQIA+ film each year for the award, along with a $1,000 cash prize. This year, the inaugural award is going to be presented to Labrador – Autopsy of Silence, playing on closing night. We’re opening the festival with Tony, the biopic of Anthony Bourdain, on which Gordon served as the hair department head. We’re very excited.

SMF: What was it about Labrador – Autopsy of Silence that spoke to the committee that made it worthy of the inaugural award?

MS: I think one of the things that we had talked about internally was making sure, since there’s a cash prize, that it was going to go to a film that we felt truly had that independent spirit. For us, this film qualified, but it also took a hat trick at Tribeca this year, where it won best performance, best cinematography, and best international narrative feature. Since it’s a Queer story from the perspective of an Alupa Tulagak, an Inuit mechanic and a friend of the victim that’s murdered in the story, we just thought it was a really powerful piece and deserving of the award.

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SMF: Switching things up: You also have programmed a few really strong Pacific Northwest films this year. Dad Genes, Radioheart, which is a returnee from the Seattle International Film Festival, and Theater Is Dead, just to name three heavyweights.

MS: And The Life We Leave also.

SMF: Definitely. Why is it important to put the focus on these Pacific Northwest productions?

MS: I think that’s very simpatico with what our real modus operandi at the Vashon Film Institute is: to celebrate and support independent filmmaking in the Pacific Northwest, whether the films are made here or they’re resident filmmakers, or people that hail from this area.

We launched the Local Spotlight section last year, and we concentrated on having a very strong lineup in that screening section again this year… I feel very proud to be able to showcase films that are from here and filmmakers that are from here. We have a budding industry and a group of very talented filmmakers and artists that reside [on Vashon] too.

It’s very fun but also sort of worked out that a handful of these films have really strong connections to Vashon directly. Theater Is Dead, as you know, was shot on Vashon. Zach Mann, who’s

LABRADOR – AUTOPSY OF SILENCE WINNER OF THE INAUGURAL S. GORDON TRIBBLE SUPERSTAR AWARD

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on our board, was one of the producers, but [the first film of] the team of women that made this movie and produced, wrote, direct, and star in it, Juniper, played in our inaugural festival. That is when they first came out to Vashon. They really fell in love with the island in the Pacific Northwest, and then to have them return to shoot a movie here ? And to put it in the festival? Super exciting.

Likewise, Radioheart was directed by Andrew Franks, who’s from Vashon.

[As for] Dad Genes, the subject, Aaron Long, is a Vashon Island resident. It’s really funny too, because I’ve been playing pickleball with Aaron for about a year, and I didn’t know about this movie until a handful of weeks ago. But as soon as I found out about it, I wanted to make sure that we had space to screen it.

SMF: ShortCUTZ is back. Tell us more about what we can expect for this year’s competition and all of these great short films that are going to be shot entirely on Vashon.

MS: We felt that that hyperlocal programming last year was very successful. The community really had a lot of fun, both contributing to it and then celebrating it at the screening section.

It was important to bring that back.

I’m just really thrilled to see what people will put together. I’ve seen a couple of [the shorts] already, and I know that they’re really fun. We probably won’t know for another week or so what exact films are going to show the night of the screening.

SMF: How difficult was it to assemble this year’s lineup, especially when you know you’re only programming for a few days?

MS: There were a ton of compelling films this year, and it’s hard to whittle them down to what we feel right for the festival and also have some diversity in what we’re offering. I think programmer Stacey Oristano did a fabu-

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lous job with that last year, and she’s done the same thing this year. I think it’s maybe our strongest and our biggest lineup to date.

festival and a real celebration of the filmmakers and the films rather than a huge promotional event of some kind.

That has allowed our guests … to see the movies interact with each other in a way that I don’t think that they have at the larger festivals. They’re not being whisked away from one PR event to the next to promote their film.

We have a lot of intimate gatherings, like at the opening night reception or the filmmakers’ dinner, where filmmakers have the opportunity to engage in discourse. Coming into our fifth year, we’ve seen partnerships and collaborations develop out of these meetings here at this festival. That’s been super, super cool to watch.

SMF: Now that you have made it to year five, what do you feel like you’ve learned about putting on a festival like this? What are you most proud of in reaching this milestone?

MS: We’ve learned a thousand things, more probably. I think the biggest takeaway when you decide to do this is just the amount of time, energy, and effort that goes into doing it. And money. It takes funding to be able to do it even at [this level]. We’re a small festival, but it’s still expensive to do it the right way.

We’ve also had to find a way to engage with our local audience but also … the audience that isn’t on the island, bring them [here] for a special weekend. I always say, come for the day, stay for the weekend. [laughs] I think the general atmosphere of this festival is so unique. It feels far less corporate than its bigger brothers and sisters. It has its own identity. It feels to me much more like a vacation

SMF: For you personally, what’s it like on opening night, when you’re standing there at the Vashon Theater and you see that mixture of residents and newcomers and filmmakers all crowding into that iconic venue to experience the first film of the festival?

MS: I think the first feeling is probably relief that we made it there, but that’s quickly followed by just an intense gratitude for the community

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and for the filmmakers and our creative teams that work at the festival and our volunteer teams that work at the festival. Just the [number] of people that have put their heart and soul into making the festival possible, whether that’s creating the films that are programmed or showing up to make sure that it operates. Producing a film festival really takes a village, and I’m very proud to be a part of this one.

SMF: Now that we have reached year five, are you imagining where this festival can go from here?

MS: We talked a little bit about this yesterday as a group. I don’t think the scope or the [number] of films that we’re able to program grows too much, because we only have four days and a single-screen theater. We do have an outdoor screen, which we’re going to use in some capacity this year for the Saturday night soiree that Marco Collins is DJing, and certainly at the award show, weather permitting, which we do plan to have outside.

But I do think in the future, once we can justifyv it, if we can, we’ll be doing ancillary events during the festival.

There might be seminars or workshops or lecture series. We’re hoping other groups get activated and throw their own parties during the festival. I also think there’s opportunity to maybe expand the programming a little bit outside, as long as it doesn’t compete too much with what we’re doing inside.

If we continue to grow as a nonprofit in the way that we hope to, eventually VFI will have more substantial facility on the island, and there may be opportunities for other programming there as well. That’s kind of the long-term plan, but I don’t think we’re in a rush to get to that place.

SMF: Final thoughts: What do you want audiences and attendees to take away from this year’s festival?

MS: That they had a great time.

SGN

19

YOUR NEXT SUMMER ADVENTURE STARTS HERE.

Experience two unforgettable stories at Seattle Rep. The world-premiere musical Freak The Mighty and Lost Girl, a powerful reimagining of what happens after Peter Pan’s Neverland.

ROGER MASTROIANNI

JUL 30 – SEP 6

AUG 7 – 16

FROM THE PRODUCERS OF COME FROM AWAY

BOOK & LYRICS BY Anthony Drewe MUSIC BY Ryan Fielding Garrett BASED ON THE NOVEL BY Rodman Philbrick DIRECTED BY Michael Barakiva CHOREOGRAPHED BY Patrick McCollum A co-production with Cleveland Play House

BY Kimberly Belflower DIRECTED BY Deanna Martinez

seattlerep.org

JOIN US ALL SUMMER LONG

Cornelius Kittrel and Netza Jimenez in Freak The Mighty at Cleveland Play House

BOOKS Open, Heaven: A Queer coming-ofage masterpiece

BY F RA N K GA I M A R I OPEN, HEAVEN SEÁN HEWITT © 2022 Knopf 224 pages $15.99 Seán Hewitt’s Open, Heaven, published by Knopf, delves into the overwhelming, irrational, and often confusing nature of a first crush. Readers may find themselves reflecting on their own early experiences — who that person was, how significant they felt at the time, and how little they understood.

Hewitt masterfully captures what only the finest fiction can achieve: a nostalgic longing for the past.

Set in a quiet village in northern England, the novel begins with James Legh returning there as an adult,

recently divorced from his husband and looking back on the complexities of his 16-year-old self. The dual timeline adds a profound layer, offering a depth that a straightforward comingof-age narrative might lack.

The main story unfolds in the autumn of 2002, when a shy, newly out James encounters Luke, an older, charismatic boy sent to live with his aunt and uncle after his father’s imprisonment and his mother’s abandonment. While Luke exudes confidence, beneath that surface lies the pain of someone who has experienced loss at a young age.

James focuses on Luke, but Hewitt shows that his fixation is largely selfcreated, interpreting minor gestures as significant and projecting his own

SEÁN HEWITT

wishes onto the older boy.

Eddie, James’s 5-year-old brother with a persistent, serious illness, emerges as the most quietly powerful character. His love is straightforward and unconditional, unlike Luke’s. As James becomes engrossed in his quest for Luke, he neglects his family. This inability to recognize genuine connections deepen the story’s emotional impact.

At just over 200 pages, Open, Heaven is intentionally concise, emphasizing layered emotions such as longing, shame, and the slow tension between desire and duty. Action-driven readers may think it’s slow-paced, but those who enjoy thoughtful, detail-oriented fiction will find it compelling.

Open, Heaven is available in hardcover, e-book, and paperback on Amazon.

Tramps Like Us: A raw and unfiltered portrait of Queer life in America

BY F RA N K GA I M A R I TRAMPS LIKE US JOE WESTMORELAND © 2024 MCD 384 pages $18 / $12 Kindle Originally published in 2001 and quietly fading into the background, Tramps Like Us has been reissued — with an insightful introduction by Eileen Myles — and it demands to be read. This isn’t just a novel; it’s a fictionalized memoir, a raw, frank reflection of a bygone era in Queer history.

Joe Westmoreland’s narrative follows a young Gay man named Joe, who escapes a difficult childhood in Missouri and spends nearly a decade wandering across the United States — to Miami, New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco. His journey is a series of snapshots: hitchhiking, crashing on couches, fleeting romances, drug highs, and moments of connection

V I S I T U S O N L I N E S G N .O RG

and disconnection. There’s no traditional plot, no sweeping arc. Instead, the book feels more like a journal, an unvarnished record of life as it happened.

What makes Tramps Like Us stand out is its unpretentious honesty. Westmoreland refuses to dress up his stories or impose meaning where there is none; he simply presents what occurred, one event after another, mirroring the unpredictable flow of real life. This approach might frustrate some readers expecting a conventional narrative, but for others, it’s a breath of fresh air. It’s a candid, unfiltered window into a time before AIDS cast its shadow — a time of freedom, experimentation, and raw vulnerability.

The book doesn’t shy away from the more explicit aspects of that life: sex, drugs, and the pursuit of pleasure are laid bare, unembellished and without

JOE WESTMORELAND

apology. It’s part of the fabric of the era, a snapshot of a generation unencumbered by the fears that would later define the AIDS crisis.

And when the crisis arrives, the tone shifts — not dramatically, but subtly.

Westmoreland’s calm, straightforward voice remains, and that’s what makes the impact so profound. He doesn’t write about grief with melodrama; instead, he quietly shows friends disappearing, one by one, letting their absence speak volumes. It’s

AUGUST 2026

a heartbreaking reminder of loss told with unflinching sincerity.

Tramps Like Us is also sometimes tender — a vivid portrait of what it meant to be young, Queer, and free in America’s ’70s and ’80s. It’s not about crafting literary perfection; it’s about truth.

And in its truthfulness, it’s a vital, powerful read that resonates long after reading.

Available wherever books are sold, including Amazon.

SGN

21

COMMUNITY CALENDAR For more events visit SGN's online community calendar!

A PRIDE SEASON ART EXHIBIT AT UNION SEATTLE! Date: Now - September 15 Time: 4 p.m.-2 a.m.

Venue: Union Seattle, 1009 East Union Street, Seattle, WA Admission: Free Steps to the Future is a Pride season exhibit honoring three powerful milestones in Seattle LGBTQ+ history, from the cabaret stages of the 1940s, to Pride marching down Broadway, to the beloved bars that helped shape community life on Capitol Hill.

This summer, Come Out Seattle and Union Seattle present Steps to the Future, a Pride season exhibit celebrating the people, places, and milestones that helped shape Seattle's LGBTQ+ community. On view at Union Seattle from June 15 through September 15, 2026, the exhibit looks back across 80, 40, and 20 years of local queer history, from The Garden of Allah to Pride on Broadway to the final last call at Thumper's.

Gaga for Gaga Date: Friday, July 31 Time: 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Venue: Kremwerk, 1809 Minor Ave #10, Seattle, WA An all Lady Gaga variety show featuring burlesque, pole, and drag performers.

Performers: Cherry MxLavender on the Rocks, Coyote Party, Zire Stardust, Pam Jobb N. Moore, Violet Vireo, Jimothy, BusinessWei Emcee: Lavender l'Estrange Crew:Brenna BJDewDrop Lashes Cabaret! a Free Drag Show!

Date: Friday, July 31- August 7 Time: 7:30-9 p.m.

Venue: Unicorn, Seattle, WA Unicorn is so excited to be the new home of the longest running drag show in Seattle, Lashes! Every Friday night with the show starting promptly at 7:30pm. Lashes stars the Legendary Ladie Chablis, Londyn Bradshaw, Miss Texas 1988, Amora Namor and LuChi. No Cover Charge!!! Seating is first come first served.

film night (tickets required, proceeds benefit non-profits, see link) as we showcase the many ways femmes can show up in cycling! All details located here: https://ridebrevay.com/ pages/2026momentumwtfnb Tabletop Presents: Drag Village!

Date: Saturday, August 8 Time: 6:30-11 p.m.

Venue: Tabletop Village, 616 8th Ave S,, Seattle, WA Admission: $20.00 - $40.00 Welcome to Drag Village! Coda & Tabletop Village invite you for a memorable evening featuring incredible PNW drag talent. It takes a village to have a drag show! All ages are welcome (PG-13)!

Hosted by Coda Featuring our stage kitten, Luscious Lambing Reserved Seating: 16 tickets will be priced at $35 (presale), $40 (day of) General Admission: 64 tickets will be priced at $20 (presale), $25 (day of) Seats are first come, first served Come early to grab some delicious food & beverages by Kilig Be sure to bring cash to exchange for tips Figure.It.Out - Queer Lifedrawing Date: Tuesday, August 11 Time: 6-10 p.m.

Venue: Vermillion, 1508 11th Ave, Seattle, WA Monthly Queer Figure Drawing, every second Tuesday. $15 suggested donation paid to the model. All skill levels welcome.

More info here: https://www.instagram.com/ figureitout.art/

Momentum Cycling Film Night and Block Party Date: Friday, August 7 Time: 4-11 p.m.

Venue: Old Stove Ship Canal, 600 W Nickerson St, Seattle, WA Admission: $5.00 - $100.00 Momentum is an annual celebration of women, trans, femme, and nonbinary (WTFNB) cyclists. Join us for our block party (free to attend), and

Clock-Out Lounge Presents: TUSH! Date: Thursdays, August 13-28 Time: 8 p.m.

Venue: Clock-Out Lounge, 4864 Beacon Ave S, Seattle, WA Admission: $20.00 - $50.00 Clock-Out Lounge Presents: TUSH!Thurs 8/13Doors 7pm-show at 8pm21+GA tickets $20adv/$25dosExtra supporter $50 (extra $$ for the art) The Bonnies and Stasia Coup in the same lineup? Silliness will be plentiful at TUSH on August 13!! Betty Wetter will keep you chuckling all night long with performances by Amora Namor, Angel Baby Kill Kill Kill, and Pussy Willow! Get there early to get in the mood with DJ dark wiley! Know Before You Go:TUSH is a popular Queer variety show and we always welcome new guests. This is a show, NOT a party. We

22

AUGUST 2026

SGN

do not welcome bachelorette parties or other gatherings that seek to be a part of the event. We have built a safe space for our audience and performers to celebrate Queer performance.

By purchasing tickets, you agree to a code of conduct expected in our space includingHave respect for performers, other audience members, and ClockOut staff. We do not invite you to touch or comment on our bodies.

We also discourage any behavior that distracts others from enjoying what is onstage.Tipping is a part of drag culture. Be prepared with cash. The bar has change if needed. Performer Venmo handles will also be provided.

The easiest way to get involved is to show enthusiasm for the performances. Give us more love and we will give you a better show!Early arrival is encouraged. This show has a dedicated audience and seating is NOT guaranteed.Double check the date for which you are purchasing, no refunds or switching ticket dates.

FIESTA DE PUTXS Date: Thursday, August 13 Time: 9 p.m.

Venue: Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, Seattle, WA ITS BEEN ONE YEAR PUTXS!!!! This August 13th join us for another epic party with the best of what Fiesta de Putxs has to offer. This is a phenomenal dance party for queer slutty people that stand with migrants and want to support local art and artists.

We proudly showcase an ALL TRANS and GNC cast and uplift the solidarity between migrants, trans bodies, and sex workers. Everyone is welcome: Vendors, Fabulous DJs & the hottest GO GOs, Special Raffle, Performances at 11 PM, And YES! Due to wide and warm support we ARE bringing back the midnight fashion show!!!! So stay posted for more info! This is a benefit show! 100% of the proceeds go towards directly supporting our local migrant communitys ability to access childcare and family services. As the attacks on our community intensify we re-commit to this party with conviction and creativity. We are excited to see you there! Cant attend but wanna support? Youll find donation options in the online sales link in bio!

We believe trans rights and immigrant rights go hand in hand so get over here to help us raise some money and shake some ass #TheFutureIsTrans #ChingaLaMigra Hosted by:@exesive__ and @see.xochi DJs!@real_recognize_ real333@reverenddollars@sonora.

enjambre Go Gos!@mariamamii_@ va nilla a idayca r ter@Papi_Chulo_ Dance@tatiana_village Performers!@ quitethedalyte@vidacatastrophedho@ jadaraid@iam_actinup@likethabirds Kittens! @lil_c_a_k_e@prettyboy.jey The QUEER Not Creepy Gathering for People who Want to Fall in Love Date: Friday, August 14 Venue: Ballard Homestead, 6541 Jones Ave NW, Seattle, WA Treasure Trail Seattle: Summer Sausage Date: Saturday, August 15 Time: 9 p.m.-3 a.m.

Venue: Massive, 619 E Pine St, Seattle, WA Saturday, August 15thDoors at 9pm, Party til 3amClothes Check encouraged619 E. PineSteamy Go-Go's, Heavy CruisingHard Sounds by BIG SIR & TIGERBEATZ Hosted byMatty Hoffman Ruby Mimosa Presents: BurlesKaraoke Date: Thursday, August 20 Time: 8 p.m.

Venue: Clock-Out Lounge, 4864 Beacon Ave S, Seattle, WA Ruby Mimosa Presents: BurlesKaraokeThurs Aug 20thDoors 7pm-show at 8pm$22/GA$150/Reserved tables up front-includes entrance for 4 people Voted #1 BEST KARAOKE Seattle Gay News BEST OF 2025Welcome to BurlesKaraoke! Ruby Mimosa invites you to an unforgettable experience where you, the audience, become part of the show. Enjoy the award-winning performances of burlesque artists as they tease, please, delight, and surprise you. At BurlesKaraoke, the spontaneity of karaoke (brought to you by Baby Van Beezly) and the thrill of improvisational performance art come together for a night of hollering and dollar-spreading fun. Get ready to experience something truly off the cuff! FEATURING: Faggedy Randy (Chicago), Sandria Dore (Portland), & Ms. Mykie (TexASS)GOGO DANCERS: Khitty K & Lilith LuminaeHOSTESS with the MI-MOSTess: Ruby MimosaDOLLAR DADDY: Beau BriefsKARAOKE: Dj Baby Van Beezly Seattle LGBTQ Commission Date: Thursday, August 20 Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Venue: Seattle, WA

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