Watermark Issue 25.23: Pursuing Passion

issue 25.23 • noVemBer 15-28, 2018

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INSIDE:

TAMPA BAY AND CENTRAL FLORIDA

ELECTION RESULTS

PURSUING

PASSION TWO INSPIRING INDIVIDUALS PROVE LEAVING THE CORPORATE WORLD CAN REALLY PAY OFF

daytona Beach • orlando • tampa • st. petersBurg • clearWater • sarasota

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e d L si in UA DE l ia NN GUI ec sp RA Y OU LIDA HO

watermark Your LGBTQ Life.

This issue features two covers!

In this issue we feature mandy Keyes on the Tampa bay edition and victor bokas on the Central Florida edition.

issue 25.23 • noVemBer 15-28, 2018

WatermarkOnline.com

INSIDE:

TAMPA BAY AND CENTRAL FLORIDA

ELECTION RESULTS

PURSUING

PASSION TWO INSPIRING INDIVIDUALS PROVE LEAVING THE CORPORATE WORLD CAN REALLY PAY OFF daytona Beach • orlando • tampa • st. petersBurg • clearWater • sarasota

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e d L si in UA DE l ia NN GUI ec sp RA Y OU LIDA HO

watermark Your LGBTQ Life.

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DEPARTMENTS 7 // BUREAU CHIEF’S DESK 8 // CENTRAL FLORIDA NEWS 10 // TAMPA BAY NEWS 12 // STATE NEWS 13// NATION & WORLD NEWS 17// TALKING POINTS 35// COMMUNITY CALENDAR 37// TAMPA BAY OUT + ABOUT 39// CENTRAL FLORIDA OUT + ABOUT 40// TAMPA BAY MARKETPLACE 42// CENTRAL FLORIDA MARKETPLACE 45// WEDDING BELLS/ ANNOUNCEMENTS

PAGE

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We shattered lavender ceilings, achieved historic firsts and brought more LGBTQ representation to legislative bodies across the nation, which will help push equality forward … we needed more LGbTQ candidates not just because our community needs us, but because America needs us.

—annise parker, president and ceo of lgBtQ victory fund on 2018’s rainBoW Wave

ON THE COVER

PAGE MOVIE MEN:

PAGE PURSUING

19

29

PASSION:

Two inspiring individuals prove leaving the corporate world can really pay off.

Tampa Bay Photo by Dylan Todd Central Florida Photo by Jake Stevens

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Orlando and Tampa Bay residents create an expansive LGBTQ film database.

WATERMARK ISSUE 25.23 // NOVEMBER 15 - NOVEMBER 28, 2018

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WONDERFUL WORLD

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PAGE Voters elect a more liberal and progressive Central Florida.

PAGE EPIC Generations coalition forms to support an aging LGBTQ community.

PAGE

PAGE

read it online!

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

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10

15

Michael Wanzie tackles The Center Orlando’s 40th celebration.

33

Orlando Ballet Artistic Director Robert Hill celebrates a decade of dance.

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t

here are a feW things people tend

to figure out about me rather quickly, whether they get to know me well or only casually.

The first is that I’m into politics.

Voting is rad, even more so when it’s done in the name of equality and every vote is counted. Second, I have a totally normal love and appreciation for (read: obsession with) Disney, particularly “The Little Mermaid.” I mean, how many wonders can one movie hold?

Finally, people tend to guess that I love everything about Marvel.

It’s been that way since I thumbed through my first comic book at whatever reading comprehension I could muster at seven years old.

The Walt Disney Company acquiring Marvel Entertainment in 2009 should’ve sparked a national holiday.

That’s why Nov. 12 was unexpectedly dark for me. It’s an important date in my circle of life:

WATERMARK STAFF

my wedding anniversary. This year we celebrated two wonderful years. I had planned on writing this column about that or politics—it’s my first time living in Florida during a recount – but instead, I feel compelled to talk about The Man upstairs. The creator of universes.

Obviously, I’m talking about Stan “The Man” Lee, Marvel Chairman Emeritus. He passed away Nov. 12, 2018 at 95 years old, decades after co-creating the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men and dozens of other characters that helped guide me through childhood and beyond.

I was an awkward kid and didn’t always have many friends, but his creations taught me right from wrong, that the good guys tend to

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win if they work hard enough and that bigotry is for the birds. The X-Men, hated and feared because of how they were born, particularly spoke to my little gay self. Stan was a real superhero to me and as I began to write, a professional role model.

I met Stan once, in 2006. I still have the framed and signed X-Men poster hanging in our apartment bearing his signature to prove it.

It was years after he’d left behind the day-to-day at Marvel and years before the well-deserved hype of Marvel Studios and his countless cameos.

He’d taken to the road to meet with fans and share his stories.

It was at some random library in Nowhere, Ohio and was one of the most exciting moments of my life up until that point. He talked about a number of his creations and years at Marvel, highlighting an ideology captured perfectly in his regular “Stan’s Soapbox” column from 1968.

I think they are words we cannot stress enough in today’s political climate, so I’d like to share them here.

“Let’s lay it right on the line.

Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today,” Stan wrote.

“But, unlike a team of costumed super-villains, they can’t be halted with a punch in the snoot, or a zap from a ray gun. The only way to destroy them is to expose them—to reveal them for the insidious evils they really are. The bigot is an unreasoning hater—one who hates blindly, fanatically, indiscriminately.

If his hang-up is black men, he hates ALL black men. If a redhead once offended him, he hates ALL redheads. If some foreigner beat him to a job, he’s down on ALL foreigners. He hates people he’s never seen—people he’s never known—with equal intensity—with equal venom.

“Now, we’re not trying to say it’s unreasonable for one human being

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to bug another,” he continued. “But, although anyone has the right to dislike another individual, it’s totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race—to despise an entire nation—to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance.”

Aside from his penchant for social justice, what’s always struck and inspired me about Stan is that after years of unfulfilling ventures,

The X-men, hated and feared because of how they were born, particularly spoke to my little gay self.

he almost quit writing – well before he’d create Spider-Man at age 40. He gave reinvention one last shot and created The Fantastic Four in 1961. The rest is history.

It’s reinvention that we tackle in this issue. Two inspiring individuals, one in Central Florida and the other in Tampa Bay, left behind the corporate world to successfully chase their own dreams. In news, we review the progressive waves that swept Tampa Bay, Central Florida and the country during this year’s midterm election. In Arts and Entertainment, we log onto GayMovieDB.com, an expansive LGBTQ film database, and check in with the Orlando Ballet.

Watermark strives to bring you a variety of stories each issue, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue.

And once more for Stan: Excelsior!

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CONTRIBUTORS Michael WanZie is

an Orlando-based playwright, actor and ordained minister. He is most recognized for his direction of productions in the Orlando area. Page 15

holly v. kapherraleJos

is a food, travel and lifestyle writer and editor born and bred in Orlando, Florida. Her work has appeared in local, regional and national publications. Page 19

AARON drake

is a contributor to Creative Loafing, South Florida Gay News and ManAboutWorld. He loves getting lost in other countries and his German Shepherd. Page 45 SABRINA AMBRA, NATHAN BRUEMMER, SCOTTIE CAMPBELL, MIGUEL FULLER, DIVINE GRACE, SAMUEL JOHNSON, JASON LECLERC, MELODY MAIA MONET, DAVID MORAN, GREG STEMM, RACHEL STEVENSON, DR. STEVE YACOVELLI, MICHAEL WANZIE

PHOTOGRAPHY BRIAN BECNEL, NICK CARDELLO, BRUCE HARDIN, JULIE MILFORD, TRAVIS MOORE, JAMARQUS MOSLEY, CHRIS STEPHENSON, LEE VANDERGRIFT

DISTRIBUTION LVNLIF2 DISTRIBUTING, LISA JORDAN, JILL BATES, KEN CARRAWAY CONTENTS of WATERMARK are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher.

Unsolicited article submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Although WATERMARK is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles, advertising, or listing in WATERMARK is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons or members of such organizations.

WATERMARK is published every second Thursday. Subscription rate is $55 (1st class) and $26 (standard mail).

The official views of WATERMARK are expressed only in editorials. Opinions offered in signed columns, letters and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper’s owner or management. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication.

WATERMARK is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors.

Watermark publishing group inc.

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CONTRIBUTORS

central florida

Bureau chief’s

Jeremy Williams CFL BUREAU CHIEF

Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com

I

DESK

Was sitting at My desk,

drinking my coffee and chatting with some coworkers when my team leader came up to me and said that we had a meeting to attend.

I didn’t know what she was talking about but in those days I was terrible at managing my schedule so forgetting about a meeting seemed like something I might do.

I was a second-level supervisor at a call center for the company Express Scripts. For those who aren’t familiar it’s a Prescription Benefits Manager. That’s just fancy talk for insurance for medications.

I started working there after I discharged from the Air Force in 2007. Six years in the military, of being told where to go, when to go there and to stay in the closet left me in need of a change in my life. So instead of re-enlisting,

I decided I was going to reinvent myself. I was going to head out into the real world and live my life as an openly gay man.

The problem was I got out and had no idea where this “new Jeremy” was going to go and what I wanted to do.

I moved back home and, thanks to a little help from my little brother who worked at Express Scripts, I started my new life as a corporate man. I didn’t realize

WATERMARK STAFF Founder and Guiding Light: Tom Dyer Tom@WatermarkOnline.com

CFL Bureau Chief: Jeremy Williams • ext. 106 Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com

Owner & Publisher: Rick Claggett • ext. 110 Rick@WatermarkOnline.com

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

Business Manager: Kathleen Sadler • ext. 101 Kathleen@WatermarkOnline.com

Multimedia Assistant: Meghan Sweeney • ext. 100 Meghan@WatermarkOnline.com

that after I entered into it that corporate life kind of sucks, at least for me it did.

I had gotten it into my head that I spent six years being told what to do and that in civilian life I was my own person. “The man” wasn’t going to order me around anymore. Looking back now I was still a young, dumb kid who absolutely had no idea how the “real world” worked.

I did manage to hang on at Express Scripts for about four years and make my way up that ladder a bit, but not without some resistance on my part. I remember about a year after starting at the call center, management decided they wanted to make some changes to schedules. People were forced into nights and weekends that they didn’t want to work.

These hard working employees couldn’t afford to just quit or argue back so they went along.

My response to this was to write the word “UNION” on a marker board, stand on my chair and hold it above my head. Sally Field would have been so proud of me if she could see it. Management, not so much. I wasn’t fired for that (shockingly) but I became a marked man.

A few years later, that meeting my team lead reminded me about turned out not to be a meeting at all. It was an exit interview with HR. I was being fired. I’m told by friends of mine who worked there that as soon as my team lead and I got around the corner that another member of management came behind us with a box and started packing my desk up. So quick and so cold.

I will say that while there were many reasons that I can think of that I should have been fired for, what they actually got me for was an account my team lead screwed

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Orlando Account Manager: Brianna Rockmore • ext. 105 Brianna@WatermarkOnline.com Senior Tampa Bay Account Manager: Russ Martin • ext. 303 Russ@WatermarkOnline.com National Ad Representative: Rivendell Media Inc. 212-242-6863

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up on. She used me as a sacrifice to save herself. The shame.

I had never been fired from a job before. I was angry. I was scared. Losing that job turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. It forced me to look at what I was doing and ask myself, “Is it worth holding onto this professional life if it has no meaning for me?” So from that moment, I decided to reinvent myself again.

I’ve wanted to be a journalist ever since I was a kid and if that’s the life I wanted then I should go for it. So I did. Obviously, since I’m writing this in a newsmagazine

Looking back now I was still a young, dumb kid who absolutely had no idea how the ‘real world’ worked.

right now, it worked out for me.

That is what this issue is about, reinventing yourself after you were already established in another field. Watermark writer Holly Kapherr Alejos looks at two members of our community who wanted to live their dreams and went for it.

In A&E, we look at a couple of local movie buffs who built an LGBTQ-specific movie database and we see what Orlando Ballet has planned for artistic director Robert Hill’s 10th season.

In news, we recap last week’s midterm elections.

I hope these stories inspire you. Now get out there you magnificent dreamers and live your dreams.

ORLANDO OFFICE 414 N. Ferncreek Ave. Orlando, FL 32803 TEL: 407-481-2243

TAMPA BAY OFFICE 2529 Central Ave. St. Petersburg, FL 33713 TEL: 813-655-9890

Michael WanZie is

an Orlando-based playwright, actor and ordained minister. He is most recognized for his direction of productions in the Orlando area. Page 15

holly v. kapherraleJos

is a food, travel and lifestyle writer and editor born and bred in Orlando, Florida. Her work has appeared in local, regional and national publications. Page 19

AARON drake

is a contributor to Creative Loafing, South Florida Gay News and ManAboutWorld. He loves getting lost in other countries and his German Shepherd. Page 45 SABRINA AMBRA, NATHAN BRUEMMER, SCOTTIE CAMPBELL, MIGUEL FULLER, DIVINE GRACE, SAMUEL JOHNSON, JASON LECLERC, MELODY MAIA MONET, DAVID MORAN, GREG STEMM, RACHEL STEVENSON, DR. STEVE YACOVELLI, MICHAEL WANZIE

PHOTOGRAPHY BRIAN BECNEL, NICK CARDELLO, BRUCE HARDIN, JULIE MILFORD, TRAVIS MOORE, JAMARQUS MOSLEY, CHRIS STEPHENSON, LEE VANDERGRIFT

DISTRIBUTION LVNLIF2 DISTRIBUTING, LISA JORDAN, JILL BATES, KEN CARRAWAY CONTENTS of WATERMARK are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher.

Unsolicited article submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Although WATERMARK is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles, advertising, or listing in WATERMARK is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons or members of such organizations.

WATERMARK is published every second Thursday. Subscription rate is $55 (1st class) and $26 (standard mail).

The official views of WATERMARK are expressed only in editorials. Opinions offered in signed columns, letters and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper’s owner or management. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication.

WATERMARK is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors.

Watermark publishing group inc.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

9

central florida news

EMBRY-RIDDLE ADDRESSES STUDENT CONCERNS AFTER LGBTQ MONUMENT DEFACED Jeremy Williams

d

aytona Beach, fla. | Leadership at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. are responding to student and community outrage with a call for respect after an LGBTQ-painted monument was defaced with homophobic and transphobic phrases.

The incident occurred overnight Oct. 31 after the university’s LGBTQ organization, P.R.I.D.E., painted the campus’ Spirit Rock — a large rock the school’s groups take turns painting supporting various causes. P.R.I.D.E. painted Spirit Rock with the trans pride flag colors on one side and the rainbow pride flag colors on the other with the phrase “#WontBeErased.”

Overnight the monument was vandalized with the perpetrators blacking out the phrase except for the word “Erased.” They also wrote “Straight Pride” and “Only 2 Genders” in several spots and drew a picture of SpongeBobSquarePants holding up a giant pencil.

Following the incident, Embry-Riddle leadership sent an email to all university students saying they were investigating the matter, adding “Embry-Riddle is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive community in which students, faculty and staff can work together in an atmosphere free from all forms of discrimination and harassment.”

The email goes on to say that the university’s Spirit Rock is intended for freedom of expression, not for any hateful, abusive or bullying messages or behaviors.

“We expect messages on the Spirit Rock to be respectful of the campus and community. This past week, these guidelines were not followed. Messages on the Spirit Rock were disrespectful to members of our LGBT community,” the email read.

Several students expressed to local media they did not feel the email went far enough to address the incident, leading Embry-Riddle Assistant VP for News and Communications Ginger Pinholster to meet with reporters.

“Embry-Riddle prides itself in what we call the Eagle Spirit – that is, everyone here is expected to help everyone else here, and to look for ways to be of service. Although the defacement of our Spirit Rock was upsetting and unfortunate, it does offer an opportunity for all of us to come together and reaffirm what we stand for,” she said.

Senior staff, faculty and students from across campus also gathered at Spirit Rock as a way for leaders and students to express support and speak out against expressions of hate and intolerance, said Pinholster.

“We stand with our LGBT community,” Pinholster said. “We will not tolerate hate speech or other forms of bullying behavior. Such behaviors can result in immediate disciplinary action, including suspension.

We have asked anyone with information to please come forward.”

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progressive PUSH: State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith speaks to a crowd of supporters after winning re-election in Florida House District 49.

PHOTO BY JereMy WIllIaMS

blue Stars Voters elect a more liberal, progressive Central Florida Jeremy Williams

O

rlando | Voters called for a bluer state Nov. 6 as progressive candidates won several key races and many Democrats held onto their Central Florida Congressional and Legislative seats in the 2018 midterms.

State representative races placed a big blue dot in the middle of Florida as Rep.-Elect Geraldine Thompson, Rep.-Elect Anna Eskamani, Rep. Amy Mercado and Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith all won in their districts.

Thompson defeated Republican incumbent Robert Olszeski 51.3 percent to 48.7 percent in District 44. The district includes Orlando’s tourism hotspots and is home to Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, International Drive and the Orange County Convention Center.

Thompson previously represented the state as a member of the Florida Senate from 2012-2016.

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Eskamani defeated Republican opponent Stockton Reeves in the Florida House race for District 47. Eskamani won 57.3 percent of the vote compared to Reeves’ 42.7 percent.

Eskamani’s win flips District 47 which had been represented for the last four years by Republican Mike Miller. Miller ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in District 7 this year, but lost to Democratic incumbent Stephanie Murphy 57.7 percent to 42.3 percent.

With her win, Eskamani becomes the first Iranian-American woman lawmaker elected from Florida.

Mercado and Guillermo Smith — Districts 48 and 49, respectively — easily held onto their seats in the Florida House. Mercado defeated Republican challenger George Chandler 73.4 percent to 26.6 percent and Guillermo Smith beat his Republican opponent Ben Griffin 64.2 percent to 35.8 percent.

The wins in Districts 44, 47, 48 and 49; along with Rep. Kamia Brown in District 45 and Rep.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

Bruce Antone in District 46, place all but one Orange County state representative in the blue column.

Rep. Rene Plasencia — who won his re-election against Democrat Pam Dirschka in District 50, 55.3 percent to 44.7 percent — is the sole Republican to have any part of their district in the county.

It was more a purple night for the four U.S. House seats up for grabs in Central Florida. Along with Murphy, U.S. Rep. Darren Soto (D-9) defeated Wayne Liebnitzy 58 percent to 42 percent.

Republicans took U.S. House seats in Districts 6 and 8, with Michael Waltz beating Democratic challenger Nancy Soderberg 56.3 percent to 43.7 percent in District 6 and incumbent Bill Posey easily holding his District 8 seat against Sanjay Patel 60.5 percent to 39.5 percent.

In other Central Florida key races, current Orlando Police Department Chief John Mina became Orange County Sheriff, defeating ex-Florida Highway Patrol trooper Jose Lopez and Orlando businessman Darryl Shepard. Mina carried 45.5 percent of the vote while Sheppard took 40.7 percent and Lopez got 13.9 percent.

Susan Makowski narrowly missed becoming the first openly LGBTQ commissioner in Orange County when she lost her run for District 4 to Maribel Gomez Cordero 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent.

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11

tampa bay news JENNIFER WEBB BECOMES FIRST OPENLY LGBTQ WOMAN ELECTED TO FLORIDA LEGISLATURE Ryan Williams-Jent

epic care:

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t. petersBurg | Democrat Rep.-Elect Jennifer Webb defeated Republican Ray Blacklidge in the race to represent Florida House District 69 (HD69) Nov. 6, becoming the first openly LGBTQ woman elected to the Florida Legislature in the process.

Webb replaces Republican Kathleen Peters in representing HD69. The district includes Gulfport, Kenneth City, Madeira Beach, Pinellas Park, South Pasadena, St. Pete Beach, parts of St. Petersburg and Treasure Island.

As of Nov. 12, the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections reports that 78,363 votes were cast in the race. Webb received 41,298 to best Blacklidge’s 37,065, or 52.70 percent to his 47.30 percent.

Webb was endorsed by both statewide and national progressive organizations ahead of the election. She made access to mental health care and substance abuse programming a cornerstone of her campaign, something she advised Watermark ahead of the election can disproportionately affect the LGBTQ community due to societal rejection.

The incoming legislator also shared that she supports and hopes to sponsor Florida’s Competitive Workforce Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment, housing and public accommodations. She noted that she supports legislation banning “conversion therapy,” which purports to change a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity, opposes legislation restricting access to restrooms for transgender Floridians and supports school districts including specific protections against bullying and harassment for LGBTQ youth.

“We get better policy when we have greater diversity and more inclusion at the table,” Webb stressed.

“I am honored and privileged to represent all of our residents in HD69, and will strive to push forward our agenda for making HD69 a place where business and families can thrive together,” Webb shared with Watermark following her win. “I am proud of my voters in HD69 for casting their ballots for the best candidate regardless of who she is married to. I think it is so very important to recognize where progress is being made and biases and prejudice is being shed.”

She says she’s looking forward to working her hardest to impact HD69’s priorities in Tallahassee, noting that she’ll foster collegiality in the process. She believes “the combination will enable me to be an effective freshman legislator for my district.”

As for being one of the over 150 openly LGBTQ political candidates to win their races nationwide in the 2018 U.S. midterm election, a historic Rainbow Wave, Webb says she wouldn’t have it any other way. “It feels like family.”

“I am also grateful that my spouse, Cynthia Wurner, has the distinction of being the first same-sex spouse of a legislator, and thus will join me in our community’s book of firsts,” she adds. “This feels right. I couldn’t have done it without her.”

12

(L-R) EPIC Generations’ leadership team Steve Halstead, Susan Gore, Joy Winheim and al Perrone meet to discuss the program at EPIC’s St. Pete campus.

Photo courteSy SuSan Gore

ePIC Elders EPIC Generations coalition forms to support aging LGBTQ community Ryan Williams-Jent

S

t. petersBurg | Empath Partners in Care (EPIC), a member of Empath Health, has formed EPIC Generations—a new coalition dedicated to serving LGBTQ elders throughout Pinellas County.

EPIC Generations stems from the nonprofit’s partnership with the St. Petersburg-based Project Generations Coalition, an alliance of over a dozen elder care advocates.

It was formed by area resident Chris Almvig, one of the founding members of SAGE, the country’s oldest and largest nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ elders.

“Chris approached EPIC and asked if we had any interest in hosting their advisory committee,” EPIC Executive Director Joy Winheim recalls. “From the minute she walked in the door, her passion for this population and the need for services for LGBTQ elders was like nothing I’d ever seen.

“They were looking into writing a grant to create this elder LGBTQ program since there’s really not been anything like it in this area,” she continues. “It was a no-brainer for us.”

EPIC Generations was formed to educate the community and to respond to the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ elders. The

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organization says that many are invisible to mainstream society and even within their own LGBTQ communities—advising they’re less likely to receive support and assistance in meeting their financial, health and housing needs and are more likely to experience significant physical and mental disparities compared to non-minorities.

Susan Gore, who helped found the venture, stresses that the majority of LGBTQ seniors live alone, “unlike their heterosexual counterparts, most of whom have kids or family of other sorts. A lot of times queers don’t have family; don’t have kids, or if they do it’s not the closest of relationships.”

In health care, she adds, their needs are often not recognized and in some scenarios they’re actively discouraged. “It’s important to have culturally competent service providers,” Gore notes. “There are people who, even if they have good will, may not know how to respond or relate to someone who’s LGBTQ. Our health issues often go unmet.”

Winheim says that transparency was important when EPIC entered the partnership. “We wanted to make sure we stayed true to the vision of what this program is,” she advises.

“This is their work and we want to take that and bring it to fruition. We felt very strongly about having this

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

advisory committee and having one of those members sit on our board of directors.”

One of EPIC Generations’ first services will be to offer peer telephone reassurance. “We want to make sure those who feel isolated and lonely know that we’re here,” Winheim says.

“If they need a ride to the doctor’s office or just someone to talk to, whatever it is, we’ll have a core group of volunteers ready to make those phone calls.”

The group will also offer a wide array of social activities for LGBTQ elders. “The problem of isolation is very real for elders of all sorts, and LGBTQ elders like to hang around with our own tribe,” Gore says. “It feels safer; more comfortable, we have more in common and stories to share.”

Cultural competency training for providers and community groups about the special needs of LGBTQ elders is also planned. “The basics,” Gore explains. “What kind of language do I use? How do I know what questions to ask? How do I become more comfortable if I see two women kissing or two men holding hands?

These are basic questions for many of us, but still new turf for many in the service provision field.”

“Every single member of the community, LGBTQ or straight, at some point in their life will need home health, hospice, a nursing home, an assisted living facility or something that Empath Health offers,” Winheim says. “This is a great way to show the LGBTQ community that Empath Health cares about them.”

For more information about EPIC Generations, visit MyEPIC.org/Generations.

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13

and Vegeterian Cuisine Greek, Mediterranean,

state news

WILTON MANORS ELECTS FLORIDA’S FIRST ALL OPENLY GAY CITY COMMISSION Sallie James of the South Florida Gay News

W

ilton Manors, fla. | Voters on Nov. 6 elected Wilton Manors’ first all LGBTQ commission, choosing Justin Flippen as mayor in a landslide victory, as well as veteran politician Gary Resnick and city activist Paul Rolli as its two new commissioners.

Longtime city commissioner Scott Newton, 60, who served as mayor from 2004-2008 and commissioner from 2000-2004 and 2010 to present, was voted out. Newton, the only straight member of the commission, ran on a platform of experience. Also defeated was Katharine “Kat”

Campbell, 43, a licensed clinical social worker and mother.

Resnick said being part of an all gay city commission is significant. The victory marked his 10th in the city over the years.

“When you look at where we have come from, it’s not that long ago when we weren’t even allowed to get married or have kids,” Resnick noted. “In a relatively short amount of time, we are now accepted as people’s city officials.”

He expects the transition from mayor to commission to be smooth.“I just look forward to continuing to do what I can to help the city,” Resnick said.“I think it will be fine. When I was mayor I always treated everybody equally and I hope that will continue and look forward to continuing to work.”

Rolli, who ran a far-reaching grassroots campaign, knocked on doors and showed up at events and venues all over the city. He attributed his win to hard work and a good message.

“It’s overwhelming to win and it’s overwhelming to come in first place,” said Rolli, who was the top vote getter of all four commission candidates. “I’m very excited. I ran to win and I won.

I’m looking forward to serving all the residents.”

The election in this quirky, upscale bedroom community of nearly 13,000 residents known as the “second gayest city” in the U.S. focused on everything from strategic growth and water quality to parking and fiscal responsibility.

Flippen, 40, soundly defeated opponent Boyd Corbin, 50,

running on a platform of experience, fiscal responsibility, inclusive community values and protecting neighborhoods’ small town feel. He said he wanted to strengthen public safety, protect the city’s neighborhoods and find new ways to lower water rates.

“I am so overwhelmed and so thrilled and so happy,” Flippen said from his victory party late Tuesday at D Bar and Lounge in Wilton Manors. “I think I have a track record of being very representative of the people of Wilton Manors and their values and concerns.”

During the election, Flippen touted his longtime ties to Wilton Manors and his lifelong connection to Broward County as reasons to elect him mayor.

When he ran for office in 2014, he positioned himself as “The

People’s Commissioner,” because of his grassroots approach to public service, popular appeal and city connections.

A project manager with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Conventions and Visitors Bureau, Flippen grew up in Wilton Manors. He’s served six years on the commission — from 2008-2010 and 2014 to present.

Resnick, a lawyer who served as commissioner from 1998-2008 and mayor from 2008 to present, is Florida’s longest serving openly gay elected official.

The mayor’s post is a two-year term and the two at-large commission seats are each four-year terms.

READ IT ONLINE! Head to Watermarkonline.com and click on the Digital Publications link to a read a digital version of the printed newspaper!

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Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

nation+world news

LGBTQ CANDIDATES USHER IN HISTORICAL RAINBOW WAVE Ryan Williams-Jent

O

ver 150 openly LGBTQ political candidates won their races nationwide in the 2018 U.S. midterm election, a historic Rainbow Wave.

154 candidates declared victory in a wide array of races. Each of the candidates was endorsed by the LGBTQ Victory Fund, the national group which exclusively endorses openly LGBTQ candidates.

“From the U.S. Congress to governors’ mansions to state legislatures and city councils, we are making historic inroads and growing our political power in ways unimaginable even a few years ago,” Victory Fund President Annise Parker shared.

“An unprecedented number of LGBTQ candidates ran this year, fueled by attacks on our equality from the federal government and state legislatures, but driven by a desire to better the lives of all constituents.”

“We shattered lavender ceilings, achieved historic firsts and brought more LGBTQ representation to legislative bodies across the nation,” she continued, “which will help push equality forward. But we needed more LGBTQ candidates not just because our community needs us, but because America needs us.

“LGBTQ candidates won over independents and even Republicans to win in some of the most competitive districts in the nation, proving out LGBTQ candidates can secure big wins in tough places,” Parker shared.

“With more LGBTQ candidates in the U.S. House than ever before, we have the opportunity to finally pass equality legislation too long ignored.”

An impressive number of firsts at the state legislative level were also achieved. Only seven states had never elected an openly LGBTQ person to their state legislature prior to Nov. 6, now three.

“While our attention is often focused on Donald Trump and Congress, it is in our state legislatures where the most horrific attacks on LGBTQ equality are occurring,” Parker advised.

“We know out LGBTQ officials significantly influence the votes of their colleagues on equality issues … these leaders will be game changers.”

Transgender representation also increased nationwide.

“Trans people are still severely underrepresented in government,” Parker said. “The revolution that began last year is now becoming a regular political storyline.”

According to Parker, “these values-driven leaders are ready to fight for the issues that matter most to their constituents and they will lead with solutions, not the divisiveness that characterizes too much of our politics right now.” She added that the LGBTQ victories “will inspire more LGBTQ leaders to run for office in coming elections.”

SCOTLAND TO IMPLEMENT LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE SCHOOL CURRICULUM Ryan Williams-Jent

S

cotland touted Nov. 9 that it will become the first country worldwide to implement an LGBTQ-inclusive education curriculum across its state schools.

The announcement follows a detailed report made to Scottish Ministers by an LGBTI inclusive education working group. It listed 33 recommendations for parliament to accept in terms of creating inclusive education.

“Our education system must support everyone to reach their full potential,” Education Secretary John Swinney shared. “That is why it is vital the curriculum is as diverse as the young people who learn in our schools.”

Various age groups will be taught LGBTQ-inclusive terminology and identities, tackle homophobia and prejudice and detail the history of LGBTQ equality.

Swinney advised he intends to implement the 33 recommendations before May 2021.

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Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

viewpoint

Michael Wanzie

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF WANZIE The Center Orlando is NOT 40 years old

S

eaWorld Orlando

is 156 years old this year!

Universal Studios Florida is 96 years old this year!

Orlando’s LGBT+ Community Center—THE CENTER—is 40 years old this year!

All three of the above statements are patently false, albeit based on the same flawed logic.

While neither SeaWorld or Universal execs are claiming their companies to be as old as the statements above, it is true that executives at The Center just held a gala in celebration of their 40th anniversary. The fact of the matter is that The Center opened its doors in 1987, making it 31 years old.

Despite my multiple attempts to motivate the powers that be at The Center to correct this grave error, my pleas apparently fell on deaf ears and the gala went forward, Martha Wash and all.

Stay with me! I promise to draw a correlation between The Center and the theme parks I have referenced. Those numbers—156 and 96—are not being drawn out of thin air.

The Center opened in 1987 and that is not up for dispute. It is simply a FACT. What is true is that a different organization, unrelated to The Center, was started 40 years ago by Ann Colby and David Slaughter, and whose president at the time I came on the scene was David Bain, back in 1978. This organization was Gay Community Services (GCS).

Nine years later, independent of GCS, a group of mostly unrelated individuals opened The Center in 1987. Unlike GCS, The Center was not incorporated nor did it have 501(c)(3) charitable tax status.

When I became the second director of The Center—following in the footsteps of the wonderful Shannon Addison—I was very concerned that many of the board members of The Center and GCS were at odds with one another about whether or not The Center was stepping on the toes of GCS. Shortly after becoming The Center director, I invited David to meet with me. In our discussions we agreed that both agencies not only had mutual goals with similar mission statements, we discovered that many volunteers from both organizations were the same.

We agreed that the existence of both agencies separately was resulting in strained resources and duplicated services, and we worried of volunteer burn out. David and I moderated a series of meetings between both boards that ultimately resulted in a merger.

The Center was happily absorbed by GCS, but that in no way makes The Center 40 years old!

I will present here the very same examples I presented to the execs when I asked that they stop promoting the erroneous 40th anniversary of The Center.

SeaWorld Orlando opened in 1973. No one disputes that it’s 35 years old. If we apply the logic of The Center’s powers that be, then SeaWorld should be celebrating its 156th anniversary this year since many years AFTER the Orlando theme park opened it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch, who began brewing beer in 1852.

No one can dispute that Universal Studios opened in

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

1990. If it was to throw an anniversary gala I’m sure all would agree it’d be the theme park’s 28th. Although, using The Center logic, it would need to celebrate the 96th anniversary because years after its opening Universal was absorbed by NBC, which was incorporated back in 1922.

GCS was composed of

the recent gala, as much as I would have loved to have done so. Make no mistake; I love The Center.

I support The Center. I love the current director of The Center, George Wallace.

George is extremely effectual in his post and one of the best things to happen to that organization in years.

I consider him a dear

viewpoint column to set the record straight.

I pledge here and now that come 2027 I will volunteer the full force of my promotional and entertainment expertise to The Center’s 40th anniversary should the board elect to present one during the actual year The Center turns 40. If they elect

individuals working on a phone tree from their homes. The Center was and is a brick-and-mortal gathering place that opened its doors in 1987. The Center is not 40 years old.

The Center is 31 years old.

Period. End of story.

I was so perturbed that no one wanted to rectify this misleading information in our already fragile gay history that I did not attend

friend. However, I hate the muddying of our historical record brought about by what I see as an absurd way of quantifying the age of this organization in which I take great personal pride. I feel very strongly that to say The Center is 40 years old is an affront to the good people who actually started The Center a mere 31 years ago.

Thank you to Watermark for allowing me to utilize my

not to do so, I will produce my own 40-year celebration in 2027 and donate all proceeds to The Center.

In the meantime, if you identify with my concern over what I perceive to be distortion of our local gay history, I would entreat you to drop a respectful line to The Center asking that they properly adjust the age.

To say the Center is 40 years old is an affront to the good people who actually started The Center a mere 31 years ago.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

17

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Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

93

talking points

%

of

U.S. LGBTQ COMMUNITY

CENTERS

’sword of Damocles’ is my artistic response to what I see currently transpiring within the American government and how its collapse is affecting every aspect of existence for us all.

—Musician rufus WainWright on his latest Music video taking aiM at donald truMp.

elton John rememBers aretha franklin

at his annual aids gala

e

lton John said he stood by the stage and sobbed at his foundation’s gala last year as Aretha Franklin made her final public performance. “I was shocked to see how thin she was, and she just smiled her sweet smile at me and said, ‘I didn’t want to let you down,’” he told The Associated Press on the red carpet at this year’s party Nov. 5.

John said Franklin “gave us one of the greatest performances of our lifetime.” She died in August at age 76. From the podium, John also acknowledged Tony Bennett, who was in the audience, as another inspirational singer. “Artists like that don’t come around that often. They are dying out, and it’s such a shame because there’s no one to replace them,” the 71-year-old John told the crowd. This year’s gala raised $3.9 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which was launched in 1992.

ENGAGE EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY INFLUENCE PUBLIC POLICY. “B in

to

OF THOSE CENTERS:

31% engage at the federal leVel, 67% engage at the state leVel and 78% engage at the local leVel —centerlink’s 2018 lgBt coMMunity center survey report

‘Bohemian rhapsody’ has huge $50 million opening Weekend

ohemian Rhapsody” was the number one movie over its opening weekend Nov. 2-4, bringing in an estimated $50 million in North America and $141.7 million internationally. The film was expected to earn $35 million domestically but the Queen biopic drew in the crowds. Some critics blasted “Bohemian Rhapsody” for not spotlighting lead singer Freddie Mercury’s sexuality and AIDS diagnosis enough. Others praised the film for recreating some of Queen’s classic concert moments including their 1985 Live Aid performance. “Bohemian Rhapsody” joins Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s “A Star Is Born” as musical dramas performing better than expected this season. The Cooper-Gaga remake opened last month to glowing reviews and has earned more than $300 million at the worldwide box office.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

lush holiday campaign features ‘rupaul’s drag race’ stars

l

ush Cosmetics recruited “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alumni Kim Chi, Shea Coulee and Detox to be the faces of its new holiday campaign, “Happy DRAGmas.” Each queen recreated a makeup and outfit look based on Lush’s bath bombs, melts, bubble bars, body lotions and shower gels — which are all vegan.

The products are on sale for a limited time through Dec. 6. In promotion of the campaign, each of the queens will make in-store appearances around the U.S. in November. Chi has already made her appearance at Lush Century City in Los Angeles on Nov. 9. Detox will be at Lush Union Square in New York on Nov. 17 and Coulee at Lush Michigan Avenue in Chicago on Nov. 30.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

mtV reBooting seX anthology series ‘undressed’

M

TV is bringing back yet another classic show with its scripted anthology series “Undressed.” The series, which originally aired more than 200 episodes from 1999 to 2002, followed the sex and love lives of young adults. It was one of the few shows to feature LGBTQ storylines at the time and won a GLAAD Media Award in 2003 for Outstanding Daily Drama. Notable faces such as Christina Hendricks, Jason Ritter, Max Greenfield, Brandon Routh and Chad Michael Murray also got their big breaks from the show. Series creator and executive producer Roland Joffe is back to executive produce the new series. No air date has been revealed but the show is currently in development.

19

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

Photo by Dylan toDD

PASSION THINKING ABOUT LEAVING YOUR DAYTIME GIG AND FOLLOWING YOUR PASSION FULL TIME? THESE TWO INSPIRING INDIVIDUALS PROVE IT CAN BE DONE, WHETHER YOU’VE BEEN PINK-SLIPPED OR PUT IN YOUR NOTICE.

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W

hen i called victor

Bokas for an interview, he was in the middle of working on a five-foot-square commissioned painting for an art collector in Spain. “I could have never done this had I stayed in the corporate world,” he said to me with an incredulous half-laugh. Since being let go from his position as a senior graphic designer at Tupperware Brands in 2015, he has devoted his full energy to his craft, and it’s made all the difference.

Mandy Keyes, owner of Community Cafe in the Grand Central District of St. Petersburg, also left her corporate position as an interior designer to open a storefront on Central Avenue, the area’s main

continued on pg. 23 | uu |

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

Reinventing expression: Corporate man Victor Bokas of Orlando turned his passion to paint into a new career after parting ways with Tupperware Brands. Photo by Jake Stevens

| uu | Pursuing Passion from pg.21

thoroughfare. When I walked into the cafe for our interview, she was in the thick of taking orders, clearing tables, fielding questions – all the things you’d expect from a small-business owner – popping up at intervals during our conversation to tend to her customers. At 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday, the place was packed.

It’s working.

Whether you feel like you’re stuck in a never-ending “Office Space” time loop, or you actually

love your nine-to-five and “World’s Best Boss” mug, it’s likely you’ve got a secondary passion that isn’t your full-time gig. Maybe you love restoring vintage furniture, or planning parties, or experimenting in the kitchen. Perhaps you can’t wait to clock out so you can get home and practice your macramé skills or work on your novel.

What if you could do those things all the time and make money at them, eschewing that steady paycheck for the freelance life? Would you? Bokas and Keyes are doing just that, and according to both of them, with a little luck

and a lot of hard work, dreams can become reality.

Victor Bokas Artist, Orlando

B

okas, originally from a tiny town in the Florida panhandle called Gulf Breeze, is a successful fine-art painter and mixed-media artist.

His work is featured in five galleries around the state and in over a dozen permanent collections in Central Florida landmarks, including Orlando City Hall and the Mennello Museum of American Art. In 2000, he was also commissioned to do

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

a floor mosaic at the Orlando International Airport (MCO).

His new large-format Plexiglas mural serves as the “Welcome to Orlando” backdrop in MCO’s soon-to-open Terminal C. Bokas has always painted. He has never wanted to be anything else other than be an artist. He graduated from the University of Florida (UF) with a degree in graphic design, but took plenty of fine art classes during his coursework. “Fine art was always something I wanted to do on the side, but I never thought I’d be able to make a full-time career out of it,” he says.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

After graduating from UF, he worked at an ad agency in Pensacola, but then made his way to Orlando, where he worked for nine years as senior art director at SeaWorld. During that time, he painted at McCray Studios, which he refers to as his “therapy” from corporate America’s hustle.

“I loved being in the corporate world, but I needed a personal outlet,” he says.

He left SeaWorld in 1996, and became a senior designer at Tupperware Brands, where he was best known for his work

Continued on pg. 27 | uu |

23

24

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

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| uu | Pursuing Passion from pg.23

on the iconic brand’s catalog. “It was a hectic and stressful job, but I also found that my studio time gave me balance. It gave me the freedom to let go and let the frustrations out to make my own mark,” says Bokas.

In November of 2015, Bokas was laid off from his position.

“It was a huge shock,” he says, “I wasn’t expecting it. I had a passion for design and loved working with the other designers and photographers.” Originally, Bokas had planned on staying at Tupperware Brands until he was 60, then planned to retire and work on his art full time. “When I was laid off,” he says, “I decided to move the timeline up five years.

I know it’s cliché, but I really do believe everything happened that way for a reason. I would have never left on my own.”

Because he was working full time, there were plenty of festivals and events and opportunities he would have loved to have taken advantage of, but because of his job, there just wasn’t the time or energy to devote to them. “All of a sudden, I did have the time and energy,” he says. “When you do a gallery show, they want maybe 40 pieces of new, original work. When I was working, there was no way I could have done that.”

At the same time Bokas was laid off from his job at Tupperware Brands, his friend in Birmingham, Ala., was opening a gallery. She approached him to design the marketing imagery and name the gallery, now Canary Gallery on Second Avenue in downtown Birmingham. “Since then, I’ve had two very successful one-person shows at the gallery, and I’ll have another one in April of 2019,” says Bokas.

He’s also showing at four other galleries around the state; including Plum Gallery in St. Augustine, the Waldorf Astoria Orlando at Bonnet Creek, Dog Tired Studio &Gallery in Key West and Arts on Douglas in New Smyrna Beach, where he recently presented a show called “Greetings from Florida, Journeys to Paradise.” In that show, Bokas themed his paintings around a central idea: leaving the corporate world and finding his way back to his true calling as a full-time artist. In the show’s brochure, Bokas writes, “truly believe that

My passion for my own art was always there, but now the faucet is on full blast. This is what I’m going to do forever.

—Victor Bokas

holding firm to your dreams results in joy. I hope this exhibit inspires you find your focus, follow your passions and journey toward your dreams – your paradise, however you choose to define it.”

Mandy Keyes

Owner, Community Cafe, St. Petersburg

W

hen Mandy Keyes first started taking classes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she found interior design to be most in line with her interests. “I’m a very analytical person. I love problem-solving, and that’s probably what makes me a pretty

good small-business owner.

There are always problems to solve,” she says. After graduating from college, she got a job at a corporate interior design firm two hours north of Madison.

“I liked the job. I’m super detail-oriented and loved arranging the cubicles to make them fit,” she says. “But it was cold, and I never felt I could be myself.” Keyes says that most of the interior design firms she’s worked for were mostly full of people she couldn’t really connect with, and she kept her personal life as a queer, kinky woman a secret. “I never felt I could be authentic. I didn’t feel like I could talk about who I was outside of work at all. I certainly wasn’t

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

telling my coworkers about dressing up in crazy corsets and going dancing at the goth clubs,” she says.

At the time, Keyes was dating a woman who had planned to move to Sarasota. They ended up breaking up before the move, but Keyes used the excuse to move south to St. Petersburg, where she fell in love with the Gulf coast city.

“I love St. Pete. I don’t think I’ll ever live anywhere else,” she says.

She got a job at an interior design firm in Palm Harbor, where she designed assisted-living facilities.

“It wasn’t as technical or as detailed, so I felt like I was getting further away from what I liked in the industry to begin with,” says Keyes.

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She bought a house, and eventually was laid off in 2011, when she was 27 years old. “I was unemployed, had been broken up with and was super depressed,” she says. “It was a turbulent time.”

Keyes took a job doing residential kitchen and bath design for less than 40 hours per week, with no benefits. That’s when she started formulating the idea for Community Cafe.

Keyes’ favorite thing to do was to throw themed parties for friends she met on OK Cupid.

“I watched people who would have never met otherwise break down barriers and that was the most rewarding feeling,” she says. “I found such pleasure and fulfillment in connecting people, and that’s how I knew I needed to make building community my life.”

At the time, The Globe Cafe in the Grand Central District, St. Pete’s historically LGBTQ neighborhood, was closing, so Mandy wanted to open a place to take over the space. Originally, the idea was for a co-op, “but when it came down to the real work, most of the people on our planning committees had fallen away, but I pressed forward,” she says. To fund Community Cafe, Keyes refinanced her house and took out a $15,000 loan. She also ran a $5,000 Indie GoGo online fundraising campaign and got an investor. The extra funding helped Keyes open in a highly trafficked area of Central Avenue, a hotspot for art lovers, yogis and vintage shoppers.

Community Cafe is about to hit its fifth anniversary in December, and each year has gotten better.

“We had all losses for the first several years,” says Keyes. “It didn’t skyrocket right away. I still have a fair bit of debt that I’m working on, but every year we are more successful.” She says that, finally, she feels she works in a place where she can be her authentic, homoflexible self.

“I always felt that I was leaving work so I could go home to my normal life,” she says. “But now, I feel like I live my normal life all day every day.”

Now, she’s the co-chair of Come Out St. Pete, and sits on the board of the Grand Central District. “It’s important for me, and for my business, to reach out and not just encourage the community to come to me, but also for me to go out there and Continued on pg. 29 | uu |

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Community Passion: Tampa Bay’s Mandy Keyes is the proud owner of Community Cafe in St. Petersburg and a proud LGBTQ community member. Photo by Dylan Todd

| uu | Pursuing Passion from pg.27

make myself available to the community,” she says.

“In my personal circumstances,” says Keyes, “I had literally nothing to lose when I came up with the idea of Community Cafe. I could have found a new job in interior design, but I thought, ‘why not try this first?’” Keyes has never managed a restaurant before, let alone owned one, “but you research and work and you figure it out,” she says.

I had literally nothing to lose when I came up with the idea of Community Cafe.

I could have found a new job in interior design, but I thought, ‘why not try this first?’

—Mandy Keyes Keyes and Bokas both agree that sometimes what it takes to follow a dream is a little push.

“I wish the decision to go out on my own would have been on my terms,” says Bokas, “but it wasn’t my decision.” He credits his friends, many of whom are

also freelancers, with keeping his spirits up and pressing forward.

“It’s a new mindset. Initially it was hard to let go of a steady paycheck, and it was a difficult adjustment, but there are so many other benefits, like the opportunity to go to a museum

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

in the middle of the day or have lunch with a friend,” he says.

“I wouldn’t call this a ‘reinvention’ of myself – my passion for my own art was always there, but now the faucet is on full blast. This is what I’m going to do forever,” he says. Bokas

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

concedes that he was already an established artist, so going out on his own was easier than for many who aspire to do their passion full time. Keyes says the same, “I was fortunate to have the financial means and connections to make it happen, I know not everyone has that ability.”

But they both echo each other when offering advice to those who dream of a life outside the office: If you aren’t happy in your current situation, you have (or don’t need) the means and have another passion, just jump in feet first and give it every ounce of energy you’ve got.

29

SUNCOAST CELEBRATION You’re Invited!

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2018 • 5-8 PM

PRESENTED BY

AT THE SARASOTA MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM • 801 N TAMIAMI TRAIL, SARASOTA Equality Florida changes hearts and minds across the Sunshine State.

For more than 20 years, the organization has educated Floridians on LGBTQ issues and advocated for LGBTQ people in cities, counties, and at the state capitol.

Join us at the 2018 Suncoast Celebration to learn about this progress and what’s ahead on the journey to full LGBTQ equality!

The event’s theme, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, resonates today with the LGBTQ experience.

The film’s character, Holly Golightly, leaves the only life she knows to look for her chosen family. Many members of the LGBTQ community do the same and will be celebrating on November 18th with their own chosen families! The evening will feature live entertainment by Josh Walther & The Phase5 Band, open bars, a breakfast buffet provided by Modern Events Catering, a silent auction, and an inspiring message from Equality Florida’s CEO Nadine Smith. Also during the evening, we’ll recognize outstanding individuals who have made incredible contributions to LGBTQ equality.

Tickets are $125 in advance and $150 at the door.

No printed tickets issued. Names will be on an admission list at the door. Business attire is suggested.

R.S.V.P. and purchase tickets at

equalityflorida.org/suncoastcelebration or call 813-870-3735.

Sponsorship opportunities begin at $500. Please contact Mark Puskarich at mark@equalityflorida.org or visit equalityflorida.org/suncoastcelebration.

S TAT E W I D E S P O N S O R S

Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s LGBTQ community.

ALL NET PROCEEDS DIRECTLY BENEFIT EQUALITY FLORIDA INSTITUTE, A TAX EXEMPT 501C3 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR EQUALITY FLORIDA INSTITUTE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES AT WWW.FLORIDACONSUMERHELP.COM OR BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN FLORIDA (1.800.435.7352). REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION #CH7992.

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Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

arts and entertainment

Photo by Dylan toDD

MOVIE MEN TAMPA, ORLANDO RESIDENTS CREATE EXPANSIVE LGBTQ FILM DATABASE

I

Ryan Williams-Jent

f you can’t naMe over 1,000 lgBtQ-

focused films, Tampa Bay’s Brandon Taylor and Orlando’s Brock Cornelius would like to change that. The business partners—via the Orlando Entertainment Group, LLC—have created GayMovieDB.com, which they describe as the most comprehensive and easily navigable internet database available for films of interest to the LGBTQ community. watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Launched in June 2018, GayMovieDB seeks to detail the whole of LGBTQ representation on film and make it easily accessible for users to discover new and interesting titles. The resource highlights selections from the silver to the small screen, listing over 1,150 full-length feature films, over 50 short films, 20 television series highlighting over 70

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

continued on pg. 33 | uu |

31

Freshfromherportay lofSueSylvesteronGle andher BroadwaydebutasMis Han igani An ie,Janebrings hercomicskilsandmusicalprowes to hetheaterstage.

Starring Jane Lynch Starring Jane Lynch

Starring featuring Kate Jane Flannery Lynch & Tim Davis featuring Kate Flannery & Tim Davis & featuring Kate Flannery with The Tony Guerrero Quintet with The Tony Guerrero Quintet

Tim Davis with The Tony Guerrero Quintet

Freshfrom from portrayal Sue Sylvester on her Glee and her Fresh herher portrayal of Sueof Sylvester on Glee and Broadway debut as Miss Hannigan Annie, Jane brings Broadway debut as Miss Hannigan in Annie,inJane brings Fresh from portrayal Sue Sylvester on G her skills andher musical prowess to of the theater hercomic comic skills and musical prowess to thestage. theater stage.

Starring Jane Lynch Broadway debut as Miss Hannigan in Annie, Ja featuring Kate Flannery & Tim Davis herThe comic skills and musical with Tony Guerrero Quintet

prowess to the the

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Grab great seats today. drphillipscenter.org/janelynch

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Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

| uu | Movie Men from pg.31

seasons and including data on over 9,000 celebrities.

The project began with Cornelius, now the venture’s managing director. “I realized a while ago that this didn’t really exist,” he says. “With a background in web design, I said, ‘why don’t we just create it ourselves?’” That led him and to code the entire website and bring in Taylor, who wrote its copy and now serves as creative director.

“Brandon and I had previously collaborated on a different project, 1Heart1Pulse.com, which was an online memorial for the victims of the Pulse Orlando tragedy,” Cornelius says. “Besides that project, he’s also written multiple short stories and five full-length novels; I trust he knows what he’s doing!”

“My business partner is also my best friend,” Taylor adds. “He started this, made sure he could do it exactly as he envisioned and then got me involved.

I compare it to the Internet Movie Database but strictly for LGBTQ movies; that’s the easiest way to explain it.”

The site’s goal is to shine a spotlight on rare and often difficult to find LGBTQ films and make them accessible to larger audiences, LGBTQ and non.

Its content is discoverable in a number of ways: guests and a growing number of registered users can access selections by browsing full-length movies, short films, television shows or celebrities. They can search using any of those perimeters, by genre or specifically for film trailers.

Titles can also be filtered based on a user’s particular interests.

There are sub-sections for content featuring gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender themes—or visitors can narrow content by filtering for selections featuring bears, drag and more.

Taylor says GayMovieDB’s importance lies beyond its penchant for entertainment, however. “If I had access to something like this when I was younger I wouldn’t have been so scared to come out,” he says.

“I was outed and it did not make my life easy.

“Seeing that being LGBTQ is more acceptable in today’s world can definitely help younger generations,” he continues. “A website like this exposes the

possibilities of what can happen after you come out.”

Films are chosen based on their level of LGBTQ inclusivity and representation; they have to feature an LGBTQ plot, subplot or characters. Each entry is rated by its Queer Factor, GayMovieDB’s proprietary system for scoring how much of a title’s content is relevant to LGBTQ issues.

The score is determined by the website’s creators and registered users.

Each film receives a one through six, represented by a different color of the LGBTQ rainbow. If a title has only a small LGBTQ subplot, the duo advises, it would score a one on the scale

creators to submit their own short films to be featured amongst the listings. “There are so many undiscovered works,” Taylor says, “like student films from colleges.

I’ve used the website to discover so many new options.”

Many other features are forthcoming, he says, like the expansion of its film festival listing. Area celebrations like the Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival are featured to allow organizers to specify their event’s selections and venues, or even to purchase tickets. The duo is also hard at work on the database’s forthcoming companion site, GayBookDB.com—highlighting

There are so many quality short films as well as full-length features that have never gained traction in the LGbTQ community. This makes it easy to discover films that the community may not previously have had a way to find. I want people to know they’re out there.

—gayMoviedB creative director Brandon taylor and receive only the color red. If over 80 percent of the title’s plot is related to LGBTQ interests, it would receive a six—represented by red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple; the full range of colors.

“If there’s one gay character in the film, it would be a red,” Taylor emphasizes. “If it’s full-on ‘Queer as Folk,’ it’s a six.” He adds that the ratings are not indicative for how good or bad a title may be; users can independently review and save films from their respective pages or on the website’s message boards and forums.

While the site features higher-profile films like 2018’s “Love, Simon”—a favorite of Taylor’s detailed in his five favorite selections—GayMovieDB also seeks to emphasize lesser-known titles. The database allows content

LGBTQ literature.

The majority of titles in the website’s database are available for rent or purchase across multiple platforms, Taylor adds, including iTunes, Amazon and Google Play. Those looking to support the venture can access GayMovieDB’s affiliate links. “It’s the easiest way to support us,” the website reads, “and leaves the site free of advertisements.”

“We realized this is a database that will be very helpful for the LGBTQ community,” Taylor says.

“There are so many quality short films as well as full-length features that have never gained traction in the LGBTQ community. This makes it easy to discover films that the community may not previously have had a way to find.

I want people to know they’re out there.”

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

FAVORITE FL CKS

CREATIVE DIRECTOR BRANDON TAYLOR PROVIDES HIS FIVE FAVORITE LGBTQ FILMS FEATURED ON GAYMOVIEDB.COM, AS PRESENTED ON THE DATABASE.

SHELTER (2007)

ACTION, DRAMA, ROMANCE RATING: 8/10 | QUEER FACTOR: 6 Forced to give up his dreams of art school, Zach works dead-end jobs to support his sister and her son. Questioning his life, he paints, surfs and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe.

When Gabe’s older brother returns home for the summer, Zach suddenly finds himself drawn into a relationship he didn’t expect.

GEOGRAPHY CLUB (2013)

COMEDY, DRAMA, ROMANCE RATING: 7/10 | QUEER FACTOR: 6 At Goodkind High School, a group of students of varying sexual orientation form an after-school club a as a discrete way to share their feelings and experiences.

AKRON (2015)

DRAMA, FAMILY, ROMANCE RATING: 8/10 | QUEER FACTOR: 6 Benny, a college freshman at the University of Akron, Ohio meets and falls for fellow freshman Christopher at a football game. With the support of their families and friends they embark on a new relationship. But a tragic event in the past involving their mothers soon comes to light and threatens to tear them apart.

HIDDEN KISSES (2016)

FOREIGN, DRAMA, TV MOVIE RATING: 8/10 | QUEER FACTOR: 6

Nathan, 16, lives alone with his father Stephane. A newcomer in high school, he is invited to a party and falls in love with Louis, a boy in his class. They find themselves out of sight and kiss each other, but someone takes a picture of them.

Soon, the photo is published on Facebook and a storm overtakes their lives as they face bullying and rejection.

LOVE, SIMON (2018)

COMEDY, DRAMA, ROMANCE RATING: 9/10 | QUEER FACTOR: 6

Everyone deserves a great love story. But for seventeen-year old Simon Spier it’s a little more complicated: he’s yet to tell his family or friends he’s gay and he doesn’t actually know the identity of the anonymous classmate he’s fallen for online.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

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603 Virginia Drive

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

407.403.0880

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Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

603 Virginia Drive

407.403.0880

jake@jacobdickson.com

dance

A Perfect 10

Orlando Ballet Artistic Director Robert Hill celebrates a decade on the job

(above)

King of the Hill:

Orlando Ballet’s Artistic Director for a decade, Robert Hill.

Photo courtesy Orlando Ballet

A

Christen Kelley

fter a successful stint as a

ballerina, the time finally came for Robert Hill to retire. He then turned his passion for ballet into a new career: teaching it.

In January, Hill will be celebrating his 10-year anniversary as artistic director at the Orlando Ballet company, where he has transformed classic pieces into modern performances anyone can enjoy.

“It’s kind of amazing, I can’t believe 10 years have gone by on one hand. On the other hand, look at how much has been accomplished,” Hill says. “The organization is functioning at an all-time high, in terms of camaraderie, in terms of functionality and really being recognized as one of the really important arts organizations in Central Florida.”

Hill says the growth of the ballet can be seen in their latest

development; the $12 million Harriett’s Orlando Ballet Center that underwent construction last month.

The center was named after the late philanthropist Harriett Lake, who donated most of the funds to build it. She was known in the Orlando community for her special appreciation for the arts. The school, rehearsal halls and administrative offices that are currently separated across town will be united at the new center in Loch Haven Cultural Park upon its completion in 2019.

Hill says being in one building will make it easier to bring the community quality productions while saving money as well. They’ve experienced financial difficulties in

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

the past, as many nonprofits do, but Hill says the Orlando Ballet is seeing better days.

“We’re definitely way beyond all that,” he says. “We’re in the black and we intend to stay there.”

One of the biggest challenges the ballet faces, Hill says, is keeping it relevant to younger audiences.

He does this by reinventing classic pieces, such as their upcoming annual rendition of “The Nutcracker,” showing Dec. 7-16.

“One thing is to take those long, four-hour ballets with three intermissions and cut it down to a two-act with one intermission, which is essentially what I did with ‘Swan Lake,’” he says. “‘The Nutcracker’ we do at much speedier tempos to keep it vibrant and alive and not allow it to become ponderous.”

The Orlando Ballet also hosts Uncorked at The Abbey Downtown, where they show the whole choreography process, up close and personal. Hill says Uncorked is attracting audiences who wouldn’t normally consider seeing a traditional ballet performance.

“I think that when people realize that these are athletes it really changes their whole perspective,” Hill says. “So we do a lot of work to make it very accessible to new audiences and at the same time remain with a great deal of integrity relative to the tradition.”

Hill says over the years their audiences have changed, and as they reach new people they are continuing to do so. “There was a very sort of limited aspect of the community that was our fanbase when I first arrived, and I know that we have reached out to the LGBTQ community and much more diverse audiences,” he says. “So all of that is part of the mission.”

Arcadian Broad is the resident artist and lead dancer at the Orlando Ballet. For the last seven years, he’s worked directly under Hill, sharing artistic responsibilities such as choreography.

Broad says Hill runs the ballet with a special form of perfectionism, giving feedback in a kind and constructive way. “He will definitely make sure he gets it the way he

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envisions it,” Broad says. “But he does it in a very cordial and caring way that’s very collaborative and just fun.”

Growing up in the Orlando ballet scene allowed Broad to see the company’s growth and effect on the community under Hill’s leadership.

“Ever since Robert has come here, he’s been able to kind of level everything out and find a balance again. Not only is it just balancing, it’s starting to really rise up and go into the direction that would make it a major ballet company rather than a regional company,” Broad says. “The city of Orlando has embraced the art of ballet and so you have to do what you can to get everyone in the door, and then from there you all just kind of go on a journey together.”

As for the next decade at the Orlando Ballet, Hill says he wants the company to emulate Broadway in more ways than one. He says they’re on a mission to become the first classical ballet company in the country to use completely digital production elements, like many Broadway shows do now.

He also hopes the company can create brand new works, such as dance-driven musicals that might have a shot at a Broadway run after premiering locally. Until then, Hill plans on sticking to his roots in the Orlando community to deliver unique performances.

“I want people to feel like they don’t have to go to New York to get high quality ballet. I want people, in the age of technology and smartphones, computers and everything digital, to come out and be social with other people in the theater and experience something that you’re only going to experience once,” he says, “and hopefully be transported away from their woes and come away with a warm feeling.”

The Orlando Ballet is “Celebrating a Decade of Excellence” from Robert Hill with its 2018-19 season at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. It features a combination of classic and new works, live music on several programs and original choreography. The ballet presents “The Nutcracker” Dec. 7-16, “Bailamos!” Feb. 15-17, “Peter & the Wolf” March 30-31 and “Arcadian Broad’s Wonderland: Mad Tales of the Hatter” April 26-28. Tickets are available by calling 407-418-9828 or by visiting OrlandoBallet.org.

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community calendar

eVent planner ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

central florida

central florida

Ron Miles in: An Evening of Inappropriate Covers

lucas Dell, Nov. 16, Southern Nights, Orlando.

407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsOrlando

end of the road

Black Haus: Cult, Nov. 16, Stonewall Bar, Orlando. 407-373-0888; StonewallOrlando.com Dapper Day Fall Florida Outings, Nov. 16-18, Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista. 407-939-5277; DisneyWorld.Disney.go.com “avenue Q,” Nov. 16-Dec. 1, Annie Russell Theatre, Winter Park. 407-646-2145; Rollins. edu/Annie-Russell-Theatre “Winter Wonderettes,” Nov. 16-Dec. 16, Winter Park Playhouse, Winter Park. 407-645-0145; WinterParkPlayhouse.org Kameron Michaels, Nov. 17, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com Clermont Comic Con, Nov. 18, Clermont Performing Arts Center, Clermont. 352-394-4800; ClermontComicCon.com Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, Nov. 19, King Center for the Performing Arts, Melbourne. 321-242-2219; KingCenter.com oWl (older Wiser learning) Game Day, Nov. 22, LGBT+ Center, Orlando. 407-228-8272; TheCenterOrlando.org

Musical icon elton John brings his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour to the Amway Center in Orlando Nov. 27 and to the Amalie Arena in Tampa Nov. 28. Photo courteSy eltonJohn.coM

sunday, nov. 18, 6:30-7:45 p.M. the starlite rooM at savoy, orlando Ever want to sing completely inappropriate songs in front of a bunch of strangers? Come see local favorite Ron Miles and friends take you on a fun, filthy journey through music. Material for (im)mature audiences, no one under 18 admitted. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Eventbrite.com and search Ron Miles.

Transgender Day of Remembrance tuesday, nov. 20, 7:30-9 p.M. Multicultural student center, university of central florida Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on Nov. 20 that honors the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

Join the UCF community to observe these lives with a candlelight vigil and speakers. More information can be found at SJA.SDES.UCF.edu/MSC.

tampa Bay “randy rainbow” live, Nov. 29, Hard Rock Live, Orlando.

407-351-5483; HardRock.com/ Live/Locations/Orlando

employee turnabout, Nov. 17, Quench Lounge, Largo. 727-754-5900; QuenchLounge.com

night Shift: an experiment, Nov. 29, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando. 407-896-4231; OMArt.org

Suncoast Softball league Giving Day, Nov. 18, Greco Softball Complex, Tampa. 813-989-7600; SuncoastSoftball.org

tampa Bay 2018 trans Fashion expo, Nov. 17, MCC Tampa, Tampa. 727-321-3854; MetroTampaBay.org

national theatre live: “king lear” starring Sir Ian McKellen, Nov. 24, Enzian Theater, Maitland.

407-629-1088; Enzian.org

Kathleen Madigan, Nov. 17, Capitol Theatre, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RuthEckerdHall.com

elton John: Farewell yellow Brick Road, Nov. 27, Amway Center, Orlando. 407-440-7000; AmwayCenter.com

lucas Dell, Nov. 17, Southern Nights, Tampa.

813-559-8625; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsTampa

“hello Dolly!” starring Betty Buckley, Nov. 27Dec. 2, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org

Pride-Zoo-la: an evening at Zootampa, Nov. 17, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, Tampa.

813-935-8552; TampaPride.org

transgender Day of Remembrance Service, Nov. 18, King of Peace MCC, St. Petersburg. 727-323-5857; ChurchStPetersburg.org Holidays in the Sunshine City: Santa Parade & tree lighting, Nov. 24, Downtown Waterfront, St. Petersburg. 727-893-7111; StPete.org Dave Koz and Friends Christmas, Nov. 24, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RuthEckerdHall.com

Sunday Showtune Sing-along with Miss McGee, Nov. 25, Punky’s Bar and Grill, St. Petersburg. 727-201-4712; PunkysBar.com “the holiday revue,” Nov. 24-26, Carrollwood Players, Tampa. 813-265-4000; CarrollwoodPlayers.org elton John: Farewell yellow Brick Road, Nov. 28, Amalie Arena, Tampa. 813-301-6500; AmalieArena.com

Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil tuesday, nov. 20, 6:30-8:30 p.M. sunshine senior center, st. petersBurg The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) candlelight processional starts at the Sunshine Senior Center and will end at the steps of St. Petersburg City Hall. Several guests of honor, including members of the transgender community, its allies and local leaders, will speak at the event. Candles will be provided, but please bring your own if possible. More information can be found on the St. Petersburg TDOR Facebook page.

sarasota Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, Nov. 17, Van Wezel Performing arts Hall, Sarasota.

941-953-3368; VanWezel.org “the Music Man,” Nov. 17-Dec. 29, Asolo Repertory Theater, Sarasota.

941-351-8000; AsoloRep.org Michael l. Walters and Dame edna, Nov. 18-19, Venice Theater, Venice. 941-488-1115; VeniceStage.com

sarasota

2018 Suncoast Celebration sunday, nov. 18, 5-8 p.M. Municipal auditoriuM-recreation cluB, sarasota Join Equality Florida for the largest LGBTQ celebration in Sarasota. The evening will feature live entertainment, open bars, a breakfast buffet provided by Modern Events Catering, a silent auction and more. Dr. Fred and Lee Brockman and Dorothy Neufeld will be the guests of honor.

Tickets are $125 online and $150 at the door. RSVP and purchase tickets at EQFL.org/suncoastcelebration.

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

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Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

37

jjoin oin us this Ch Christmas season as we “prepare the way” sundays at 10 am

A VERY BARRY CHRISTMAS

December 2 - “Stand” December 9 - “Refine” December 16 - “Do” December 23 - “Welcome” December 30 - ”Search”

join us christmas eve at 8 pm jo King of Peace MCC 3150 5th Avenue North St. Petersburg, FL 33713 churchstpetersburg.org | 727-323-5857

T A M P A

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 A M W A Y

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

christmas tapestry Saturday, December 8, 2018 7pm Sunday, december 9, 2018 7pm a love offering will be taken King of peace mcc 3150 5th avenue north st. petersburg, Fl 33713 www.churchstpetersburg.org 727-323-5857

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

overheard

tampa Bay out+aBout

forWard fashion

M

etro Wellness and coMMunity centers, can coMMunity health and the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital will present the second annual Trans Fashion Expo at Metropolitan Community Church Tampa Nov. 17 from 12 – 6 p.m.

LGBTQ+ veterans, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are invited to step into the inclusive space for the free event. They’ll learn more about available resources from local community leaders, advocates and vendors as they participate in raffles and select clothing from a full, professional boutique of attire in a safe and affirming venue.

“This event is important because many trans individuals don’t have access to clothing that aligns with their gender identity,” Metro Trans Services Division Manager Lucas Wehle says. “We recognize that developing a professional wardrobe is the first step in paving the path for a successful career.

We are happy to connect community members to resources they need.”

“People can come in and get professional attire at no cost to them,” Metro LGBTQ+ Program Manager Cole Foust adds. “There’s no limit; we’ve really worked together as a community to collect donations.”

Multiple workshops will also be offered. Topics include breathing techniques, interviewing skills, resume building, social justice, financial health, styling tips and more. For more information, email TransCommunity@MetroTampaBay.org.

end of an era

H

aMBurger Mary’s and Mary’s puB house taMpa perManently closed nov. 6.

“It is with great regret that [owner] Kurt King and Brian DeChane must announce that tonight will be the last day/night that Hamburger Mary’s Bar and Grill and Hamburger Mary’s Pub House in Ybor City will be open,” King shared.

“We, along with our Management Team and dedicated staff, have done our best to keep Mary’s doors open for nine years, but the latest challenge over the last couple of weeks has proven to be too much to overcome,” he continued. “It was our pleasure to serve the entire community whether it was a safe place to come and enjoy a meal amongst friends or a place to hold your community fundraisers.”

King noted Hamburger Mary’s was proud of its staff and greatly appreciative of their hard work. “We wish to thank our customers and the full Ybor/Tampa community for all of your support,” he wrote.

The announcement followed a brief closure.

The Florida Dept. of Health in Hillsborough County identified a positive case of Hepatitis A, a liver infection, and offered vaccinations to anyone who frequented the establishment Oct. 4 – 20.

The Hepatitis scare was not limited to Hamburger Mary’s. As of late Oct., Hillsborough County reported 36 reported cases, Pinellas County, 58 cases and Pasco County, 33. King’s announcement was signed by him, DeChane and the entire staff. “Remember!

Eat, Drink and BE Mary!” it concluded.

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playhouse in the park: The Venice Theatre’s kristofer Geddie (L) and Brad Wages share their stories with attendees at the inaugural Venice Pride Nov. 3.

Photo by ryan WIllIaMS-Jent

2

friendly faces: Monica caldwell (L) and nancy Morgan pick up Watermark’s Sarasota Living with Pride at G2H2 Sarasota’s November social at the Friendship Centers. PHOTO by ruSS MartIn

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unerased: Entertainer Te Monet, Equality Florida’s nadine Smith and Metro’s kiala emmons speak at the “We Won’t Be Erased” transgender support rally at Williams Park Nov. 4.

Photo by ryan WIllIaMS-Jent

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#WMflaMBoyance: Chad Mueller (L) and Babi Charming grab a photo at Watermark’s photo studio at Flamingo Nov. 4. PHOTO

by ryan WIllIaMS-Jent

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they voted: (L-R) Sharron Wright, Mike Callahan and Stephanie Callahan attend Enigma’s election night watch party Nov. 6. Photo by ryan WIllIaMS-Jent

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liBrary is open: (L-R) Geri eaton, Heather Fontaine, ashley Brundage, nathan bruemmer and Simone azar attend the opening of “Transcending Gender” at the Gulfport Public Library’s LGBTQ Resource Center Nov. 1. Photo by ryan

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WIllIaMS-Jent

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fashion police: Metro’s Cole Foust (L) and lucas Wehle dish on the second annual Trans Fashion Expo with Watermark at Metro St. Pete Nov. 9. Photo by ryan

WIllIaMS-Jent

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party tiMe: Metro COO Priya Rajkumar and her father eddie celebrate the organization’s PeaCocktail Party fundraiser at Stetson University Nov. 10. PHOTO BY

ryan WIllIaMS-Jent

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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www.NationsLandscaping.com

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Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

overheard

central florida out+aBout

michael farmer is moVing on

e

Quality florida is losing one of its star players. Statewide Deputy Development Director Michael Thomas Farmer announced via Facebook that he will be leaving the statewide equality organization on Nov. 30.

“When I started working at Equality Florida nearly 10 years ago, I never could have imagined where I, and we, would be today,” Farmer wrote. “It’s been the honor of my life to have been part of the leadership team at Equality Florida. Although at times the work was daunting, trying and challenging, the rewards of the work far outweighed any of the cons.”

Farmer joined Equality Florida in 2009 as the organization’s Safe Schools Policy and GSA Network Coordinator, training hundreds of students and teachers across the state on best practices for making schools safe for LGBTQ youth. That was a perfect role for Farmer since, at the age of 17, he and a group of friends started a GSA at the conservative Apopka High School.

Farmer is moving on to Compassion & Choices, a national organization that works to improve patient rights and individual choice at the end of life, including access to medical aid in dying. Its primary function is advocating for and ensuring access to end-of-life options.

“I have been so fortunate,” Farmer wrote, “not only to have been born at the time in our history where so much of the foundational work in our movement had already been laid – and to think I may have played even some small part in carrying the torch to the next warrior, is humbling.”

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let’s go to the mall

l

ocal theatre teacher and founder of penguin point productions, James Brendlinger, is raising money to expand his company through GoFundMe. Penguin Point Productions announced a new home in Oviedo mall and will be opening on Jan. 7, 2019. Multiple storefronts in the mall are being used to create a working studio theatre, costume shop and arts classrooms. Penguin Point Productions was founded in 2005 in Winter Park to help high school students bridge gaps between education and community theatre, according to their website.

The company provides performing arts education and resources from people of all ages. It is staffed by multiple certified teachers and they offer after school, weekend and summer camp programs for students grade 2-12. The company covers educational topics ranging from theater arts, vocal and instrumental music, arts leadership, dance, playwriting, costuming, visual arts and more. The company also has an extensive costume shop where local theatres, churches, schools and community groups can borrow costumes through a membership.

The GoFundMe page has brought in over $8,000 so far. The money raised will be used to renovate the mall space, a dance floor, new flooring for the classrooms, lighting and sound equipment. You can donate at GoFundMe.com/ Penguin-Point-Productions.

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center celeBration: (L-R) Blue Star, Tymisha Harris and Gadiel vazquez after performing at The LGBT+ Center’s 40th anniversary concert at The Plaza Live Nov. 3. PHOTO BY JereMy WIllIaMS

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orlando eMpire: “Empire” star Jussie Smollett attends the Equality Florida Gala at the Orlando Museum of Art Nov. 2. Photo by JereMy WIllIaMS

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victory puB: Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy addresses her supporters at An Tobar Irish Pub in Maitland Nov. 6 after winning re-election to the U.S. House.

Photo by MelanIe ararat

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proud Queen: ashley Satine performs at the Sanford Pride street festival in Sanford Nov. 3. PHOTO BY JereMy WIllIaMS

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sister, sister: Rep. anna eskamani (R) and twin sister Ida eskamani take a moment to rest their feet after finding out Anna is the new state representative for Florida House’s District 47. PHOTO

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courteSy IDa eSkaManI

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for the kids: Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs speaks during the Orlando Youth Empowerment Summit for LGBTQ youth at Valencia College’s West Campus Nov. 3. Photo by MelanIe ararat

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DavID roDrIGueZ

Photo courteSy carloS GuIllerMo SMIth

coMMunity leaders: David Rodriguez (L) and Dareile Keon represent Impulse Group Orlando at Valencia College for OYES. Photo courteSy

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i’M With hiM: State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (L) and fiancée Jerick Mediavilla remind voters who they are voting for outside the Alafaya Library Nov. 3.

8 watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

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Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

announcements

Wedding Bells ENGAGEMENT DATE:

dec. 25, 2016

Jason Lowe and rami Ayoub from Orlando, Florida

WEDDING DATE:

Sept. 23, 2018

VENUE:

the omni Grove park inn, asheville, n.C.

COLORS:

Modern rustic autumn palette: mango orange, warm purple, seasonal berries

WEDDING SONG/ ARTIST:

“You are the reason”

by Calum Scott & leona lewis

LIVE MUSICIAN:

Benjamin J. Warner, acoustic guitar

CATERER:

Sunset terrace, the omni Grove park inn

OFFICIANT:

rev. katrina evans, destination elopements

CAKE BAKERY:

emarirhyens, Master Baker at the omni Grove park inn

CAKE/CUPCAKE FLAVORS:

Vanilla marble cake with damson plum preserves filling

THEME:

Modern autumn in the mountains

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Jen Yuson photography

Photo by Jen yuSon PhotoGraPhy

“O

ur first date Was on

Feb. 3, 2013, which happened to be Super Bowl Sunday,” Rami Ayoub shares about meeting his now-husband Jason Lowe. “After chatting back and forth for over a month, we finally met at Spice downtown [Orlando]; a brief Super Bowl stop with friends for Beyonce’s halftime show and off to live music at the Peacock Room, a venue we miss often.”

Ayoub, who works as assistant manager at Cedars Restaurant in Orlando, grew up in Damascus, Syria. His husband, Lowe, is employed as senior vice president of CCMC, Inc. He hails from Greensboro, N.C. They now live together in Orlando.

Ayoub and Lowe both share the moment they knew they had found the one.

“When shopping for a gift for Rami one year, some mother-of-pearl Dunhill cufflinks caught my eye as we had previously talked about getting some for an upcoming formal event,” Lowe shares. “I decided to get them engraved and knew one day

we would wear them at our wedding. We did.”

Ayoub followed. “A couple of years ago, Jason lost one of his closest friends. Every day while he battled illness, I watched Jason care for him to a level that exceeded any other experience I had since I moved to the U.S. The day he spoke at his friend’s memorial service I saw in his eyes the amount of love, devotion and loyalty he carried for those dear to him.

I knew he’s all I’m looking for — and more.”

Lowe was the one to surprise Ayoub with a ring at the very bottom of his Christmas stocking in 2016, along with a matching Tiffany blue candy cane. Of course Ayoub said yes.

The couple traveled to Asheville, N.C., for the big day.

“We stepped out for a quick brunch in beautiful Asheville before the craziness of the day kicked off,” Ayoub says. “As we’re leaving, our server asked what we were up to that day; we said, ‘We’re getting married today!’ She said, pointing at her rainbow rubber bracelet, “OMG, congratulations! Me and my girl oughta do that too, as soon as she gets her ass in gear!’ I hope one day to go back and find out that she actually did ‘put a ring on it,’ too!”

Ayoub and Lowe were surrounded by family and friends while exchanging vows; Ayoub designed the wedding cake. It was an emotional day for all involved.

“We wrote our own personal vows, which we decided not to share in advance. There was laughter, some tears, and immense joy,” Lowe says.

“Afterward our families, the officiant, the musician and the hosts of the venue all told us separately that they were the most beautiful vows they had ever heard.”

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS

Sarasota activist and GAIN member Bart Coyle, Tampa-based Serious Satellite’s Out Q news freelancer Mike Wells (Nov. 15); The Closing Agent and The 49 Fund founder Barry Miller (Nov. 16); ray Sickles, AKA Sarasota diva Angelique Monet, MBA Orlando executive director Kellie Rae Parkin (Nov. 17); Lithia equestrian expert James Meeks, Orlando Gay Chorus tenor and sky hostess Todd Michael Hayes (Nov. 18); Orlando Gay Chorus belter Pattie noah, local photographer brian becnel, the Venue’s Jackie lewin, real estate agent neil Payne, former Watermark intern valentina Sofia, Frank Piscopo AKA Tampa Bay entertainer lady liemont (Nov. 19); Orlando hair artist Dale Dees, Equality Florida Pinellas Development Director Todd Richardson, make-up artist Timothy Spivey, Honey Pot show director Toby Brees, Punky’s Owner lynn Deiber (Nov. 20); Enigma St. Pete bartender Michael ackeret, Orlando chef Chris Bean, Tampa Bay concert aficionado Dwayne McFarlane (Nov. 21); Orlando activist nicki Drumb, Keller-Williams realtor Steve Glose, Tampa swimwear designer la’Daska Mechelle, charity-driven Ybor resident Mike Hammonds, Tampa Hospice’s admissions manager Peter Shute, Pom Pom’s Orlando server alexis astolfi (Nov. 22); Tampa actress lauren clark, Tampa Bay sisters member John Miller, State Rep. linda Stewart (Nov. 23); Orlando lawyer ed blaisdell, drag legend Rich Kuntz, AKA Gidget Galore, Central Florida actor Mickey lewis (Nov. 24); onePULSE Foundation founder Barbara Poma (Nov. 25); St. Petersburg nurse ed briggs, Pandora Events CEO alison burgos, USA Today reporter and former Watermark intern Christal Hayes (Nov. 26); St. Petersburg actor Ken basque (Nov. 27); former HRC president Joe Solmonese, Tampa Bay chef Paege chafin, Project No Labels Copywriter Stefanie Reynolds (Nov. 28).

DO YOU HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT? HAVING A BIRTHDAY OR ANNIVERSARY? DID YOU GET A NEW JOB OR PROMOTION? See your news in Watermark! Send your announcement to editor@Watermarkonline.com or go to Watermarkonline.com/Submit-a-transition.

IT’S THAT EASY!

—Aaron Drake

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

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

47

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 15 - Nov emb er 28 , 2018 // Issue 25. 2 3

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49

Choose to go the extra mile.

At Orlando Health UF Health Cancer Center, we’ve

streamlined the lung cancer screening process. So, you can schedule an appointment at your convenience.

You should be screened for lung cancer if you meet these conditions: • Are between 55 and 77 years old • Have no symptoms of lung cancer • Have a smoking history of more than one pack per day for over 30 years • Currently smoke or quit less than 15 years ago

To learn more, visit OrlandoHealthCancer.com/LungScreening