Watermark Issue 30.14: One Hug at a Time

ONE HUG AT A TIME

FREE MOM HUGS FLORIDA EMBRACES EVERYONE

Orlando VA continues to offer gender-affirming care

St. Pete restaurant Zoie’s permanently closes

in every state. Not only will you find resources to support your child, but you will also find resources to support you with the joy and the friendships you find, I call

– LAURA CAMPBELL, CHAPTER LEADER OF FREE MOM HUGS FLORIDA

June is a very busy month for our community, which means it’s a very busy time here at Watermark. Major events begin on its first weekend with Gay DayS and more in Orlando, continuing through June 30 with the month-long St Pete Pride.

A plethora of other outings happen in-between, smaller in scale but no less important. Every Pride has the possibility to be someone’s first, an exciting step into authenticity we all deserve to experience. I try to remember that whenever I’m a little tired. Playing any part in that is a gift, and I do realize that participating in LGBTQ+ events all month is a great “problem” to have. It’s just that while the

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extrovert in me loves connecting with the community, the introvert in me sure does love July.

The end of June typically comes as a relief for another reason, too, one Americans who belong to less marginalized communities probably can’t relate to. It’s when the Supreme Court’s term is scheduled to end.

SCOTUS begins their term in October, with sessions continuing through the end of June or sometimes into early July. LGBTQ+ civil rights usually find their way onto their docket in one form or another, some more obvious than others, casting a cloud over equality until the rulings are revealed. Major

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decisions have been handed down in June for my entire adult life.

One win came in 2003. SCOTUS ruled that criminal punishment for sexual activity between consenting, same-sex Americans was unconstitutional.

A decade later, the court found that to be true of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Obergefell v. Hodges came two years later, bringing marriage equality to the nation.

In 2020, the court ruled LGBTQ+ workers were protected under civil rights law. It was a major victory, but things changed after that. Under Donald Trump, the twice-impeached former president now facing federal prosecution, the court became a conservative majority.

HE END OF JUNE IS ALWAYS A mixed bag for me. On one hand, I’m sad to see so much overtly LGBTQ+ joy come to an end — but on the other, it’s a bit of relief that things start to slow down a little.SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade last year, reversing nearly 50 years of precedent that protected the American right to have an abortion. This June, the court struck down affirmative action in higher education and ruled against President Joe Biden’s student debt relief program, a column unto itself.

SCOTUS also closed Pride month with an explicitly anti-LGBTQ+ ruling, finding 6-3 that a website designer had the right to refuse service to LGBTQ+ couples. It sets a dangerous precedent, one best described in the dissent by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

“Today is a sad day in American constitutional law and in the lives of LGBT people,” she wrote. “The Supreme Court of the United States declares that a particular kind of business, though open to the public, has a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class ... The immediate, symbolic effect of the decision is to mark gays and lesbians for second-class status.”

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It’s all maddening, but not entirely surprising. Republicans knew exactly what they were doing when they elected Trump, positioning him to stack the court with anti-LGBTQ+ conservatives for outcomes just like this. It’s just one of the many reasons I was proud to support Hillary Clinton.

I hope this June serves as a reminder that the fight for LGBTQ+ rights extends well beyond Pride month, especially into November. Please make sure you and everyone you know is registered to vote at Vote.org.

In this issue we highlight an organization working for LGBTQ+

I hope this June serves as a reminder that the fight for LGBTQ+ rights extends well beyond Pride month, especially into November.

acceptance year-round, Free Mom Hugs Florida. We speak with volunteers who are making a difference throughout the state.

In Tampa Bay news, Zoie’s announces their permanent closure while another LGBTQ+ restaurant makes news in Central Florida. A judge halts the enforcement of Florida’s anti-drag law in response to Hamburger Mary’s Orlando’s lawsuit.

In arts and entertainment, we check in with Nurse Blake ahead of his comedy tour. We also rock out with Divine AF.

Watermark strives to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. Please stay safe, stay informed and enjoy this latest issue.

ORLANDO OFFICE

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TEL: 407-481-2243

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REV. JAKOB

HERO-SHAW

is the Senior Pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa. He and his husband are the proud parents of two teenagers. Page 17

DEBORAH BOSTOCK

-KELLEY reviews theatre for Broadway World and other outlets and runs The WriteOne Creative Services. She is an ally, wife, mom and Tampa native. Learn more at TheWriteOneCS.

com. Page 23

HOLLY KAPHERR ALEJOS, SABRINA AMBRA, ABBY BAKER, STEVE BLANCHARD, DEBORAH BOSTOCK-KELLEY, JOHNNY BOYKINS, NATHAN BRUEMMER, BIANCA GOOLSBY, JAKOB HERO-SHAW, LORA KORPAR, JASON LECLERC, JERICK MEDIAVILLA, MELODY MAIA MONET, TIFFANY RAZZANO, GREG STEMM, SYLVIE TREVENA, DR. STEVE YACOVELLI, ANGELIQUE YOUNG, MICHAEL WANZIE

PHOTOGRAPHY

BRIAN BECNEL, NICK CARDELLO, J.D. CASTO, BRUCE HARDIN, JAMARQUS MOSLEY, CHRIS STEPHENSON, LEE VANDERGRIFT

DISTRIBUTION AFFILIATIONS

LVNLIF2 DISTRIBUTING, KEN CARRAWAY, RAYLENE HUNT, ZACHARY WELCH

CONTENTS

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.

T

Ryan Williams-Jent MANAGING EDITOR Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com

Williams

Month. The typical end to each June is a euphoric blend of pride and exhaustion. Our Orlando-based team joins our Tampa Bay team in St. Petersburg for a weekend of celebration as we conclude the month with St Pete Pride.

And we did that this year, however that excitement was overshadowed by a series of unfortunate events in the final days of June that left me feeling a bit defeated and very confused.

First was a bizarre Ron DeSantis campaign ad that tried to paint former President Donald Trump as an LGBTQ+loving leader of the free world. The ad, which was posted to the “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account, showed a clip of Trump speaking at the Republican National Convention in 2016, weeks after the Pulse tragedy, saying he would protect LGBTQ+

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citizens. It also showed news interviews of Trump seemingly saying he was fine with Caitlyn Jenner using the women’s restroom in Trump Tower and that he was OK with trans women competing in the Miss Universe pageant. Then the ad goes off the rails flashing photos of DeSantis with images of shirtless bodybuilders and film clips, which I think are meant to show how “manly” the Florida governor is by comparing him to these men.

Among the film clips used include Cillian Murphy in “Peaky Blinders,” in which he plays a crime boss; Christian Bale in

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“American Psycho,” in which he plays a serial killer; and Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” in which he plays a corrupt stockbroker. Another clip features Brad Pitt from the movie “Troy,” in which he plays Greek warrior — and well-known homosexual — Achilles. The entire thing has a techno beat laid over it and plays like the kind of video you seen playing in kink clubs or bath houses, or so I am told.

In the same week, Dylan Mulvaney posted a video to her TikTok and Instagram discussing the Bud Light controversy and how Anheuser-Busch has yet to reach out to her after all of the hate and bullying from the conservative right over her collaboration with the beer brand.

HAT A WAY TO END PRIDE“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” Mulvaney said.

Companies sharing Pride-focused tweets, photos and merchandise is nothing new, but this year many companies have seemingly lost their backbones as Bud Light was joined by Target and Starbucks among businesses that appeared to have backpedaled their support at the first threat of a boycott.

And that brings me to the worst part of this year’s Pride Month — the Supreme Court. In a 6-3 decision, the court decided that it was OK for a Colorado graphic artist to deny services to same-sex couples. I won’t go into all the details about how this sets us back, not only as a community but as a society, and will make it harder for an already marginalized community in the U.S. What I will say is elections have consequences and not

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showing up because “there’s something about her that I don’t like” is not good enough.

Rights of marginalized people are being chipped away by a court that consists of three conservative judges appointed by Donald Trump and I can’t help but get angry when I hear people say they sat out the 2016 election or voted third party because they didn’t like Hillary Clinton. Tens of millions of registered voters sat out the 2016 election and, according to Pew Research, the number one reason given was a dislike of the candidates.

We are in a time when not liking the candidate is not a good enough reason to not vote. Currently, the Republican Party is hellbent on pushing down on communities that are already

That brings me to the worst part of this year’s Pride Month — the Supreme Court.

being oppressed and stripping more and more rights away.

The two oldest members of the Supreme Court also happen to be the two who, based on allegations, are the two most unethical: Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who are both in their 70’s. Rumors have started online that both are looking to retire within the next few years, setting the 2024 election up to be as pivotal as the 2016 election. Biden being able to name Thomas and Alito’s successors would put the court at a 5-4 progressive majority. This should be what motivates liberal voters to the polls. So when the time comes in 2024 please make sure you get out and vote.

ORLANDO OFFICE

1300 N. Semoran Blvd. Ste 250 Orlando, FL 32807

TEL: 407-481-2243

TAMPA BAY OFFICE 401 33rd Street N. St. Petersburg, FL 33713

TEL: 813-655-9890

REV. JAKOB

HERO-SHAW

is the Senior Pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa. He and his husband are the proud parents of two teenagers. Page 17

DEBORAH BOSTOCK

-KELLEY reviews theatre for Broadway World and other outlets and runs The WriteOne Creative Services. She is an ally, wife, mom and Tampa native. Learn more at TheWriteOneCS.

com. Page 23

HOLLY KAPHERR ALEJOS, SABRINA AMBRA, ABBY BAKER, STEVE BLANCHARD, DEBORAH BOSTOCK-KELLEY, JOHNNY BOYKINS, NATHAN BRUEMMER, BIANCA GOOLSBY, JAKOB HERO-SHAW, LORA KORPAR, JASON LECLERC, JERICK MEDIAVILLA, MELODY MAIA MONET, TIFFANY RAZZANO, GREG STEMM, SYLVIE TREVENA, DR. STEVE YACOVELLI, ANGELIQUE YOUNG, MICHAEL WANZIE

PHOTOGRAPHY

BRIAN BECNEL, NICK CARDELLO, J.D. CASTO, BRUCE HARDIN, JAMARQUS MOSLEY, CHRIS STEPHENSON, LEE VANDERGRIFT

DISTRIBUTION AFFILIATIONS

LVNLIF2 DISTRIBUTING, KEN CARRAWAY, RAYLENE HUNT, ZACHARY WELCH

CONTENTS

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.

W

Jeremy

ORLANDO VA CONTINUES TO OFFER GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE

Jeremy Williams

ORLANDO | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 254 into law May 17, essentially banning gender-affirming care for many members of Florida’s transgender community and making it difficult for the rest to find readily available services.

Central Florida health care facilities that had been offering gender-affirming care began restricting care, and in some cases completely getting rid of those services. One health care group that has remained unaffected by the new law is the Veterans Health Administration.

“I think people got confused when these laws were passed that we may not be able to offer services anymore because we reside in the state, but the laws are very clear that they impact the state,” says Keri Griffin, Orlando VA’s LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Program Coordinator. “Veterans Health Administration falls under the federal government.”

Since the passage of the bill the state’s VA hospitals and clinics have seen an increase in transgender veterans seeking gender-affirming care, and the Orlando VA is no exception.

“It has been an influx; I don’t even have a number yet,” Griffin says. “I’ll be interested to see all the data once I am able to pull the numbers on all my consults.”

Griffin, who has been working with LGBTQ+ veterans through the VA for the last 13 years, says that she has seen her weekly consultations go from an average of about one a week to at least four a week, even having as many as five in one day.

“Veterans who didn’t choose to get their care at the VA before are now feeling that they can’t or won’t be able to get their care in the community, so they are now coming here,” she says.

The Orlando VA continues to offer gender-affirming hormone therapy to its transgender patients, as well as services that may not initially come to mind as gender-affirming therapy such as speech therapy, prosthetics, mental health counseling and more.

The VA is also currently working on bringing gender-affirming surgeries to the list of services it offers. Since the announcement, which came from VA Secretary Denis McDonough at the Orlando VA during its LGBTQ+ Pride celebration in June 2021, a team of 100 VA volunteers — which includes Griffin — have been meeting to get the necessary processes in place.

Griffin adds that the group continues to meet with a goal of offering gender-affirming surgeries by November 2024.

For more information on all of the Orlando VA’s services, visit VA.gov/ Orlando-Health-Care.

Lawsuit Ruling

Florida’s drag show ban paused under federal judge’s order

Emily Paul

ORLANDO | Federal Judge Gregory Presnell temporarily blocked Florida’s new law targeting drag performers June 23. The temporary injunction placed by Presnell will halt the law from being enforced until a trial is held to determine the constitutionality of it.

The new law punished venues that allowed children into “adult live performances,” not mentioning drag shows specifically although the legislation’s sponsors said that drag was the focus. Violators of the law could face fines or prospect of their liquor licenses being suspended or revoked.

The lawsuit was brought in May by the owners of Hamburger Mary’s Orlando, a restaurant and bar that hosts regular drag shows and a family-friendly show on Sundays where all ages are encouraged to attend. When the law was passed, John Paonessa, owner of the restaurant, said that the Sunday show lost significant

numbers of reservations. He said that they decided to challenge the law because they believed it violated their First Amendment rights to free speech.

Judge Presnell wrote in the injunction that Hamburger Mary’s “fifteen years of incident-free, harmless drag shows demonstrates the absence of any substantial harm to Defendant or to the public interest.”

He also wrote that there are already existing obscenity laws that protect children from obscene shows or exhibitions.

After the ruling, Florida Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, a staunch supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, said this is “another legal win for the people of Florida and for the First Amendment.”

An email seeking comment was sent by The Associated Press to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which is the remaining defendant after the judge dismissed Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state as defendants. Proponents of the legislation have said the law is meant to keep children

from viewing sexually explicit performances and is constitutional.

“We are thrilled that the judge saw that the law was clearly an infringement on free speech,” Paonessa says. “By putting in this injunction, the judge believes that our case has merit and that we could be successful.”

When the law was first passed, the Sunday shows saw a 20% decrease in attendance. Paonessa says that because of the injunction, their reservations have greatly increased, so much that they added a second Sunday brunch show.

“It has had an immediate positive effect on our business,” he says.

On June 27, lawyers for Florida’s Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation filed a notice of appeal. They are hoping that the appeal will overturn the injunction so the law can return to being enforced. No date has been set for an appeal hearing.

Paonessa said that their legal team was expecting the appeal and are already planning next steps.

“We understand that our governor is running for president and apparently the First Amendment rights of citizens and free speech are not a priority for him. This law was made to suppress that for political gain,” Paonessa says. “We have the law on our side and are confident that we will prevail.”

DRAG ICONS: Ginger Minj (L) and Gidget Galore outside of Hamburger Mary’s Orlando.

PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

ST PETE PRIDE WRAPS 21ST SEASON Ryan Williams-Jent

ST. PETERSBURG | St Pete Pride officially wrapped its 21st season June 30, reaffirming its status as the state’s largest LGBTQ+ Pride celebration. Festivities officially began June 2 with St Pete Pride’s Kickoff Block Party in the Grand Central District. Nine events followed as organizers promised anti-LGBTQ+ laws “can’t stop Pride.”

This year’s celebration featured the return of the LGBTQ+ Youth and Family Day June 10 as well as “Get Nude: Shades and Melanin,” presented with the Tampa Bay Black Lesbians. The Shades of Pride Festival followed June 17, honoring Juneteenth with actor and activist T.S. Madison.

The Stonewall Reception launched St Pete Pride’s signature weekend of events June 21. Board members guided attendees through the evening, reflecting on the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement with speakers like St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch.

Moving On

Zoie’s permanently closes Ryan Williams-Jent

ST. PETERSBURG | Zoie’s announced its immediate and permanent closure late June 25, thanking the community for their months of support as an LGBTQ+-inclusive space.

The restaurant and bar initially opened in the Grand Central District in Oct. 2022. Their official grand opening followed Dec. 31 before they expanded to offer LGBTQ+-led staples like Bingo, trivia and more, employing fan favorite entertainers from throughout Tampa Bay.

The announcement was made via social media during St Pete Pride’s street festival. Multiple staff members subsequently shared they were not aware of the news.

“It is with a profound sense of sadness that I am announcing the closure of Zoie’s, effective today, June 26th,” owner Jeff Baker wrote. “Over the last month, my life took a turn when I was diagnosed with cancer. This unexpected turn of events has led me to reassess what’s most important in life, and prompted me to make the difficult decision to close our beloved Zoie’s

for the sake of my health and my family’s well-being.

“Facing a challenging road to recovery, I’ve realized the importance of focusing fully on my health and my grandmother’s,” he continued. “The pressures of running Zoie’s have begun to take a toll on me both physically and emotionally.”

Zoie’s was the first restaurant opened by Baker, who is a data scientist by trade. It was billed as “a unique restaurant experience catering to everyone” that he named after his dog. The eatery offered a variety of southern comfort food in a renovated venue capable of seating 200 guests inside and up to 60 outdoors.

“What I’d wanted to do for quite some time is create a community venue that is not just about food, but also about entertainment and being connected locally,” he told Watermark in January. “We don’t care where you come from, what your background is, who you love, how you identify, because when you come into this building, it’s us as a collective unit having fun and leaving all of our differences at the door.”

Baker said in his June 25 statement that supporters “turned

this restaurant from a dream into a reality,” making Zoie’s “a truly special place.”

“Zoie’s has always been more than just a restaurant,” he wrote. “It’s a brand that stands for community and goodwill. We’ve had the privilege of partnering with numerous local organizations, contributing towards making our community a better place, and this is something I will always be proud of.”

According to LoopNet, an online marketplace for commercial property, the business is currently for sale by owner for $649,000. The website calls it “an exceptional opportunity for entrepreneurs in the food and beverage industry.”

The sale includes a full liquor license and allows for eight more years in the space and two five-year renewals.

“Seamlessly transition into this turnkey operation with its fully equipped kitchen, complete with a 15-foot hood, ready for your culinary vision,” LoopNet writes.

Watermark reached out to Baker for additional comment but did not receive it as of press time. In his statement, he thanked the community for “all of your unwavering support and love for Zoie’s.”

Zoie’s was located at 2245 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg. Visit LoopNet.com for more information about its sale and learn more about the restaurant at ZoiesFL.com while its website is live.

“I’m honored to stand with you tonight … and come together to celebrate Pride in St. Pete,” he shared. “For every member of the LGBTQ+ community, for every queer or questioning young person, for every trans individual, we are standing. Not for political gain or publicity, but simply because it’s the right thing to do. It is the human thing to do. It is the patriotic thing to do.”

Idina Menzel headlined St Pete Pride’s Friday Night Concert after that at Jannus Live. The LGBTQ+ ally and icon performed music from her new album as well as her hits from the screen and stage June 23.

St Pete Pride subsequently “welcomed the largest crowd” in its history, organizers shared June 26. Hundreds of thousands filled the streets of St. Petersburg June 24 and 25 for St Pete Pride‘s Pride Parade along the waterfront and “Pride In Grand Central” Street Fair in the Grand Central District.

Each event celebrated 21 years of St Pete Pride. This year’s parade began with the 2023 TransMarch with more than 400 participants. The street festival included mainstage entertainment courtesy of Cocktail with Sheena Easton, Tiffany and more.

Two additional events closed out Pride month, Transtastic on June 28 and Queer E Oke on June 30. The former elevates transgender and nonbinary members of the LGBTQ+ community while the latter is a karaoke-style concert. It served as the last official event for outgoing St Pete Pride President Tiffany Freisberg, who thanked the community and board for their support. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” judge Carson Kressley led the gathering.

“It takes a village to put on the largest Pride celebration in Florida,” St Pete Pride shared. “Thank you to each and everyone of you who came out to support the LGBTQIA+ community. Thank for being there with us, for waiting in lines, for showing up and supporting our vendors, sponsors, and partners and for allowing us to be part of your celebration.”

View photos from St Pete Pride 2023 at WatermarkOnline.com and learn more at StPetePride.org.

A PLACE FOR ALL: Zoie’s in January 2023.

PHOTO BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR BIKTARVY®

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

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY

BIKTARVY may cause serious side e ects, including:

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BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, and KEEP BEING YOU are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. © 2023 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved.

FLORIDA COURT WON’T REINSTATE PROSECUTOR Wire Report

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | The Florida Supreme Court refused June 22 to reinstate Florida prosecutor Andrew Warren, who was removed by Gov. Ron DeSantis after making comments opposing prosecutions for abortions or gender-affirming health care, saying he waited too long to file a petition.

In a 6-1 decision, Florida’s highest court rejected the petition brought by Warren, a twice-elected state attorney for Florida’s Hillsborough County in the Tampa area. Warren claimed that DeSantis had misused his power.

The Republican governor last year suspended Warren, accusing him of neglect of duty and incompetence, after the Democratic state attorney signed statements, along with other prosecutors across the country, opposing criminal charges against abortion providers or women seeking abortions. He also said he wouldn’t prosecute people for providing gender-affirming health care.

FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN FLORIDA’S BAN ON MEDICAID FUNDING FOR TRANSGENDER TREATMENT

Wire Report

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. | A federal judge struck down Florida rules championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis June 21 restricting Medicaid coverage for gender dysphoria treatments for potentially thousands of transgender people.

“Gender identity is real” and the state has admitted it, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle wrote in a 54-page ruling.

He said a Florida health code rule and a new state law violated federal laws on Medicaid, equal protection and the Affordable Care Act’s prohibition of sex discrimination.

They are “invalid to the extent they categorically ban Medicaid payment for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the

treatment of gender dysphoria,” Hinkle wrote.

The judge said Florida had chosen to block payment for some treatments “for political reasons” using a biased and unscientific process and that “pushing individuals away from their transgender identity is not a legitimate state interest.”

An email seeking comment from DeSantis’ office wasn’t immediately returned.

Hinkle’s harsh language echoed that in his ruling two weeks ago over a law that bans transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers. Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction so that three children could continue receiving treatment.

The DeSantis administration and the Republican-controlled Legislature had banned gender-affirming treatments for

children and a law that DeSantis signed in May made it difficult for many transgender adults to get treatment.

The latest ruling involved a lawsuit filed last year on behalf of two adults and two minors, but advocacy groups estimate that some 9,000 transgender people in Florida use Medicaid to fund their treatments.

Hinkle also addressed the issue of whether gender-affirming treatments were medically necessary and noted that transgender people have higher rates of anxiety, depression and suicide than the general population.

Transgender medical care for minors is increasingly under attack, as Florida is among 19 states that have enacted laws restricting or banning treatment.

MAN NAMED IN ANTI-LGBTQ+ SCOTUS CASE SAYS HE DIDN’T REQUEST WEBSITE FROM VICTOR

Wire Report

DENVER | A Colorado web designer who the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 30 could refuse to make wedding websites for same-sex couples cited a request from a man who says he never asked to work with her.

The request in dispute, from a person identified as “Stewart,” wasn’t the basis for the federal lawsuit filed preemptively seven years ago by web designer Lorie Smith, before she started making wedding websites. But as the case advanced, it was referenced by her attorneys when lawyers for the state of Colorado pressed Smith on whether she had sufficient grounds to sue.

The revelation distracts from Smith’s victory at a time when she might have been basking in her win, which is widely considered a setback for LGBTQ+ rights.

Smith named Stewart — and included a website service request from him, listing his phone number and email address in 2017 court documents. But Stewart told The Associated Press he never submitted the request and didn’t know his name was invoked in the lawsuit until he was contacted

this week by a reporter from The New Republic, which first reported his denial.

“I was incredibly surprised given the fact that I’ve been happily married to a woman for the last 15 years,” said Stewart, who declined to give his last name for fear of harassment and threats. His contact information, but not his last name, were listed in court documents.

He added that he was a designer and “could design my own website if I need to” — and was concerned no one had checked into the validity of the request cited by Smith until recently.

Smith’s lawyer, Kristen Waggoner, said at a June 30 news conference that the wedding request naming Stewart was submitted through Smith’s website and denied it was fabricated.

She suggested it could have been a troll making the request, something that’s happened with other clients she has represented. In 2018 her client Colorado baker Jack Phillips won a partial U.S. Supreme Court victory after refusing to make a same-sex couple’s wedding cake, citing his Christian faith.

“It’s undisputed that the request was received,” Waggoner said.

“Whether that was a troll and not a

genuine request, or it was someone who was looking for that, is really irrelevant to the case.”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser called the lawsuit a “made up case” because Smith wasn’t offering wedding website services when the suit was filed.

Weiser didn’t know the specifics of Stewart’s denial, but said the nation’s high court should not have addressed the lawsuit’s merits “without any basis in reality.”

About a month after the case was filed in federal court challenging an anti-discrimination law in Colorado, lawyers for the state said Smith had not been harmed by the law as they moved to dismiss the case.

Her lawyers maintained Smith did not have to be punished for violating the law before challenging it. In February 2017 they said even though she did not need a request in order to pursue the case, she had received one.

Smith’s Supreme Court filings briefly mentioned she received at least one request to create a website celebrating the wedding of a same-sex couple. There did not appear to be any reference to the issue in the court’s decision.

ESTONIA TO ALLOW SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN 2024

Wire Report

HELSINKI | Estonia’s lawmakers approved legislation June 20 allowing same-sex marriage as of next year, making Estonia the first of the three Baltic countries to do so.

The 101-seat Riigikogu legislature passed in a 55-34 vote amendments to Estonia’s Family Law Act and related legislation that will enable the introduction of marriage equality in the small country of 1.3 million as of 2024.

The Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been slower to embrace LGBTQ+ rights than most countries in Western Europe. They regained

independence from the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War.

Parliament’s measure was tied to a confidence vote on Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’ center-right government, which has been under pressure from conservative opposition parties and civil society groups to maintain what they say are traditional family values by rejecting same-sex marriage.

“Everyone should have the right to marry the person they love and want to commit to. With this decision we are finally stepping among … all the rest of the democratic countries in the world where marriage equality has been granted,” Kallas said in a statement.

“This is a decision that does not take anything away from anyone

but gives something important to many. It also shows that our society is caring and respectful towards each other. I am proud of Estonia,” she said.

Along with equal marriage, Estonians will continue to enjoy the right to enter into a registered partnership. Same-sex couples who enter into a registered partnership will also be able to convert their status to marriage in a simplified procedure.

In May, Latvia’s Parliament voted the country’s long-serving and popular Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics, who is openly gay, as the new president, making him one of Europe’s few LGBTQ+ heads of state.

LGBTQ+ PIONEER LILLI VINCENZ DIES AT 85

LGBTQ+ rights activist Lilli Vincenz, who helped organize groundbreaking LGBTQ+ rights protests outside the White House and Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in the 1960s, died June 27 in Oakton, Va. She was 85. Vincenz is the first known lesbian to participate in a gay rights protest in front of the White House in April 1965, when she joined pioneering gay rights leader Frank Kameny, seven other gay men, and a bisexual and straight woman in a first-of-its-kind protest calling for LGBTQ+ equality. In 1969, she also co-founded the Gay Blade, the newspaper which evolved into the Washington Blade.

TENNESSEE’S ANTI-TRANS HEALTHCARE BAN BLOCKED

A federal judge blocked enforcement of a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming healthcare care for trans youth up to age 18 while several families’ legal challenge against the law proceeds in court. The law would prohibit medical providers from providing gender-affirming health care to trans youth and would require those currently receiving gender-affirming care to end that care within nine months of the law’s effective date of July 1, 2023, or by March 31, 2024. The lawsuit was brought by the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal and more.

INDIA AWAITS MARRIAGE EQUALITY RULING

The LGBTQ+ community celebrated Pride month in India while awaiting a ruling on marriage equality from their Supreme Court. India decriminalized homosexuality in 2018 but same-sex marriage remains illegal. The five-judge bench began hearing marriage equality cases in April and it reserved the decision after the intense hearing. Local advocates remain hopeful, pointing toward strong arguments in favor of marriage equality and more. The decision is expected to come in July or August, after the court returns from a summer vacation. LGBTQ+ advocates plan to celebrate during Delhi Pride in November if the ruling is positive.

TRANS WOMAN RUNNING FOR VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT

Tamara Adrián registered as a presidential candidate in the Venezuelan primary in late June, becoming the first openly trans person in the world to make such a move. The 69-year-old lawyer, university professor and LGBTQ+ activist is running to represent the Unidos por la Dignidad political movement and will compete with at least 10 others in the country’s Oct. 22 primary. Whoever wins the primary will have to compete against President Nicolás Maduro in 2024. “I am proud to be who I am,” she said. “I want any LGBTQ person living in this hostile country to know that you can get ahead and even become a presidential candidate.”

QUEERLY BELOVED

Choosing Solidarity

WAITING FOR THE ST

Pete Pride Parade to begin, I was regretting my fashion choice for the day. It was hot. I was a bit cranky. My black clergy shirt felt like it was baking my body. I told my husband, “I am never again wearing a clergy shirt to Pride.”

Of course, I was being far too melodramatic about my suffering. Honestly, if there’d been a cross, I quite possibly would have climbed on it, martyring myself in the name of clergy-wear. Instead, I tucked an ice cube behind the little plastic white tab at the front. Yes indeed, those tabs are made of plastic. Also, they do a pretty good job at holding ice cubes to cool off a cranky pastor.

Once my church group made its way through the parade route, I found I was grateful to be clad in this clergy garment. I saw two groups of protesters as we walked, both led by street preachers shouting into bullhorns. They were spewing hate, at this celebration of community and love.

As I walked in the parade with my faith community, I was waving a trans flag, holding my husband’s hand and wearing clothing that advertises that I am pastor. I no longer regretted the shirt. It helped me demonstrate something very different than the message of the bullhorn-wielding hatemongers.

Hate-spewing preachers are not in any way trying to share the message of Jesus. They are sowing the seeds of destruction that been the burden of Christianity ever since followers of Jesus became an organized community.

Power dynamics and a sense of superiority have plagued Christianity since the very beginning. In our modern context, this has resulted in much of Christianity becoming an echo chamber of hate, egregiously making homophobia, transphobia and

sexism synonymous with Christianity itself. Frankly, the misuse of scripture by these hatemongers is completely exhausting. But I don’t really care what they have to say, I only care that it might hurt people’s hearts to hear their words.

Whether it’s street preachers, politicians or community leaders, people with an agenda of exclusion will always find a microphone or a bullhorn to amplify the sound of their hatred. We can’t always stop them, but we can stop their painful words from seeping into our lives.

How can we build up an armor of protection around ourselves so that the arrows of hatred cannot reach us? I believe the answer is simple, it’s found in community. I was impressed by the crowd watching the parade near the places where there were protesters. They did not let their celebration get derailed by the sounds of hate behind them, but instead focused on the parade in front of them. As a community, we do well when we turn our attention toward the celebration and turn our backs on the source of abuse and hate.

We must pull together in a way that silences oppressors and lifts up the most marginalized. Right now, the LGBTQ+ community is under attack legislatively in ways we have not seen before. I urge all of us to stand for solidarity with those who are feeling the weight of homophobic and transphobic legislation.

In some responses to the current political attacks on our community, I have noticed a particularly unhelpful trope justifying LGBTQ+ rights. Many people attempt to validate LGBTQ+ folks by arguing that we don’t choose to be the way we are. Don’t get me wrong here. I am not saying that we do choose our sexual orientations and gender identities, but rather that our right to exist should

not be tied to whether we choose to be who we are.

The “I didn’t choose this” rhetoric is damaging to the fight for equality — it forces dependency on an idea that we are helpless and implies that we don’t want to be who we are. When we position ourselves as victims of the circumstances of a queerness beyond our control, we risk undermining our own sense of worth. This is the antithesis to self-acceptance and it is counter to the whole point of celebrating Pride. If our sense of worth is wholly tied up in validation via victimhood, then equality for all of us feels like a threat to some. This is the genesis of sexism, racism and the ever-growing “LGB

without the T” movement. I hope with a culture of solidarity, we can bring healing and connection into the lives of people who see division and marginalization as their only option. I must believe it comes from a place of their own pain and that it can be healed.

I feel so grateful to be exactly who I am, to live the way I live and love the way I love. If there is any choice involved, this is exactly what I would choose! Even when I’m miserably overheated and my clergy shirt is making me cranky, I am grateful for the opportunity to wear it and to stand up for our community in this state, where life feels so complicated for our community right now.

When we fully embrace the work of solidarity, our armor becomes impenetrable. The hatemongers can hurl hatred at us and instead of offering up the most vulnerable among us to catch the arrows, we stand strong together and not let any part of our community be harmed.

When each of us comes to the realization that our lives and wellbeing are enmeshed with the lives and wellbeing of the whole community, we experience what Pride is all about — not only in Pride month, but all year long.

Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw is the senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa, MCCTampa.com. He and his

Hate-spewing preachers are not in any way trying to share the message of Jesus.

Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw

Visibili-T

AMI KATHERINE JENKINS

She/Her/Hers

Emily Paul

VISIBILI-T

IS DEDICATED TO

transgender members of our community in Central Florida and Tampa Bay, some you know and many you don’t. It is designed to amplify their voices and detail their experiences in life.

This issue, we chat with Ami Katherine Jenkins, a hardworking and strong person living and working in the Casselberry area of Orlando.

Jenkins, 48, comes from a Sicilian family in Vero Beach where, as a child, she had an aunt who was a lesbian and says that while her family knew, nobody talked about it. She said that her family is not accepting so she chooses to present herself in a masculine way in front of them.

“I do it out of respect for them, even though they don’t deserve it,” Jenkins says.

But in her everyday life, Jenkins presents as female and says that everyone at her workplaces — Green Parrot in Casselberry and Wing Shack in Downtown Orlando — recognize her as Ami and treat her with respect. She said guests and customers are encouraging and affirming of her identity.

“They respect me because I’m proud of who I am,” she says. “It’s one of those things where I am who I am. If you don’t like me, screw you.”

Jenkins recalls a memory from when she was 21, shopping for corsets for a cast member when she was the director of a production of “The Rocky Horror Show” and a worker asked for her size. She said she was reluctant to put the corset on but once she did, it felt comfortable.

“She put that corset on me and I said ‘You know what? This feels natural,’” Jenkins says.

Jenkins adds that even when she lived in Las Vegas 13 years ago, people there also respected her and addressed her as Ami. She says she’s been on the journey to becoming more “out.”

Jenkins says about her life, that she’s “gone through everything.”

“I have a son that I made, a 20-year-old son who likes to shop at Victoria’s Secret more than I do, and an ex-wife that I still love and adore,” she says.

Watermark first met Jenkins through a message she sent to our website in May.

“As a former student of journalism at the University of Florida, and a member of the trans community, I simply wanted to offer my gratitude,” she wrote. “I say that because I can spot typographical and grammatical errors all the way from Casselberry. You folks seem to be perfect, not only in your grammar and punctuation, but also in your content. I enjoy reading your articles and I am very intrigued by your perspectives.”

Along with being an avid reader and supporter of Watermark, Jenkins says that

her favorite thing about the local LGBTQ+ community is that everyone is willing to help each other, adding that it’s not necessarily the trans community but the human community that has been supportive. She says that because she is Wiccan, she loves everyone and wants people to always have respect for others.

Jenkins says that one thing she wants people to know and take away from her story is that trans people are not threatening.

“We aren’t out to get you, don’t be scared,” she says. “We aren’t going to hurt you; we are going to be here for you. We are all human.”

When asked what advice she would give to her younger self, Jenkins made a very simple statement.

“Be who you are,” she says.

She notes advice that her mother once told her, “’Put your chest in the wind, stand up straight and be who you are.’ She told me that at a very young age and she may be regretting it now, but that’s the way I’ve been living my life for the past 30 years.”

Interested in being featured in Visibili-T? Email Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Williams in Central Florida or Managing Editor Ryan Williams-Jent in Tampa Bay.

talking points

HBO RELEASED AN ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY FILM LOOKING AT THE LIFE OF ONE OF CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD’S MOST ICONIC STARS — ROCK HUDSON. One of the most popular actors of his time, Hudson was best known for his roles in “All That Heaven Allows,” “Giant” and “McMillan and Wife,” as well as being a rom-com leading man opposite Doris Day in hits “Pillow Talk,” “Lover Come Back” and “Send Me No Flowers.” Hudson lived as a closeted gay man his entire career until 1985 when he died of AIDS. The film is directed by Stephen Kijak, best known for his music-focused documentaries such as “Stones in Exile,” about The Rolling Stones, and “Sid & Judy,” about gay icon Judy Garland, as well as the 2020 docuseries “Equal,” highlighting landmark events and leaders in the LGBTQ+ community. “Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allows” is available to stream on Max.

BILLY CRYSTAL, QUEEN LATIFAH AMONG KENNEDY CENTER HONOREES

BILLY CRYSTAL, WHO PLAYED ONE OF TELEVISION’S FIRST OPENLY GAY CHARACTERS on the sitcom “Soap,” and Queen Latifah, a Grammy Award-winning rapper and Oscar-nominated actor, are two of five iconic artists selected for this year’s Kennedy Center Honors. The others selected for the lifetime artistic achievement award are opera singer Renée Fleming, 1970s music icon Barry Gibb and prolific hitmaker Dionne Warwick. All will be honored with the traditional gala celebration at Washington’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 3. Kennedy Center president Deborah F. Rutter called this year’s crop of inductees “an extraordinary mix of individuals who have redefined their art forms.”

84% OF PEOPLE OPPOSE ALLOWING MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TO DENY CARE TO AN LGBTQ+ PERSON BASED ON THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS,

LIZZO GIVES BACK FOR 4TH JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

IN A SERIES OF INSTAGRAM VIDEOS, LIZZO INTRODUCED FIVE ORGANIZATIONS that she would be gifting with $50,000 donations for her fourth annual Juneteenth Giveback Celebration. Among the organizations was the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, a nonprofit founded in 2014 by Elle Moxley, a Black trans woman who wanted to help improve the lives of all trans women of color. The institute aims to demystify, diversify and expand opportunities in the trans community. The other organizations receiving a donation are Save Our Sisters United, Black Girls Smile, Sphinx Music and University of Houston.

AIN AN ESSAY IN TIME MAGAZINE ahead of the premiere of her new Netflix series “Glamorous.” In her essay, Benny says that she decided to start her transition after watching the Max series “Veneno,” about a Spanish trans singer, and wanted to go public as her own series was being released. “It felt as if I had lived with a stuffy nose my whole life and then suddenly my breathing airways opened, and I discovered everybody else has been breathing freely the whole time,” she wrote. After coming out, series creator Jordon Nardino worked closely with Benny to bring her transition into her “Glamorous” character Marco Mejia. “Glamorous” season one is available on Netflix.

74% OPPOSE ALLOWING EMPLOYERS TO DENY EMPLOYMENT TO LGTBQ+ INDIVIDUALS AND 71% OPPOSE ALLOWING BUSINESSES TO REFUSE TO SERVE LGBTQ+ PEOPLE BASED ON RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.

As the first openly gay person of color to serve in Congress, I am acutely aware of the impacts lawful discrimination has on our marginalized communities in the United States, and the LGBTQI+ community have been subject to discrimination, violence and the denial of their full personhood under the law for far too long.

—U.S. REP. MARK TAKANO, ANNOUNCING THE REINTRODUCTION OF THE EQUALITY ACT TO CONGRESS JUNE 21

ROCK HUDSON DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES ON HBO

ONE HUG AT A TIME

FREE MOM HUGS FLORIDA EMBRACES EVERYONE

Deborah Bostock-Kelley

BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER

Pride month, colorful T-shirts are seen throughout Central Florida and Tampa Bay with a simple message. They often feature a small rainbow bear nestled within a more prominent one with just three words: “Free Mom Hugs.”

They serve as a declaration that the wearer is a safe person for members of the LGBTQ+ community, a source of love and acceptance. It all began in Oklahoma in 2014.

Free Mom Hugs was founded by Sara Cunningham, a Christian mother in the state who spent years denying her son’s sexuality after he came out to her, torn

between her love for him and what her religion preached. When she finally became involved with the LGBTQ+ community, she was devastated to see that the rejection and hurt she had caused her son was neither a unique nor isolated experience within it.

During the 2015 Oklahoma City Pride Festival, Cunningham fashioned a homemade button

with the words “Free Mom Hugs.” Little did she know that this simple act would unleash an overwhelming response from the LGBTQ+ community, igniting a nationwide movement of love, visibility and acceptance.

In 2018, she was propelled into the national spotlight after her Facebook post offering to be a stand-in mom at any same-sex wedding went viral. “Call me,” the post read, “I’ll be your biggest fan. I’ll even bring bubbles.”

This outpouring of love and support led to the establishment of Free Mom Hugs as a national nonprofit organization, with chapters spanning all states and reaching global initiatives. Its impact has been particularly

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profound in Florida, where the movement has flourished — providing solace and support to members of the LGBTQ+ community who often find themselves as political pawns, marginalized or abandoned by their families.

The Florida chapter has taken root and blossomed in the face of division. Free Mom Hugs Florida is comprised of compassionate volunteers who dedicate their time and effort to spreading love and support to the LGBTQ+ community.

Their mission is simple yet sincere: to offer warm, heartfelt hugs, understanding and encouragement to those who may have been rejected due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. It’s a testament to a mother’s love and the belief that every person deserves acceptance. It set in motion a grassroots revolution, spreading its message of unconditional love, one hug at a time.

Leading the charge in Florida is Laura Campbell, the local leader of Free Mom Hugs who’s based in Orlando. In 2018, when her child came out as transgender, Campbell sought support from a social media group called Serendipitydodah, “Home of the Mama Bears,” to learn how to educate herself and best support her daughter.

Auspiciously, Campbell discovered Cunningham was

also a member of that group. It was within that supportive community that Free Mom Hugs Florida was born.

“When they expanded Free Mom Hugs out of Oklahoma and allowed it in other states, I got involved with it,” Campbell reflects. With passion and determination, she became the chapter leader of Free Mom Hugs Florida in October 2022, fueling her deep desire to make a difference for kids like her daughter.

Campbell is dedicated to recruiting more like-minded moms to join the ranks of the group. Free Mom Hugs Florida’s Facebook page now has 11,000 followers and features five regional groups across the state to help connect with nearly 1,000 registered volunteers at local events, open to anyone who is LGBTQ+ or an ally.

During Pride events in Florida, Free Mom Huggers like Campbell proudly wear their “Free Mom Hugs” T-shirts, standing out amidst the kaleidoscope of rainbow outfits, shimmering sparkle and cascading glitter. Their presence alone speaks volumes, extending an open invitation to anyone needing reassurance or a comforting embrace. Walking through the crowd, they create a safe space for love and acceptance.

“Please join. There is literally a chapter of Free Mom Hugs in every state. Not only will you find resources to support your child, but you will also find resources to support you,” she says. “With the joy and the friendships you find,

I call it my #RainbowNetwork. This group has a bond. Friendships have formed. It’s like having a family.”

But Free Mom Hugs Florida is not just about hugs; it’s a community built on understanding, acceptance and learning. It is filled with ally moms, moms with family or friends in the LGBTQ+ community and community members themselves.

It also provides a safe haven for moms who have had to deconstruct their beliefs and find support in the most tolerant place. In a world where hate and discrimination are all too common, they share, this group offers nothing but love, open arms and a willingness to educate and learn together.

“For a lot of people who have to deconstruct from religion, it’s finding that other base, that support in the most nonjudgmental place,” Campbell explains. “These people are literally having the worst things thrown at them — hatred and vile things. This group has nothing but love to pour out to you.

“When you come into the community, you feel love. It’s a community that will fully embrace you and embrace that you are learning too,” she continues. “We know people make mistakes, but as long as you’re working on the path of understanding and learning, we’re nonjudgmental. You learn and get educated every day. It’s about being open and receptive.”

When asked what she would say to parents who deny or

disown their children when they come out as LGBTQ+, Campbell doesn’t hesitate.

“This is your child. When you were pregnant, the only thing you ever asked for was a happy, healthy child,” she responds. “When they say, ‘I was taught in church that this is wrong,’ I say, ‘you know what, that’s fine; I’ll love your child. There’s a whole army of Mama Bears out there that love your child and will be there for your child. I hope that you find grace in your heart to come back to your child.’

“I want the parent to understand that they are missing out on the beautiful soul of this person,” she adds. “To fill their heart with hate — I just don’t understand that logic. You need to decide that your child being happy, healthy and alive is a lot more important than you going and visiting a grave. “

In some cases, the members of Free Moms Hugs can get the parent to change their perspective when they meet other accepting parents, especially those of transgender families.

“Some of the most beautiful people I know are transgender,” Campbell notes. “Their hearts are as big as the world. To watch them fighting for basic human dignity and for them to still smile, I’m learning so much. It fuels my soul to want to make the world a better place for them.”

Free Mom Hug members are particularly present for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride events, seen this and every year at Central Florida and Tampa Bay staples like Tampa Pride, St Pete

Pride, Polk Pride, Come Out with Pride, Sarasota Pride and more. They walk in parades, give out hugs from booths and walk around to offer “free range hugging.”

“As we’re walking, we give hugs to people,” Campbell says. “We have pocket hugs that we hand out that people can take with them, so they have a reminder all the time that they are loved.”

Becky Mallison attended her first Pride event in Tampa in March. Inspired by the love and kindness of Free Mom Hugs, soon after, she became the Polk County area coordinator and a crocheter of Free Mom Hugs’ Pocket Hugs, a crocheted heart with a beaded bear inside. They’re small enough to travel in a pocket as a reminder the owner is loved.

“It was so amazing to get out there as a straight ally and support everyone being their authentic self,” Mallison says. “We let them know plenty of people support and celebrate them for who they are. Taking the Pocket Hugs to the events is really special.”

Mallison believes it is crucial for every mom, regardless of their child’s sexual orientation or gender identity, to volunteer with Free Mom Hugs. Her reason lies in the transformative power of empathy and compassion. Every child — gay or straight, cisgender or transgender — deserves unwavering support and acceptance from their parents. Unfortunately, when they are

|

uu | Free Mom Hugs FROM

FREE ACROSS FLORIDA: (L-R) Mothers and more showcase their support for the LGBTQ+ community at Pride events in Polk County, Sarasota and Sebring by offering Free Mom Hugs across the state. The nonprofit’s Florida chapter has five regional groups and nearly 1,000 registered volunteers. PHOTOS BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT AND JEREMY WILLIAMS

refused this vital affirmation, it leads to feelings of isolation, rejection and sometimes even suicidal ideation.

When a mom volunteers with Free Mom Hugs, she joins a network of mothers who understand the importance of embracing and uplifting all children, the group notes. These moms learn, grow and become change agents through their involvement, promoting love and acceptance within their families and communities. They become beacons of hope, challenging societal norms and fostering environments where every child can thrive.

Volunteering with Free Mom Hugs also provides an opportunity for personal growth and self-discovery. It allows moms to challenge any preconceived notions they may have had about the LGBTQ+ community, replacing ignorance with understanding and fear with love.

“Everyone I’ve met through Free Mom Hugs has been a truly amazing person, so kind, so loving, who really just wants to get out there and support the community as much as possible,” Mallison explains. “I’ve met moms with children in the community. My children are not, but my sister is, and she’s always been accepted. I realize not everyone is. There’s a lot of work to do.”

Doing that work with Free Mom Hugs Florida is the perfect fit, Mallison adds. She believes others will agree.

“I felt a connection with Free Mom Hugs,” she says. “This is a great organization, and I’d like to encourage other moms who don’t have a child in the community to come out and support those that do, because all moms should have a deep desire to protect all children.”

Mallison experienced that firsthand at a recent Polk Pride event, where her Pocket Hugs were a massive hit.

“It’s the young adults that we impacted most,” she notes. “I got to hug three young women who were touched that we had the Pocket Hugs; one started to cry happy tears. I told her I made them and I was so happy that she liked them so much.

I teared up and asked if she would like a hug. I got to hug her

and her two friends; we all were pretty emotional.”

It’s a common occurrence.

Angela Martindale discovered Free Mom Hugs on Facebook when she sought support for her marriage. The group became a lifeline for her, offering acceptance and understanding when her own family did not.

Free Mom Hugs Florida became a safe space where she could freely be herself, surrounded by people who celebrated her for who she was.

“I didn’t have a whole lot of family that supported me and my wife,” Martindale says. “My grandparents adopted me at a young age; they were old-school, ‘you’re going to be with a man, get married and have kids. We live this life, and this is how you will live your life. It’s not going to be any other way.’ I had no support. I literally went through hell because I couldn’t live my life. I had to live the life they wanted.”

Martindale posted in the Free Mom Hugs group and instantly received a warm response.

“They’re very supportive of the community and people that don’t have family,” she says. “In this group, you can be free, and it’s okay to be who you are.”

Mindy “Mama” Cain agrees. She multitasks as a Free Mom Hugger and PFLAG Safety Harbor volunteer, in addition to serving

Florida and Tampa Bay, they have been instrumental in creating safe spaces where the LGBTQ+ community can feel seen, valued and celebrated.

Their immeasurable impact extends far beyond these special events. These moms work to be catalysts for change, breaking down barriers and advocating

as vice president of Countryside High School’s theatre group and booster club.

“I give away Free Mom Hugs because I think you should have them,” she explains, “even if it’s not your biological mom. I send out good vibes and free hugs. It’s wonderful. I have kids that aren’t even mine.”

Free Mom Hugs Florida has become an indispensable asset to the LGBTQ+ community with these warm embraces, accompanied by the phrase, “I’m your mom, now.” By organizing support groups, hosting events and partnering with likeminded organizations throughout Central

for LGBTQ+ acceptance by sharing their personal stories and dispelling misconceptions, actively working toward building a world that celebrates diversity and inclusivity. Free Mom Hugs members are found everywhere.

Jennifer Mara Cavaliere, a Free Mom Hugger, shared her experience of creating a welcoming space at her theater, embracing actors and actresses shunned by their families. By extending their love and acceptance, these moms become a chosen family, filling the void of rejection and providing a supportive environment where everyone can flourish.

“We had a lot of LGBTQ+ actors and actresses that came through our doors that were shunned by their families. They had no place to go,” she says. “They found refuge in theater; we made them part of our family, no questions asked. Hugs. Kisses. Family dinners. We included them in holidays. We did anything we could to make their time with us feel like family — like they could come to us for anything.”

One of Cavaliere’s favorite experiences involves a conversation with a timid young actor from out of state who had been disowned for being gay.

“He said I don’t have any family, so I gave him the biggest hug and said ‘I’m your family now’,” she remembers. “‘You are part of my family, so I will treat you like my kid. You answer to me. I’m your mom now. Keep in touch.’ We accept him for exactly who he is, no questions asked.”

Cavaliere believes her biological son felt comfortable coming out to her as a teen

because of his family’s love and support for the actors.

“He felt comfortable in his skin. It’s such a beautiful thing to be able to see your child be who they are,” she says. “You just love them. They’re yours. How do you turn your back on such a beautiful gift?

“Unfortunately, some parents are too selfish to see past the black and white to see the rainbows and the colorful things they are missing,” she continues. “They’re missing out on the kindest, biggest-hearted, loving, nonjudgmental people there are. The LGBTQ+ community is a beautiful gift to the world that too many people are missing out on.”

Through a band of women wanting to make a difference, Free Mom Hugs Florida has become a positive force throughout the state. This grassroots movement reminds everyone that the LGBTQ+ community deserves to be embraced for who they are, a testament to the enduring power of compassion and the profound impact that a listening ear, a kind affirming word and a simple hug can have on someone’s life.

For more information about Free Mom Hugs and its Florida chapter, visit FreeMomHugs.org and Facebook.com/ FreeMomHugsFlorida.

WARM WELCOME: Free Mom Hugs Florida table at St Pete Pride 2023 PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

Unfortunately, some parents are too selfish to see past the black and white to see the rainbows and the colorful things they are missing. The LGBTQ+ community is a beautiful gift to the world that too many people are missing out on.

— FREE MOM HUGGER JENNIFER MARA CAVALIERE

Orlando’s own Nurse Blake talks his upcoming comedy tour and next year’s NurseCon at Sea

Luis Xavier De Peña

BLAKE LYNCH, BETTER KNOWN TO

his fans as Nurse Blake, is an Orlando native who has built quite a large following in the last 10 years. Thanks to his lighthearted, comical look at being in the U.S. health care industry, he has accumulated 191,000 followers on YouTube, 926,000 on TikTok, 984,000 on Instagram and 1.7 million on Facebook.

Lynch has turned his hysterical online persona into a successful brand that has taken him on the road with his 2022

PTO Comedy Tour, allowed him to author a children’s book and helped him to create Nurse Con at Sea, the ultimate nursing convention aboard a cruise ship.

But before becoming a stand-up comedian and an online influencer, Lynch was a nursing student at the University of Central Florida who wanted to help his friend by donating blood. When the laws at the time forbid him from doing so because he is a gay man, his fight led to the creation of Banned4Life, a nonprofit whose mission was to overturn the outdated Food and Drug Administration rules on gay and bisexual men donating blood. That fight landed Lynch on the cover of Watermark in April 2013.

Along with the activism and comedy, Lynch also released in June his first issue of Nurse Blake Magazine, a free quarterly

publication that will keep you up to date on all things Nurse Blake.

Lynch was gracious enough to take a few moments from his packed schedule to talk with Watermark about his life in the 10 years since first appearing on our cover and to let us know all about his new, upcoming show, “Nurse Blake’s Shock Advised Comedy Tour.”

WATERMARK: YOU’VE HAD QUITE THE RIDE FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS. YOU’VE GOTTEN MARRIED, BECAME A SUCCESSFUL NURSE, A SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER. YOU HAVE A MAGAZINE OUT NOW AND YOU’RE AN AUTHOR. HOW DOES THAT ALL FEEL?

NURSE BLAKE: Yeah, it’s crazy. It is wild. Thank you for putting that into perspective because I really don’t think about my life like that. Honestly, I just go from day-to-day, right now I have a big tour to get ready for. While I love to reflect on all the amazing things I’ve been able to do over the years, I really just focus on the next project. I think it’s probably just that I’m trying to stay busy so I don’t have to deal with the hidden trauma of gay conversion therapy that I went through when I was like 15 to 18. I just move on to the next project.

But it is really cool. I never thought when going into nursing school that I would be in entertainment or have a magazine or run a conference. I just think it’s a testament to the different avenues that nursing could take you down. Because while I don’t work in a hospital anymore, I’m still very much a nurse. Writing education programs and stuff like that. But yeah, it is pretty wild to look on my life.

GOING BACK TO BANNED4LIFE, THERE WAS A LIFT IN MAY ON THE BAN OF DONATIONS FROM GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN IN MONOGAMOUS RELATIONSHIPS. I WANTED TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CHANGE 10 YEARS AFTER YOUR CAMPAIGN.

I started that program when I was in nursing school, and thank you to Watermark for putting me on the cover because you guys definitely helped in spreading awareness about it, but it was a permanent lifetime ban back then. If you were gay or bisexual, had a sexual encounter once, you were pretty much banned for

life. So, it has been a journey. It’s changed numerous times over the past 10 years where it went from a lifetime ban to a one-year ban to a 90-day ban, there’s been many different steps to get us to the point where we are today. Is it perfect? No. Is it a step in the right direction? Yes. Does it allow more blood donors into the pool? Yes. At the end of the day, that helps patients and our community.

Sometimes it takes a lot of patience and a lot of determination to just stick with whatever you’re passionate about, to see the changes move forward and come through. It was a project that a lot of people have been involved with, so it was really cool seeing everyone kind of band together and pressure the FDA to make the change.

I was a nursing student at that time who thought they could take on the FDA, and at that time I thought they were never going to listen to me. Now looking back, I’m really glad that I spoke up and I’m glad I was able to share my story and not be afraid of this large federal organization just because I was a young nursing student from Orlando. I’m really happy and inspired that I was able to speak up and be some effect of the change that happened.

YOU’RE GETTING READY TO START YOUR NEXT COMEDY TOUR, “NURSE BLAKE’S SHOCK ADVISED.” WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE TOUR?

I start my tour July 25 in Anchorage, Alaska. I’ve never been so I’m excited about that stop and for that to be my first stop. I actually wrap up my tour Dec. 22 in Honolulu, Hawaii, so I’m going to start and finish the tour in two completely different worlds, so I’m super excited about that. I will tour pretty much anywhere that has a hospital. What’s really cool about my comedy, and just my point of view as a nurse in comedy, is any nurse or a health care worker at a hospital will be able to relate, because we all go through the same things. It’s not just like nurses in the southeast will get it or it speaks to just nurses in the northwest, it’s pretty much anyone who’s in health care. We’ve all seen it, we’ve all smelt it, we’ve all touched it. So there is such a cool relatability to my audience, and my shows are loud. Whenever I perform at a theater that I’ve never performed at before, I worry that they think I’m going to do an inspirational TED Talk because a nurse comedy show, what is this going to be? And then after the show, they’re like, “Oh my God. Your audience!”

conference.” No, the energy is up there with like the Atlantis cruises. I have to credit my audience and the people that follow me, they bring this energy and just sense of community. It’s not just something I bring to them, it’s right when they get on the ship. It’s like everyone’s family. It’s so inclusive and it’s so diverse. It seems like everyone knows each other. We just have this relatability to one another that we just kind of break the ice with each other really, really quick. So that’s the one thing that really excites me and just keeps me going and inspires me to keep doing what I do.

YOU’RE A REALLY EASY PERSON TO TALK TO. DOES THAT COME FROM NURSING? BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO MEET SO MANY PEOPLE ON THEIR WORST DAY AND YOU JUST HAVE TO VERY QUICKLY UNDERSTAND THEIR SITUATION AND CONNECT WITH THEM.

They come in party buses, in groups of 20 and 30, and they have posters. They dress up wild and we always kill it on alcohol sales, because these nurses are just ready to have such a good time and honestly they deserve it.

The big joke is if I’m performing in your city and you do have a medical emergency, just have the ambulance drop you off at my show because that’s where all the nurses are going to be. You’re not going to want to go to the hospital cause there’s going to be no one there.

NUSRECON AT SEA IS COMING BACK IN 2024. WHAT CAN YOU SHARE ABOUT IT?

NurseCon at Sea is a multi-day event, it’s a cruise and we have the whole ship to ourselves. There’s like 3,500 nurses. I perform my show a few nights, but it’s not just a Nurse Blake cruise. We also give accredited CNEs for nurses, so I bring on 25 nursing educators. We do game shows and theme nights. We do a lot of meet ups. It’s kind of like the energy of my show that runs like 90 minutes but then putting it on a cruise and going to the Bahamas for five days. It’s the ultimate nursing conference.

With that, a lot of the cruise ships are like, “Oh, you know, we think it’s just like a nursing

Yeah, for sure. As a nurse, it’s our job to make everyone really, really comfortable. I feel like anyone could be a nurse and learn the hard skills, like inserting an IV or inserting a Foley catheter. I think the most unique skill of a nurse is the ability to communicate and connect, and you really can’t teach that in nursing school. I feel like being a nurse has helped me do what I do to connect with other nurses and to be able to do interviews like this, which I absolutely love doing. I love meeting people. I love traveling and meeting nurses, it’s definitely a skill that I’ve been able to bring to nursing that nursing has helped me with overtime. Another fun fact, I actually worked at Disney’s Magic Kingdom as Peter Pan. So that also was helpful. It’s so cute because people have pictures of me during a meet and greet as Nurse Blake, and then they go back 10 years ago and they have pictures of me with them or with their kids with Peter Pan.

Nurse Blake begins his 100-city “Shock Advised Comedy Tour” in Anchorage, Alaska July 25 and wraps it up Dec. 21 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He has five stops in Florida in December, including a show at the Starz Center in Tampa Dec. 9 and at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando Dec. 11. Tickets are on sale now and available to purchase at NurseBlake.com.

NurseCon at Sea sets sail April 9-14, 2024. Book now at NurseConAtSea.com.

SHOCK AND HA: Nurse Blake’s “Shock Advised Tour” heads to Florida later this year. PHOTO COURTESY RIGHT ON! PR

(ABOVE) BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN:

(L-R) Claire Franklin, Brittany Baldwin, Kat Star Song, Seanna Makepeace, Lova Michelle and Suzie Hopes, Divine AF’s current members.

PHOTO BY PATRICK LAUGHREY

Rocking OUT

Divine AF enters authentic and electric new era

“‘Flo + Deb’ captures the complexities of romance within the LGBTQIA community in thrilling fashion,” it’s described. The group says the EP’s reception has been incredible, supported by fans new and old.

“People are so happy to have something after a long four years,” Divine AF says. “It’s a huge leap forward for us in production quality … people are really taken with the lushness of the production.”

“Listening to our new EP for the first time was a very emotional experience,” Michelle adds. “There were tears to hear the magic we had created together.”

One of the EP’s songs, “Kintsugi,” is named after the Japanese art of repairing pottery using lacquer mixed with powdered gold. It will serve as the EP’s third single.

Ryan Williams-Jent

DIVINE AF

IS NO STRANGER TO

evolution. The Tampa Bay-based, six-person act formed in 2017 as a duo, beginning with current vocalist Kat Star Song and drummer Claire Franklin.

Their sound quickly expanded, welcoming longtime collaborator Lova Michelle for guitar, keyboard and backing vocals. Singers Brittany Baldwin and Suzie Hopes followed, crafting their debut EP “This Side of Desire” for a 2018 release.

The EP also featured Jami Gee on lead guitar and offered a broad appeal, a testament to the openly LGBTQ+ collective’s talent and experience. Its six tracks featured “a musical range that brings you the heart of Americana, the depth of the blues, a slap of funk and all the feeling of soul.”

The group supported the album’s release on tour, playing at venues and festivals like New York City’s Bowery Electric and the Wookiefoot Shangri-La Festival in Minnesota. It cemented their sound as “a concoction of folk rock, classic rock and alternative that would find itself right at home on a Lilith Fair stage.”

Divine AF’s first EP was “a natural evolution of the first songs we wrote

together,” they explain. “The title came about as the band stood at the corner of Dauphine and Desire streets on a Thanksgiving weekend trip in New Orleans.”

Gee has since left Divine AF on a permanent basis, though their first EP also included current member and bassist Seanna Makepeace.

“I went to see Divine AF play at St Pete Pride 2017 and knew that I had to be part of their magic,” she explains. “Music is all about connection and interplay for me and playing with this band has been everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Whether we’re writing something new or playing an old favorite, it feels like we’re operating as a single organism.”

It’s an energy evident in “Beautifully Broken,” their second, five-track EP released June 3 at Oscura in Bradenton. The group’s first single “Flo + Debb” officially followed June 16 and is available to stream now.

“When our song was created it felt like a really big energy coming in creatively,” the band says. “Kat had conceptualized the metaphor of being beautifully broken internally, emotionally, with the Japanese art of Kintsugi … and brought the idea to the band as a dark down tempo feeling song that embraces our broken places as strengths, gold. The magic just exploded and evolved from there as everyone added their music and verses to the soundscape.”

The metaphor is “a thematic statement of purpose for both the release and the band in general: to love all life, and all in life, from its beauty to its beautiful flaws,” they also share. “Some other bands, driven by the vision of a single songwriter, might consider such a broad mission a flaw. If so, it’s a beautiful one — and one very much in keeping with the idea of Kintsugi, and the Japanese philosophy behind it, Wabi-sabi.”

Wabi-sabi is a world view centered on acceptance of transience and imperfection. Star Song was drawn to the concept for the EP and more.

“I love applying this philosophy to the band, because it gives us a lot of freedom to embrace our imperfections and to allow collaborators to flow in and out of the band,” she says. “Then we can really be present for whatever soundscapes

or group dynamic is currently being created by the players present.”

That includes Gee, who is still featured on the EP and occasionally returns for live performances. Guitarist Jules Rayne is another recent collaborator.

Franklin says that “it is truly an honor to play with this group of amazing and talented women,” whatever the group’s make-up. “The true magic happens when we are live on stage performing. It’s a very nurturing and inclusive experience.”

“There is a sense of love, support and encouragement running at the foundation of Divine AF that really grows with every new performance,” Baldwin adds. “We reach new milestones and accomplishments with every new stage we play, big or small. I leave every performance proud to share a stage with these women and feel greatly rewarded to be a part of each magical performance.”

Hopes couldn’t agree more. She says Divine AF saved her life.

“I was a freshly recovering addict when I joined this band,” she explains. “I spent so long in fight or flight and hiding … I had no idea who I was. I do now. I do. And I found myself, hugely in part through making music with these women … I feel incredibly lucky.”

Vulnerability and authenticity like that are on display every time Divine AF takes the stage. The group says while they’ve often been discouraged from mentioning their LGBTQ+ identities “to avoid being pigeonholed into playing only LGBTQ+ spaces and events,” it’s more important to do so than ever.

“We want to be able to share our magic with the world,” Divine AF says. “We have definitely experienced the community having our backs and we’ve felt moved to be proudly out now more than ever in solidarity with our local communities as we face this tumultuous political climate together.”

Star Song says that’s what chosen families like the LGBTQ+ community and Divine AF are all about.

“We hold each other accountable and also wipe away the tears,” she notes. “There’s so much richness and magic and music in that embrace.”

Divine AF’s “This Side of Desire” and the first single from “Beautifully Broken” are available to stream on major music platforms now. For more information about the band, to purchase physical copies of their music and more, visit DivineAF.com.

(ABOVE)

Drag Fun: BJ Stephens will perform as part of the “Vaudeville Spectacular.”

PHOTO COURTESY BJ STEPHENS

One Night Only

Ms. BJ Stephens drags up ‘Vaudeville Spectacular’

WATERMARK: WHAT CAN YOU SHARE ABOUT THE UPCOMING SHOW AT THE DR. PHILLIPS CENTER?

Ms. BJ Stephens: Well, it’s a Vaudeville variety show. We’ve got singers, we’ve got musicians, we’ve got an aerialist, we’ve got singing drag queens, we’ve got instrumental soloists. There’s a wide variety of acts. So it’s going to be a nice old-fashioned variety show for the audience.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO ABOUT IT?

I’m looking forward to getting a chance to perform. I just love to try to get out and interact with the audience, which I’m lucky enough to be able to do with this show. The numbers that I’m going to be working on are very much “mix and mingle,” “work the crowd” types of numbers. I’m really looking forward to that — I like to see the smiles on people’s faces and everybody having a good time, so that’s going to be great.

A FEDERAL JUDGE RECENTLY BLOCKED A FLORIDA LAW TARGETING DRAG. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?

CENTRAL FLORIDA DRAG QUEEN MS. BJ

Stephens is one of many acts in the LCO’s upcoming “Vaudeville Spectacular” at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, which will feature multiple genres of music and types of media.

The show will represent cabaret, burlesque and variety show entertainment showcasing hits from Broadway, pop, Latin, jazz, swing and more. The talented array of performers slated for the show includes vocalists, instrumentalists, a magician and an aerialist.

Stephens has won several titles in the drag community, including Miss

Gay Florida US of A Classic and Miss Sanford Pride.

Watermark sat down with the entertainer to discuss the upcoming show and what it’s like to perform drag in Florida’s current social and political climate.

be postponed, but I’m very fortunate in that a lot of the opportunities that I have are pretty much exclusively for adult audiences.

But it is always a shame when you have business owners that are made to feel that if they choose to present a certain type of entertainment, they risk tremendous censorship and loss of revenue. But personally, I’m lucky. I have a broad spectrum of stuff to pull from. Not every queen has been that lucky.

HAVE YOU OR ORGANIZERS OF THE UPCOMING SHOW RECEIVED ANY BACKLASH REGARDING THE INCLUSION OF DRAG?

Personally, I have not. I am thinking because the nature of the show is as broad as it is, it’s probably going to be less likely to get backlash. Now, that’s not to say that it won’t in the future, but because this is a variety show with a wide range of entertainment and one of the performers is a drag performer, I think perhaps it is a little less triggering to some of these people than a full-fledged show that is exclusively drag.

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER PERFORMANCES COMING UP?

It was joyous to hear that happened ... Anytime you paint an entire segment of entertainment with one brush as good or bad, you’re really doing it a disservice. Are there drag shows that are more adult-oriented? Yes, there are. But is there music that’s more adult-oriented? Yes, there is. Are there movies that are more adult-oriented? Yes, there are.

But there’s also a wide spectrum of types of entertainment and to paint drag shows or drag queens in a very narrow lane is really unjust. I know for a fact I have seen and been involved in very family-friendly drag and there’s nothing sexualized, there’s nothing salacious, there’s nothing predatory about them.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TRYING TO EXPRESS YOUR ART AS A PERFORMER IN THE STATE’S CURRENT CLIMATE?

Luckily, I have not been tremendously inconvenienced. I have had a couple of gigs that have had to

You can see me every Friday night at Savoy in Orlando, I am one of the ladies of Savoy. I’m doing some shows coming up representing the Sanford Pride organization. Just keep your eyes peeled. I frequently book private parties, things like that. I’m all around and it just depends. But if anybody wants to check BJ out, come on down to Savoy on Friday nights.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH READERS?

It’s just going to be a good show. It’s going to be a very fun variety show, a wide assortment. If you like big band jazz music, come check it out. You want to see some great live aerialist stuff, we have a guy who’s going to do things that will make you gasp, and some other great live vocalists. It’s going to be a wonderful show. I’m really excited.

The second annual “Vaudeville Spectacular” will be held July 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets begin at $75. For more information and to purchase yours, visit DrPhillipsCenter.org.

Vanessa Whittle

EPIC Sexual Health Center Provides Total Sexual Healthcare

EPIC’s Sexual Health Center offers essential sexual health and disease prevention services through education, support and resources, empowering all people to achieve better sexual health and well-being.

Services include STI diagnostic and treatment services, pregnancy testing and referrals, PrEP and PEP education and medication as well as sexual health education services and workshops with an onsite sexpert.

EPIC’s Sexual Health Center serves Tampa Bay at the following locations:

300 49th St. S. St. Petersburg, 33707

(727) 328-6420

4703 N. Florida Ave. Tampa, 33603 (813) 237-3066

CONGRATULATIONS

Lakeland’s John Lincoln and Dustin Shay were engaged June 25.

Pro Shop Pub celebrated 45 years in Clearwater June 26.

The City of Clearwater concluded its inaugural series of “Living the Culture: Clearwater Celebrates Pride” events June 29. Read more at WatermarkOnline.com.

The Tampa Pride Foundation awarded 10 $1,500 scholarships to Tampa Bay students June 29.

St Pete Pride wrapped its 21st season June 30. Read more on p. 11.

CLOSURES/ POSTPONEMENTS

Zoie’s announced its permanent closure June 25. Read more on p. 11.

Madonna has postponed her “Celebration” tour, which was set to include a stop at Tampa’s Amalie Arena Sept. 7. Read more at WatermarkOnline.com.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS

Balance Tampa Bay’s Steve Watson, Tampa Bay educator Brad Rice, a.k.a. entertainer Georgia Moore (July 6); Sarasota Opera director of marketing Carlos Eduardo Vincente, St. Petersburg realtor Brian Sprague, USF IT guru Angel Arcelay, Tampa Bay actor Chris Stein, American Financial manager Keith Williams, “Captain Marvel” superfan John Owen-Chambrone (July 7); Tampa Bay DJ Greg Anderson, Horror master Scott Swenson (July 8); Bay City Rehab & Wellness owner

Scott Barry, Tampa Bay photographer Tony Fowler (July 9); Sarasota actor Kenneth Rapczynski, MCC Tampa Senior Pastor Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw (July 10); Sawmill Campground general manager Justin Pamplin, Prestar Services Co-Owner Chip Hansell (July 11); Metro Inclusive Health Development Division Director James Keane, St. Petersburg artist Steven Ranochak (July 12); Tampa Bay entertainer Robert Rigsby/Rockell Blu, Quench Lounge manager Gary Miller (July 13); Gasparilla Festival of the Arts staple John Scheffel, LGBTQ activist Gil Sainz, Disney fanatic Matthew Samay (July 14); Tampa Bay artist Chad Mize, Tribeca Salons brand ambassador and stylist Mikey Ferrer, Jr., Three Boys Café owner Matthew Downs (July 15); OUTCoast CEO Rachel Covello, Michael Saunders & Co. realtor Jason Coy Turner, Community advocate Michael Snyder (July 16); Arts advocate James Michael McCracken, Fitness instructor Dennis Carnahan, St. Petersburg

IT wiz Frank Meekins, Kemper specialist Michael Davidson (July 17); Seminole business owner David Verdi, Former St. Pete LGBT liaison Robert Danielson, former Come OUT St. Pete ambassador

Joanie J. Werner, Real estate coach Tom Johnson, St. Petersburg charmer Michael Steven Montgomery (July 18); “Ms. Pinky Penmark”

Robert Shaffer, Tampa Bay bear Mike Tobias, St. Petersburg hairstylist Joey Wilkes (July 19).

1

IN SYNC: Trevor (L) and Clay Ellerbroek-Pettiford close out Pride month and get ready to harmonize during St Pete Pride’s Queer E Oke at the Palladium June 30.

2

JOYFUL EVENING: Callen Jones (L) and Melissa Davis celebrate trans joy at the Museum of Fine Arts June 28 during St Pete Pride’s Transtastic.

3

LETTING IT GO: Stephanie Stuart (L) and Alexis De La Mer show up in style for Idina Menzel’s concert at Jannus Live June 23, kicking off St Pete Pride’s big weekend.

4

TALE AS OLD AS TIME: Steve Blanchard (L) and Tim Hinton enjoy St Pete Pride’s street festival in the Grand Central District June 25.

5

ROYALTY ROAD: Miss St Pete Pride 2023 Ceazia Giovanni Kreshé sparkles in the St Pete Pride parade June 24.

6

MARCHING ON: Mr. St Pete Pride Vyn Suazion (L) and Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus President Nathan Bruemmer help lead the 2023 Trans March June 24.

7

DYNAMIC DIVAS: Lady Janet (L) and Conundrum strike a Pride pose before entertaining the crowd at Enigma June 23.

8

STILL GOT IT: 80s icon and entertainer Sheena Easton headlines Cocktail’s main stage entertainment June

PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

PHOTO BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT

PHOTO BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT

PHOTO BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT

PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

PHOTO BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT

25. PHOTO BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT

ORLANDO OUT+ABOUT

CONGRATULATIONS

The Greater Orlando Performing Arts Relief, aka GOPAR, began partnering with the Entertainment Community Fund on June 20 to create a Member Assistance Program to benefit the greater Orlando area. The new partnership will allow the Entertainment Community Fund to issue the Emergency Financial Assistance Fund which was established by GOPAR in 2020 to help local performers that lost work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The News Junkie celebrated 10 years on Real Radio 104.1 on June 26.

U.S. Rep. Darren Soto celebrated LGBTQ+ Pride Month on June 29 by recognizing LGBTQ+ activists Andrea Montanez, Jorge Lanza, Joseph Knoll, Kimberly Holdridge, Tatiana Quiroga, Billy Looper, Tom Christ, Lana Dunn, Jessica Beers and Lori Burdell as distinguished leaders in Central Florida. Each of them were officially entered into the Congressional Record.

The LGBT+ Center Orlando, Orlando Youth Alliance and Zebra Youth were among the 41 LGBTQ+ organizations selected for the Channel Kindness campaign, a partnership between CenterLink and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. The campaign is meant to raise funds and support LGBTQ+ organizations which assist queer youth in states that have passed or have active legislation directly harming them.

Hanks Orlando celebrated 36 years in business on July 1.

Brandon Wolf, an LGBTQ+ rights activist and Pulse survivor, released his memoir “A Place For Us” on July 1.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS

Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, owner of John Michael Exquisite Weddings and Catering Michael Thomas (July 6); Port Orange’s Madonna-loving Ryan Madison, Montessori teacher Natasha Kay (July 7); Hamburger Mary’s Jacksonville co-owner Brittany Moore, Darden attorney and board member Carole Conroy (July 8); Co-owner of Shelbie Press Michelle Murray (July 9), The Contigo Fund’s program director Marco Antonio Quiroga, Equality Florida’s Director of Transgender

Equality Nikole Parker (July 11); Central Florida drag performer Kristina McLaughlin, CDW Electrical’s Chris Brown, Orlando event planner Jorge Cruz (July 12); The Dru Project’s Shawn Chaudhry, Central Florida comedian Brianna Jaye, One Orlando Alliance board member Andrea Massey-Farrell (July 15); Watermark Splash

Award-winning Orlando-based actor Hunter Rogers, Bank of America’s Tayt Jones, AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Russell Walker (July 16); LGBTQ ally and health care activist KT Sullivan, Orlando ally Nikki Price (July 18); die-hard theater lover Deborah Simpson (July 19).

1

LOCAL BROADWAY: Watermark publisher Rick Tood (L) and Jen Kunsch attend the opening of “Beetlejuice” the musical at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando June 27. PHOTO BY RICK TODD

2

STARS & STRIPES: Reiner Wolf (L) and Steffen Brandt celebrate Independence Day in Celebration, Florida July 4. PHOTO FROM REINER WOLF’S FACEBOOK

3

PROUD LEADERS: U.S. Rep. Darren Soto with several of the LGBTQ+ leaders whom he honored for Pride Month in Kissimmee June 29. PHOTO FROM ANDREA MONTANEZ’S FACEBOOK

4

HIS STORY: MSNBC’s Joy Reid (L) with Brandon Wolf show off the cover to Wolf’s recent memoir, “A Place For Us,” on the set of Reid’s show “The ReidOut” in Washington, D.C. PHOTO FROM BRANDON

5

HERE THEY ARE: (L-R) Heather Abood, April Fresh and Tora Himan celebrate Pride with Drag Brunch at Estefan’s Kitchen Orlando June 25. PHOTO FROM LOC ROBERTSON’S FACEBOOK

6

I HEART CHAD & LESLYE: Magic 107.7’s Chad Pitt (L) and Leslye Gale living their best lives on a boat in Miami Beach June 25. PHOTO FROM

7

MEDIA MATTERS: José Luis Dieppa (L) with invited members of the press, including Watermark editor Jeremy Williams (5th from L), for the Florida Public Relations Association’s Media Mashup 2023 at Leu Gardens in Orlando June 21. PHOTO FROM JOSÉ LUIS DIEPPA’S FACEBOOK

8

GLAMOROUS: Billy Mick grabs a selfie at Hamburger Mary’s Orlando June 24. PHOTO FROM BILLY MICK’S FACEBOOK

community calendar

CENTRAL FLORIDA The Pride Chamber July Business Connect

WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 6-8 P.M. NEC HEADQUARTERS AT FASHION SQUARE MALL, ORLANDO

Join The Pride Chamber at the NEC Headquarters in the Fashion Square Mall for its July Business Connect networking mixer. Mingle while enjoying complimentary refreshments courtesy of the event’s sponsor, ADP. Admission is free for members and $20 for guests. Parking is available in the parking garage. For more information, visit ThePrideChamber.org.

LCO’s 2nd Annual Vaudeville Spectacular

SATURDAY, JULY 15, 7:30 P.M.

DR. PHILLIPS CENTER, ORLANDO

LCO’s 2nd annual Vaudeville Spectacular will feature a 35-piece professional pops orchestra, vocalists, instrumentalists, a magician, an aerialist and a performance from local drag queen Ms. BJ Stephens. Tickets start at $75 and are available at DrPhillipsCenter.org.

TAMPA BAY

LGBTQ+ Veterans Get Together

FRIDAY, JULY 14, 5-7 P.M.

CREATIVE GRAPE, ST. PETERSBURG

EPIC Generations invites LGBTQ+ military veterans to come together for a social gathering. RSVPs are encouraged at 727-328-5526 but are not required. Light appetizers will be served and partners, family members and veterans service organizations are also welcome to attend. Learn more at MyEPIC.org/ LGBTQ-Services.

Boy George & Culture Club: “The Letting It Go Show”

SATURDAY, JULY 15, 7 P.M.

MIDFLORIDA CREDIT UNION

AMPHITHEATRE, TAMPA

Boy George and Culture Club’s 25-city tour comes to Tampa Bay. The band is expected to perform celebrated hits as well as current releases. Howard Jones and Berlin will also feature. Tickets begin at $24.95. For more information about the show, visit LiveNation.com.

EVENT PLANNER

OH BOY

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

CENTRAL FLORIDA

Team Anna Back to School Drive, July 5-Aug. 18, Rep. Eskamani’s legislative office, Orlando. AnnaForFlorida.com

1st Friday Happy Hour, July 7, Southern Nights, Orlando. 407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsOrlando

Dog Days of Summer, July 7, Waterford Lakes Dog Park, Orlando. 407-380-3803; MyWaterfordLakes.org

70s Summer Brunch w/ Billy Mick and Friends, July 8, The 808, Orlando. 407-440-4079; The808Orlando.com

Illenium, July 8, The Orlando Amphitheater at Central Florida Fairgrounds, Orlando. 407-295-3247; OrlandoAmphiteater.com

“Monty Python’s Spamalot,” July 8-9, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 407-358-6603; DrPhillipsCenter.org

Amor Saturday, July 8 & 15, Irish Shannon’s, Orlando. AmorEvents-LLC.com

Vegan Market, July 9, Persimmon Hollow Brewing Company, Orlando. PHBeer.com

Bungalower Drag Bingo and Music Video Dance Party, July 11, Tactical Brewing Co., Orlando. 407-203-3303; TacticalBeer.com

Bastille Day, July 14, Swirlery Wine Bar, Orlando. 407-270-6300; Sirwlery.com

Luenell, July 14-15, Improve Comedy Theater, Orlando. 407-480-5233; TheImprovOrlando.com

Let’s Go Party: Barbie Inspired Dance Party, July 15, Conduit, Winter Park. ConDuitFL.com

Bazaar Botanica’s Endless Summer, July 16, Ivanhoe Park Brewing Company, Orlando. 407-984-7336; BazaarBotanicaFair.com

Watermark’s Third Thursday, July 20, Savoy, Orlando. 407-481-2243; Facebook.com/WatermarkFL

Kaleigh Baker, July 20, Lil Indie’s, Orlando. WillsPub.org

TAMPA BAY

“Lizzie: The Musical,” Through Aug. 6, Jobsite Theater, Tampa. 813-476-7378; JobsiteTheater.org

Matchbox Twenty, July 8, MIDFLORIDA Credit Union, 813-740-2446; LiveNation.com

Irene “The Alien” Dubois, July 8, Southern Nights, Tampa. 813-559-8625; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsTampa

Blues Jam, July 8, The Lady’s Room, Largo. 727-953-3794; Facebook.com/ TheLadysRoomLargo

“Mamma Mia! The Movie,” July 9, Tampa Theatre, Tampa. 813-274-8981; TampaTheatre.org

Rockell Blu’s Karaoke & Cocktails Birthday Party, July 12, Quench Lounge, Largo. 727-754-5900; QuenchLounge.com

BTB July Social, July 13, Hollander Hotel, St. Petersburg. 727-873-7900; BalanceTampaBay.org

EPIC Generations Coffee Hour, July 14, Sunshine Center, St. Petersburg. 727-328-3260; MyEPIC.org

July Bear Party, July 14, Quench Lounge, Largo. 727-754-5900; QuenchLounge.com

Tampa’s Biggest Birthday Bash, July 15, Watermarks Park, Tampa. TampaBayMomsGroup.com/ TampasBiggestBirthdayBash

Piano Lounge with Steven Begert-Clark, July 15, Cider Press Vegan Gastropub, 727-914-7222; CidersPressPub.com

“Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen,” July 16, USF Theater Building, Tampa. 813-974-2011; USF.edu

EPIC Generations Coffee Hour, July 17, Dr. William E. Hale Senior Activity Center, Dunedin. 727-328-3260; MyEPIC.org

Gay Men’s Chorus of TB Drag Queen Bingo, July 18, Creative Grape, St. Petersburg. 727-803-6004; GMCTB.org

Transcend: Transgender Social Group, July 21, Empath Partners in Care, St. Petersburg. 727-328-3260; MyEPIC.org

SARASOTA

Inaugural Diverse Fest, July 15, The Harvest, Sarasota. 941-953-3559; Facebook.com/ HarvestSarasota

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

Oh Boy: Boy George & Culture Club bring their “Letting It Go Show” tour to the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa July 15. PHOTO FROM THE CULTURE CLUB OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Back to School at Their Best.

Whether you’re getting your child ready for the start of camp, the sports season, or the school year, you want them to feel their best. With over 25 locations across Central Florida, the pediatricians at Orlando Health Physician Associates are a trusted resource for your child’s development providing physicals, wellness checks, same-day testing, immunizations, and additional care to prime them for the next adventure. For appointments and more information, go to OrlandoHealth.com/BackToSchool