Issuu

Rainbow REBRAND

Sarasota’s Gulfcoast Pride to debut under Project Pride’s new leadership

Tampa Pride announces 2026 hiatus, president’s termination

Se7enBites unites Orlando with Parking Spaces for Pride

music by Giacomo Puccini

libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa & Luigi Illica

sung

BUREAU CHIEF’S DESK

No

more need for FOMO

MUSIC HAS ALWAYS HELD A special place in my heart. There is just something so powerful about a beat or lyric that can move you emotionally.

I have such early memories of listening to music with my family and going to concerts. My first concert was “Hannah Montana,” and I remember it like it was yesterday. I got to be in a room with so many kids who were just as excited as I was.

After that, my mom tried her best to take my sisters and I to any concert that was happening and one of our reoccurring ones was The Jingle Ball in Miami. We would try to go every year because so many artists were at the beginning of their career and ticket prices were nothing like what they are now.

I consider myself lucky to have attended so many shows and seen so many great artists like Beyoncé, Demi Lovato, Rihanna and so many more.

Since August, I have attended three concerts and have one more planned for November. Some have been planned out while the majority of them are spur of the moment. I have no problem with putting my trust into buying day-of or day-before concert tickets.

The best thing about these types of tickets is watching the prices drop. I hate resellers but if a reseller drops their prices because no one is buying, then I don’t mind giving in. There are also profile seats that will open up the day of for much lower prices because you have a limited view.

I just did this for The Weeknd at the end of August. He performed at Camping World Stadium as part of his “After Hours Til Dawn” Stadium Tour. I didn’t buy tickets until four hours before the concert as my sisters and I waited for prices to drop, and we got lucky with tickets for $70 each. In the profile seats we had such a great time as the stage extended to the end of the stadium. That was my second time seeing The Weeknd and I would gladly go again.

In the beginning of September, I saw Kali Uchis, a Colombian American singer and songwriter. I have been listening to her music for years now and didn’t get the chance to see her on her last tour. I was so bummed out seeing all the videos of her performing that I told myself I would see her the next time.

I signed up for pre-sale tickets and got a good section in the Kia Center to see her performance. It was a great concert as she played almost all of her discography, my friend and I had so much fun dancing. Knowing that I wasn’t missing out on the experience pushed me to look for other concerts I could attend. I found out that a jazz band I listen, berlioz, was performing at House of Blues in Disney Springs and I jumped to get a ticket. I love when performers are still growing in their music and fans because smaller venues give the best performances. The moment feels more intimate.

Something I had to work on when it came to concerts was going alone. Sometimes people can’t attend with me, but I don’t want to miss out. I had to work up the courage to attend these events myself. I went to the jazz

concert alone and enjoyed the beautiful music.

I am attending a concert in Tampa for a DJ named Kaytranada this November. I’m going alone because no one could fit it in, and I refused to miss his concert. He rarely comes to Florida, and I knew I couldn’t miss that chance.

Events are meant to be enjoyed and if that means finding the joy alone, then it’s worth it. I think being okay

Events are meant to be enjoyed and if that means finding the joy alone, then it’s worth it.

with being alone has helped me. I know it’s on my terms and what I want to do. It often makes going to the events easier.

In this issue, we learn more about Sarasota’s Gulfcoast Pride as it debuts under Project Pride’s new leadership. Gulfcoast Pride is poised to become the largest Pride event in Sarasota’s history.

In Central Florida news coverage, Trina Gregory, Se7enBites owner, hosted Parking Spaces for Pride and Orlando Police are investigating an incident outside of Pulse. In Tampa news coverage, Creative Pinellas confirms funding loss after Pinellas County vote and Tampa Pride announces its 2026 hiatus.

I hope you will continue to support Watermark Out News and trust us to be your LGBTQ+ news source.

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. Page 15

KRISTA POST is a Bradenton-based freelance writer and nonprofit fundraising professional with an M.A. in journalism. Page 20

HOLLY KAPHERR ALEJOS, SABRINA AMBRA, STEVE BLANCHARD, DEBORAH BOSTOCK-KELLEY, JOHNNY BOYKINS, MARTIN “LEIGH SHANNON” FUGATE, BIANCA GOOLSBY, JAKOB HERO-SHAW, LORA KORPAR, JASON LECLERC, JERICK MEDIAVILLA, MELODY MAIA MONET, TATIANA QUIROGA, TIFFANY RAZZANO, SISTER JUANA REACTION, MOMMA ASHLEY ROSE, TREVOR ROSINE, BRYANA SALDANA, GREG STEMM, SYLVIE TREVENA, MICHAEL WANZIE, MULAN WILLIAMS, DR. STEVE YACOVELLI

BRIAN BECNEL, NICK CARDELLO, J.D. CASTO, BRUCE HARDIN, JAMARCUS MOSLEY, DYLAN TODD, CHRIS STEPHENSON, LEE VANDERGRIFT PHOTOGRAPHY

CMJM ENTERPRISES LLC, KEN CARRAWAY DISTRIBUTION AFFILIATIONS

Ryan Williams-Jent EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ryan@WatermarkOutNews.com

EDITOR’S DESK

First Things First

IDIDN’T PLAN ON USING THIS SPACE

to weigh in on the abhorrent murder of Charlie Kirk. Our views didn’t align during his life and I don’t find much value in debating them after his death.

My mother even asked me not to write about him. Not because she was familiar with his work, but because she’d seen the political pushback against anyone who dared to question the man’s rhetoric over the years.

With love and apologies to my mom, that’s exactly why I have to write about him. Or at least the American landscape we find ourselves in since he was assassinated.

It’s one that continues to evolve, so far to the detriment of our First Amendment rights. That became particularly clear with the temporary suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” by ABC after the talk show host weighed in on Kirk’s death.

After the conservative figure was killed — which although it should go without saying, was wrong on every level — my hope was that Americans might find some common ground.

That maybe this time, finally, we could all agree that no one should be gunned down in this country. Not school children, not churchgoers, not people enjoying a concert or their favorite LGBTQ+ nightclub, not Democratic state lawmakers and not right-wing activists. No one.

I hoped that for once we could put our political differences aside and agree that this country has a serious gun problem. That we might work toward the obvious solution. Sometimes I’m an idealist.

Of course it didn’t happen. In large part because the Trump administration, as is usually the case, used another American horror story to further divide us.

It was opining on that fact that led to Kimmel’s suspension. Days after he publicly shared condolences to the Kirk family, Kimmel weighed in

on inflammatory and dismissive Republican rhetoric, including Trump’s own words.

While I fully acknowledge that a private entity like Disney, ABC’s parent company, has every right to respond to an employee’s content on their network, it’s clear that isn’t what led to Kimmel’s suspension. Instead, the Federal Communications Commission stepped in.

The FCC regulates communications by radio, TV, wire, satellite and cable nationwide and is responsible for implementing and enforcing America’s communications law and regulations. It’s now run by Commissioner Brendan Carr, who wrote about the agency for Project 2025. He accused Kimmel of intentionally misleading the country and more.

“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” he shared. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Nexstar and Sinclair, two of ABC’s largest broadcasters, shared they would stop airing the show, and ABC temporarily suspended it. The president, of course, celebrated the move.

Which isn’t surprising. Trump used most of his first term to attack the free press and he’s used much of his second term to weaken it.

As Reuters points out, the First Amendment “protects free speech and other rights against government interference,” something Trump’s never been able to stomach. The outlet adds that courts “have said that protection includes rights against the government pressuring third parties to engage in censorship,” which is clearly what happened.

It should chill every American that a man was gunned down in

broad daylight. It should also chill every American that the federal government is silencing anything it views as dissent.

Kimmel’s return only came after significant public outrage and a boycott weakened Disney’s stock, though I doubt we’ve seen the last issue from Trump or the FCC. It’s all yet another reminder that local, independent journalism is more important than ever. I obviously have my favorite outlet, but please continue to support us all.

It should chill every American that the federal government is silencing anything it views as dissent.

In this issue we focus on happier news. We speak with Project Pride’s new leadership about the inaugural Gulfcoast Pride, which was postponed after last year’s hurricane season. The organization and long overdue celebration promise to serve LGBTQ+ Floridians in new and exciting ways.

Tampa Bay news stands in contrast as Tampa Pride announces a 2026 hiatus and the termination of its president. Creative Pinellas also confirms its significant funding loss.

In Orlando, Parking Spaces for Pride unites the region and honors the 49 lives lost at Pulse. We also chat with the man behind the curtain as “The Wiz” prepares to ease on down to Florida.

Watermark Out News is proud to be your LGBTQ+ news source. Please stay informed, support those who support you and enjoy this latest issue.

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. Page 15

KRISTA POST is a Bradenton-based freelance writer and nonprofit fundraising professional with an M.A. in journalism. Page 20

BRIAN BECNEL, NICK CARDELLO, J.D. CASTO, BRUCE HARDIN, JAMARCUS MOSLEY, DYLAN TODD, CHRIS STEPHENSON, LEE VANDERGRIFT PHOTOGRAPHY

CMJM ENTERPRISES LLC, KEN CARRAWAY DISTRIBUTION AFFILIATIONS

ORLANDO POLICE INVESTIGATING INCIDENT OUTSIDE OF PULSE

Bellanee Plaza

ORLANDO | The Orlando Police Department is investigating an incident outside of the Pulse site after a local activist said he was assaulted near the interim memorial Sept. 13.

Zane Aparicio, a 39-year-old also known as Cait Aldebrandt, was among the protestors arrested and freed last month for protesting Florida’s removal of Pulse’s crosswalk.

Officials are investigating the alleged assault after he shared he was punched and kicked in the face. Detectives were later seen taking photos of the flags before removing them from the scene.

Police said they were aware of the “incident that occurred in the 1900 block of S. Orange Avenue,” but did not provide further details.

Aldebrandt said he was attacked by a person who has been driving by Pulse in recent weeks, advising the person had been shouting slurs and showing obscene hand gestures.

The unidentified person pulled up in a Tesla and was with a female passenger. The man then started to remove the Pride flags, according to Aldebrandt.

Aldebrandt admitted to chasing after the man in the Tesla to stop him from leaving, according to WFTV9.

Witnesses said this was the moment the man attacked Aldebrandt.

Witness Andrew Daniel said he saw everything unfold.

“He just turned around and started wailing on Cait in the face and upper body,” Daniel said. “Then, [he] grabbed the flag out of Cait’s hand, ripped a flag off, hitting it with the pole and walked on the ground.”

He is planning to press charges when or if the man they say attacked them is found and arrested.

“I hope that he can be arrested and legally pursued for his crimes so that he cannot come back with a weapon. The whole point is to try and make sure this doesn’t escalate to something potentially deadly,” Aldebrandt said to Spectrum News. “All of our messages on the sidewalk are, you know, ‘Love over hate. Love wins.’ It’s all love-focused. It’s a nonviolent thing that we’re doing here.”

The incident led to the cancelation of a rally at Pulse Sept. 14.

A man posted on Facebook threatening to shoot protesters. The poster claimed he would go to the Pulse site and bring a mop and water to clean the chalk, along with both lethal and non-lethal guns for “self-defense.”

The crosswalk outside of Pulse has become a point of concentration as state leaders and Orlando residents have sat in defiance by the crosswalk since FDOT first removed the rainbow colors last month.

Visit WatermarkOutNews.com for potential updates.

central florida news

COMMUNITY

DEDICATION:

Sept. 15

SE7ENBITES UNITES ORLANDO WITH PARKING SPACES FOR PRIDE

Aidan Carmody

ORLANDO | Se7enBites

owner Trina Gregory dedicated all 49 of her business’ parking spaces to support local artists and the LGBTQ+ community Sept. 15 for Parking Spaces for Pride.

Se7enBites is a southern sweet and savory restaurant located in the Milk-District that was featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.” The event honored the 49 lives lost at Pulse and was announced after the Florida Department of Transportation removed the interim memorial’s Pride crosswalk.

“I just wanted to give someone an alternative instead of feeling so angry and like things were being taken away,” Gregory says. “This was something that they were getting, that they could continue to come back to see and appreciate.

“I did not imagine that this is what it would be, we had over a thousand artists reach out from all over the world,” she continues.

“I’ve had phone calls from men in Kentucky who are like, I wish I lived in a safe city, to phone calls and emails from England.”

Artists submitted their designs before the event to participate, which Gregory and her team then narrowed down to 49 finalists. Participants spent the entire day outside from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. painting their parking spaces. At the end of the event, all attendees voted for their favorite space by placing colored tokens into the artist’s bag.

“To say that I am grateful for it would be … the biggest understatement,” Gregory says.

“I am in awe of what just a small amount of kindness and love … could do. It’s crazy.”

Passionate creative local artists showed their individuality through their designs while being friendly to attendees who approached with questions.

“It’s really easy to feel disconnected, especially in the climate that we live in today,” participant Megan Hernandez shares.

Hernandez is a local artist whose Florida wildlife-inspired piece won third place in the competition. Artists who were in the top five crowd favorites were invited back next year to paint again as Parking Spaces for Pride will be an annual event. Every artist participating was outspoken about LGBTQ+ rights.

Many artists gave the attendees the opportunity to help paint rainbow hearts on their designs, including intersex activist Juleigh Mayfield who painted an intersex flag on attorney Dr. Irene Pons’ Come Out with Pride-themed parking space.

Pons and Mayfield worked together on a landmark case where Pons helped Mayfield win her request for a gender marker change on all her legal documents, including her birth certificate.

“It’s important to come out and make sure that intersex is definitely represented as well because it gets lost sometimes in the rainbow,” Mayfield explains.

Each parking space was treated with anti-graffiti spray after the event was concluded to ensure they would be safe until next year. The public is welcome to come view the artwork and visit Se7enBites all year. Next year’s event will have free admission for the public and host 44 new artists.

“While I don’t want to make it political, I also can’t really sit idly by and not do what I’m capable of doing, and it’s clear that others want to do it too,” Gregory says.

See photos at WatermarkOutNews.com.

Trina Gregory paints a heart

at Se7enBites for Parking Spaces for Pride.

PHOTO BY AIDAN CARMODY

CREATIVE PINELLAS CONFIRMS COUNTY FUNDING LOSS

Ryan Williams-Jent

LARGO, FLA. | Creative Pinellas announced Sept. 17 that the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners’ vote to defund the arts organization earlier this month is final.

Chair Brian Scott proposed defunding Creative Pinellas just days before the governing body held a vote on its 2025-26 budget Sept. 4. Commissioners voted 5-2 to eliminate over $150,000 that the organization receives from a general operating fund, though a second budget vote was scheduled for Sept. 18.

Established in 2011, Creative Pinellas has traditionally provided funding and support to local artists while connecting businesses, tourists and the public with the region’s arts community. “This is not about defunding the arts as a whole, but about removing support for the county’s designated local arts agency that serves artists, residents and the cultural community,” the organization shared ahead of time.

Over 100 advocates attended the commission’s Sept. 4 meeting, detailing their support for the nonprofit’s work.

CEO Margaret Murray was among them, asking for an additional year of funding to allow implementation of other funding initiatives.

Following the vote, Creative Pinellas shared their “deep gratitude” for supporters.

“No single vote (or 5 votes) can erase the creativity, resilience and care this community shows every day,” Creative Pinellas noted Sept. 5. “Your support has strengthened our resolve to remain part of an arts ecosystem that is collaborative, accessible and worthy of Pinellas County.”

Creative Pinellas asked supporters to contact the region’s Tourism Development Council and Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 10, asking them to “carefully reconsider defunding Creative Pinellas” on Sept. 18. The organization was expected to return to the commission meeting for the vote but confirmed Sept. 17 that they would not.

“The county chairman read a statement that was crystal clear: the decision on Sept. 4 to remove funding for Creative Pinellas in the proposed 2025-26 budget is set and final,” they shared. “… The county has moved on, and we are marching forward as well and ask that you do the same.

“We are so grateful for the incredible show of support and advocacy we’ve already experienced over the past few weeks,” they continued. “But now, let’s use our time and our collective power wisely and productively to look ahead and help us build something new.”

Creative Pinellas also confirmed that the nonprofit has reduced its staff and canceled immediate programming. Updates regarding future events and programs are expected soon.

For more information about Creative Pinellas, visit CreativePinellas.org.

tampa bay news

TAMPA PRIDE ANNOUNCES 2026 HIATUS, TERMINATION OF PRESIDENT

Ryan Williams-Jent

TAMPA | Tampa Pride announced a “one-year hiatus” Sept. 19 in a letter detailing the termination of President Carrie West.

The announcement was signed by the Tampa Pride board, which has in recent years declined to verify its makeup to Watermark Out News.

The letter was dated Aug. 1 and noted West’s employment would conclude Aug. 31. Notably, he launched a bid for Tampa City Council in that timeframe but did not advance in the Sept. 9 special election.

“The current political and economic climate, including challenges with corporate sponsorships, reductions in county, state and federal grant funding, and the discontinuation of DEI programs under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has made it increasingly difficult for our organization to sustain ongoing operations for 2026,” Tampa Pride’s letter reads.

“Due to these challenges, the Board has made the difficult decision to implement a one-year hiatus of the annual Tampa Pride Festival and Diversity Parade

and all the affiliated Tampa Pride events,” it continues. “We recognize the festival and parade’s significant financial contribution to local businesses and its vital role to our LGBTQIA+ community. However, this pause is necessary for the organization to regroup, reassess our long-term strategy, and identify additional avenues of funding to secure the future stability of Tampa Pride events.”

The board noted that West’s contributions to Tampa Pride “over the past 12 years have been deeply valued,” thanking him for his “tenure as a remarkably devoted community individual and leader.”

Tampa Pride welcomed thousands to Ybor for its 11th celebration in March, a celebration that followed mounting calls for a change in leadership. Multiple outlets reported in 2023 that former Tampa Pride board members and supporters were seeking more transparency regarding operations.

They cited the cancelation of Tampa Pride’s short-lived Pride on the River, board turnover and a lack of financial transparency among their chief concerns.

One former board member told Watermark Out News that board gridlock kept Tampa Pride from best serving the community.

West, who co-founded the current iteration of Tampa Pride, addressed some of their concerns ahead of the celebration’s 10-year mark.

“Tampa Pride does not hold back nor should we because we are a LGBTAQ+ organization from those that cause community mis-trust, lies, fake rumors, mis-truths, thievery and mis-trust of funds by people suppositively to be in the organization,” he told Watermark Out News.

Regarding a change in leadership, he added that he was “all for getting on the Tampa Pride team. But it is work!”

Neither Tampa Pride nor West responded to Watermark Out News’ requests for comment as of press, though the latter told Tampa Bay’s NBC affiliate the organization was “looking for … around $225, 275,000 minimum to carry us over.”

According to Tampa Pride’s most recent Form 990, the former president’s reportable compensation in 2023 was $115,600.

St Pete Pride, Florida’s largest LGBTQ+ celebration, as well as Winter Pride, Tampa Bay’s newest, each confirmed they will return in 2026.

NEW DIRECTION:

Former Tampa Pride

President Carrie West (R) at Tampa Pride 2023. PHOTO BY

JAMARCUS MOSLEY

SCOTUS SIDES WITH TRANS BOY IN BATHROOM ACCESS FIGHT

On Sept. 10, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a transgender boy may use the boy’s bathroom in a South Carolina public high school while pursuing a challenge to a state law that requires students to use the bathrooms corresponding to their sex assigned at birth. The order made clear that it applied only to the one student in this case. The order specifically stated that it was “not a ruling on the merits of the legal issues presented in the litigation” and was instead “based on the standards applicable for obtaining emergency relief.”

JUDGE: MICHIGAN CITY CAN BAN LGBTQ+ PRIDE FLAGS

A Detroit-area city that banned LGBTQ+ flags from publicly owned flagpoles did not violate the Constitution, U.S. District Judge David Lawson ruled. He dismissed a lawsuit against Hamtramck two years after the city council voted to allow only five flags, including the U.S. flag, the Michigan flag and flags that “represent the international character” of residents. A Pride flag was flown in June 2021 and 2022 before some members of the all-Muslim council said it clashed with the beliefs of some members of their faith. Businesses and residents aren’t prohibited from displaying a pride flag on their own property in Hamtramck.

STATE DEPT. URGED TO RESTORE LGBTQ+ INFORMATION

The Congressional Equality Caucus has called upon the State Dept. to once again include LGBTQ+ people in their annual human rights report. The 2024 report the released last month did not include LGBTQ+-specific references. Jessica Stern, the former special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights under the Biden-Harris administration who co-founded the Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, described the removal of LGBTQ+ and intersex people and other groups from the report as “deliberate erasure.” Congress requires the State Department to release a human rights report each year.

HONG KONG REJECTS

SAME-SEX PARTNERSHIPS BILL

Hong Kong lawmakers voted down a bill Sept. 10 that would have granted recognition to same-sex partnerships, despite the rights offered being limited, in a major setback to the LGBTQ+ movement. The Registration of Same-Sex Partnerships Bill, unveiled in July, stemmed from one of the legal victories that pushed the government to offer more equal rights to gays and lesbians. It met fierce opposition from lawmakers, even though it followed the top court’s 2023 ruling stating the government should provide a framework for recognizing such relationships. Out of the lawmakers who attended the meeting, 71 voted against the bill, 14 approved it and one abstained.

state, nation + world news

DEM FEARS DOGE COULD STRIKE LGBTQ+ SUPPORT

Mitch Perry via The Florida Phoenix

During his time in office, Gov. Ron DeSantis has been aggressive in vetoing appropriations in the state budget for LGBTQ+ programs.

Cognizant of that fact, some Democratic legislators say, they’ve been able to continue support for those programs by omitting any direct references to the LGBTQ+ community in their appropriation proposals. But that gambit may be coming to an end, one lawmaker suggested Sept. 13.

“I think you need to be prepared for what is coming,” warned state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando), speaking during the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus summer conference in Tampa. “Yes, we should continue to urge our senators and our representatives in the Legislature to fund these programs. We should not stop.”

But Smith fears the state’s Department of Government Efficiency initiatives led by Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia are taking aim at local governments for funding anything associated with DEI. And he’s concerned that could lead to legislation barring municipalities or counties from funding such efforts in the future.

Last month, 16 Orange County employees were served with investigative subpoenas regarding the county’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; climate initiatives; procurement; and contracts or grants. They were issued after Ingoglia said it was “probable” that Orange County employees tried to hide information when his DOGE team began examining spending practices within the county government.

Among the agencies caught up in the search are the Zebra Coalition Inc. and Zebra Youth Inc., plus the Orlando Youth Alliance Inc. “While we will fight the proposal if it comes, I believe a proposal may come that will basically now finally prohibit our local governments from being able to fund these organizations through grants, because they’re gonna say putting a roof over a young person’s head who is queer or is LGBTQ is diversity and inclusion and now prohibited under Florida law,” Smith said.

Joining Smith in an hour-long discussion were three other Democratic LGBTQ+ members of the Legislature: Sen. Shevrin Jones (D-Miami Gardens), Rep. Michele Rayner (D-St. Petersburg) and Rep. Mitch Rosenwald (D-Oakland Park). They were asked to opine about a CNN report that U.S. Justice Department officials are reportedly weighing proposals to

limit transgender people’s right to possess firearms.

Smith called it “a bigoted and transphobic attack,” and then asked the audience to think about how conservatives had responded to mass shootings in the immediate past.

Rayner called the report “a distraction” and a way to paralyze members of the LGBTQ+ community to not commit to any positive actions.

“These are very unserious people,” she said. “These are people who are not rigorous in their actual thinking capacity. They’re just not, and so ultimately we have to see it for what it is.”

If Republicans were serious about addressing mental health, “they would just fund mental health. Period,” Jones said to cheers. “The only reason why Republicans continue to beat up on our transgender community is because they believe that’s their easy target.”

He added that it is incumbent upon LGBTQ+ lawmakers to fight as hard for their constituents as they ever have.

Florida Phoenix is a nonprofit news site, free of advertising and free to readers, covering state government and politics with a staff of five journalists located at the Florida Press Center in downtown Tallahassee. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

RAINBOW ROOTS FESTIVAL COMING TO LAKELAND

Aidan Carmody

The Rose Dynasty Foundation in partnership with Pineapple Healthcare are launching the Rainbow Roots Festival, a celebration of LGBTQ+ history and artwork.

The Rainbow Roots Festival will be from noon-6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12, and will take place at the Lake Mirror Auditorium in Lakeland. Attendees will be able to purchase merchandise and art from local queer vendors and more.

“The Rose Dynasty Foundation aimed to create an event

celebrating queer history and art because they are an essential component of Pride,” Jason DeShazo, executive director, said in a press release.

This event is free and open to the public. Families are encouraged to partake in the designated art area to express themselves. There will be family friendly performances occurring throughout the day.

The Rose Dynasty Foundation has ensured that adequate security measures are in place to ensure that the Rainbow Roots Festival is safe and accessible for all guests.

Prior to the Rainbow Roots Festival, on Friday, Oct. 10 at 6:30

p.m. the Rose Dynasty Foundation, the First United Methodist Church and the Interfaith Coalition of Polk County are coming together to put on a screening of the documentary “1946” at the Sirrhosis Building.

On Saturday, Oct. 11, a drag show celebrating drag queens over the age of 40 featuring Kathryn Nevets will be taking place at 8 p.m. It will cost $8 to attend.

“I think right now more than ever is the time to come together and celebrate how deep the roots of queer art and history run,” DeShazo said.

For more information, visit RoseDynastyFoundationInc.org.

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HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: HOLIDAYS IN HOLLYWOOD

December 6 and 7

SYMPHONY STORYTIME: HOLIDAY HARMONIES

QUEERLY BELOVED

The Anticipation is Crushing Us

IHAVE SPENT COUNTLESS hours trying to name what it is I am feeling right now. I am unsettled. I am perplexed.

I try to stay in the present, not get swept away in the “what ifs.” I try to focus on what is here and real. My marriage is real. It’s legal. My children, although young adults now, are legally my children, the adoption that binds us to each other is real. It’s legal. When I was younger than my own kids are now, I went through the arduous medical and legal process to be fully recognized as the man I am. My gender identity is real. My maleness is legal. These are the things that matter to me. These are at the core of who I am. This is what is real and what is at risk.

If you’re like me, if you are a person who loves someone of the same gender, if you are someone whose children’s DNA doesn’t reflect your own, or if you are someone whose gender identity does not match the sex you were assigned at birth, you are probably experiencing mounting tension. But what are you actually feeling?

I am in a deeply emotion-centered profession. I am a pastor. I talk to people all the time about what they are feeling. While there are many things in life for which I have no skill, such as singing or remembering the name of the person I met five seconds ago, there is something I am pretty good at: talking about feelings. Years ago, I worked as a palliative care chaplain, I have sat with hundreds of people in their final moments, I have explored the ever-shifting array of feelings that people experience as the end approaches. I know feelings, better than I know anything else.

Why, then, have I been vexed by the inability to name what exactly I am feeling? I’m watching our nation slip further from where I believe we should be. But what is this feeling? It’s not exactly fear. It’s not exactly anger. It’s not righteous indignation, which technically isn’t a feeling, but is another thing for which I have a fair amount of aptitude.

I didn’t know the value of legal recognition until I had it. When I was younger and a radical queer person, living in Berkeley, California, I didn’t care about marriage. I was there when marriage equality became the law in that state, I said it was fine for other people. I watched friends get married. I supported them, but I also rolled my eyes a bit, when they weren’t looking. Then I witnessed the devastation of Proposition 8, which overturned marriage equality in California. I tried to believe that marriage equality shouldn’t be something to want. In retrospect, I now understand that this wasn’t a declaration of my radical queerness, it was self-preservation. I never wanted to go through the heartbreak that I had witnessed so many of my friends endure.

Then I met my beloved Allan, who changed my life. He taught me that I am worth joy, and love, and that I can hope for all the things that felt too scary, too impossible. Eventually marriage equality became legally recognized nationwide. Suddenly, I felt desire more powerful than I could imagine. More than anything, I wanted to be Allan’s husband and our kids’ dad.

I like to joke that I don’t know where babies come from, because I got mine in a courtroom. But the truth is, as a non-biological parent, I have had to fight to be seen as real. I know where love comes from. While our kids are now grown, our legal

bond matters, for myriad reasons that straight folks and biological parents take for granted.

I now know the word for how I feel. It hit me, not with a subtle tap, but with the power of a bus. It’s grief. I have held the hands of the dying, I have journeyed

of it is exhausting. I look around our community, I see that so many of us are in this same place of dreadful anticipation. It comes out in many ways, often through horizontal violence, where we turn on one another instead of fighting against those who oppress us.

accept. This is not who we have to be.

I will fight for you. I hope you will fight for me too.

with people in their most sacred and heart-wrenching moments, and yet when my own existence feels so precarious, how did I not know that this feeling is grief? There’s a term for when we grieve the things that have not yet happened, anticipatory grief.

I am anticipating that everything that makes me who I am could be stripped away. It hasn’t happened yet, but the anticipation

We can’t grieve in advance, and we can’t prevent our grief by crushing others. All we have is each other. Your struggle might not look like my struggle; your grief might be different than mine.

We live in a cultural context where we are taught to look down the line to the person we can treat as less than us. This is not the reality we have to

How do we handle the anticipation of the terrible situations that are likely to come? We must care as much about others’ struggles as we do about our own. I will fight for you. I hope you will fight for me too.

In our grief, may we find our way to true community. May we finally learn that there is no liberation for any of us, until we are all free.

Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw is the senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa, MCCTampa.com. He is a proud husband and father in a family that was legalized through marriage equality and adoption.

Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw

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:

 Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking BIKTARVY.

Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without ﬁ rst talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months, and may give you HBV medicine.

ABOUT BIKTARVY

BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults and children who weigh at least 55 pounds. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS.

Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains:

 dofetilide

 rifampin

 any other medicines to treat HIV-1

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY

Tell your healthcare provider if you:

 Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.

 Have any other health problems.

 Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking BIKTARVY.

 Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed.

Talk to your healthcare provider about the risks of breastfeeding during treatment with BIKTARVY.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:

 Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

 BIKTARVY and other medicines may a ect each other. Ask your healthcare provider and pharmacist about medicines that interact with BIKTARVY, and ask if it is safe to take BIKTARVY with all your other medicines.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY

BIKTARVY may cause serious side e ects, including:

 Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” section.

 Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to ﬁght infections that may have been hidden in your body. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY.

 Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking BIKTARVY.

 Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

 Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

 The most common side e ects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%). These are not all the possible side e ects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY.

You are encouraged to report negative side e ects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.

HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY

Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.

GET MORE INFORMATION

 This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.

 Go to BIKTARVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5.

 If you need help paying for your medicine, visit BIKTARVY.com for program information.

Zaira Campos

THE GOOD PAGE FEATURES

positive LGBTQ+ news in Central Florida and Tampa Bay, uplifting and inspiring stories highlighting locals in our community. In this issue we learn about Dr. Tameca N. HarrisJackson’s Hope and Serenity Health Services.

When Dr. Harris-Jackson looks back on what drew her to therapy, she starts with a feeling. Growing up in a small Virginia town, she sensed “this unspoken energy in the environment,” as if adults were keeping secrets and people were not living or feeling their best. In college, she noticed how freely friends confided in her.

“I could have conversations with them openly, non-judgmentally about things, answering people’s questions, and it made me happy that people felt safe with me to do that,” she says.

The path led to general therapy first and later to the specialty that had intrigued her since childhood: sex therapy.

Her route to private practice was gradual. After roles in several states, Dr. Harris-Jackson joined the University of Central Florida’s School of Social Work in 2015. Students kept asking if she saw clients in the community. In 2018

The Good Page

Seen, Heard and Held: Inside Hope and Serenity Health Services with Dr. Tameca N. Harris-Jackson

she decided, as she puts it, to “just see if I could just do something part time on the side.” Referrals poured in, especially from people seeking a Black woman therapist with expertise in sexuality and relationships.

“There aren’t many African American therapists who are women who focus on sexuality and relationships. It’s just rare and so people were calling a lot about that,” she says. Hope and Serenity Health Services, her Orlando based practice, grew from there. She still teaches part time at UCF.

Sex therapy was never a gimmick for Dr. Harris-Jackson. As a kid she was struck by Dr. Ruth Westheimer’s frank, educational style on television. “She just seemed to take all the shame out of it and all the taboo stuff out of it,” she recalls. That impulse to replace shame with information and care runs through everything she does.

Hope and Serenity Health Services is known for clinical excellence and a culture of compassion that begins within the team. Dr. Harris-Jackson shares a story from a monthly staff meeting: a new clinician listened for a while, then blurted out, “Is this place for real?” Another team member replied, “I thought it was fake too.” Dr. Harris-Jackson explains, “People come here and it feels like home. They know they are cared for.” That internal care flows outward to clients.

Access is central to her mission. She names insurance reimbursement as a structural barrier that pushes many providers out of networks. Hope and Serenity Health Services remains on select panels and also offers low-cost services through closely supervised interns.

“You literally get two therapists for the price of one,” she says. “It doesn’t matter how much you are paying; you still get the same quality services as anyone else.”

Her approach is justice centered and safety focused, particularly for BIPOC clients and LGBTQ+ community members.

Dr. Harris-Jackson describes herself as a Black woman who is affirming and woven into the LGBTQ+ community, a proximity and participation that informs her advocacy and her clinical lens. This makes it so clients do not have to translate the realities of their identities before they can be cared for. The current climate weighs on people, she says.

“The fear is thick all around,” she notes. “People are now trying to find where they can go to be safe.”

She holds space for those realities while modeling presence over protocols.

“What is most important is presence,” Dr. Harris-Jackson says. “Really being present, attuned to the person in front of you is more therapeutic than almost any skill you can bring forward in the moment.”

Beyond the therapy room, her signature Healing Journeys

invite clients to experience transformation through travel. The seed was to study abroad.

“Traveling is such a healing and therapeutic experience for me,” she says. “It is an opportunity to get out of the day to day, be in a different environment, learn more about yourself, connect with others.”

Stigma still keeps many from seeking help, especially around intimacy. Representation matters here too. Clients often tell her they waited years. “99.9% of the time, after just a few sessions, people go, I can’t believe I waited so long. I wish I had come sooner,” she says. That is why she urges anyone considering therapy to try a consultation. “Just take one little step and make the call for a consultation with anybody. Just give it a try,” she says. Learn more at HopeSerenityHealth.com.

Interested in being featured in The Good Page? Email Editor-in-Chief Ryan Williams-Jent at Ryan@WatermarkOutNews. com in Tampa Bay or Central Florida Bureau Chief Bellanee Plaza at Bellanee@ WatermarkOutNews.com in Central Florida.

PHOTOS COURTESY DR. TAMECA N. HARRIS-JACKSON

Rainbow REBRAND

Sarasota’s Gulfcoast Pride to debut under Project Pride’s new leadership

Krista Post

SARASOTA’S ROSEMARY DISTRICT

will soon be filled with queer joy as Gulfcoast Pride makes its highly anticipated debut on Saturday, Oct. 25 from noon-5 p.m., hosted by local nonprofit Project Pride.

The organization promises a day of joy, resilience and community for people of all ages, backgrounds and identities. Organizers say the inaugural celebration — which was postponed due to Hurricane Milton last year — is especially meaningful.

Project Pride is determined to bring the community together in a show of unity, celebrating authenticity with over 100 local vendors, live entertainment, food trucks, an art zone, kids’ activities and a pet pageant. They say Gulfcoast Pride is poised to become the largest Pride event in Sarasota’s history.

Among the many highlights is the return of Zee Machine, the LA-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for his infectious hooks, soaring vocals and empowering live sets. His 2023 EP “Can I Be Honest…?” marked a breakthrough moment in his career, reaching the Top 10 on the iTunes Pop charts and connecting with listeners in deeply personal ways. Tracks from the project have since accumulated millions of streams and fueled a sold-out international tour with fellow artist Bentley Robles, with which he performs as the LGBTQ+ duo Tears & Gearz.

“People have said they felt very seen by it,” Zee Machine told Watermark Out News before last year’s cancellation. “At the end of the day, that’s what I really want — to see the way people connect with it in their heart.”

This won’t be Sarasota’s first encounter with the artist. In 2023, he stunned audiences as part of Project Pride’s annual Grand Carnival celebration.

“You just don’t get any better energy from a crowd than you do at festivals and Pride events,” he shared last year. “It’s a beautiful exchange of love and music.”

But the festival is about far more than great music and a fabulous party. It represents a deliberate step forward in the greater Gulf Coast’s commitment to embrace and uplift the LGBTQ+ community.

Sarasota is no stranger to Pride. For over three decades, Sarasota Pride served as a regional staple — one that was acquired by Project Pride in 2023. After the nonprofit also absorbed Manatee Pride from

ALSO Youth, they chose to create Gulfcoast Pride.

“Rebranding to Gulfcoast Pride signals that Pride isn’t bound to city limits,” explains Project Pride Board President Justyn Hunter-Ceruti, who stepped into the leadership role in July. “It’s open to the entire Gulf Coast region. We’re breaking down silos, so this isn’t about one certain group: it’s about everyone. This is a place we can all call home.”

For organizers, the year delay has only fueled excitement.

“We anticipate more people attending than ever before,” Hunter-Ceruti says. “The LGBTQ+ community is getting so much pushback from local, county and state levels. People want to rally together to show support and express themselves through art, music and community. That collective energy is what Pride is all about.”

Hunter-Ceruti, who moved to Sarasota with his husband and young child four years ago, has been deeply involved with Project

Pride for the past three years. Now he’s committed to guiding the organization into its next chapter.

“I want Project Pride to be a place where our community feels not only celebrated but also supported,” he notes. “It’s not enough to host events; we want to equip people with the tools to thrive.”

One initiative he’s particularly excited about is the Bullying Support Squad, launching next year. It will focus on equipping students with skills to build confidence and resilience if they encounter bullying. Parents will also receive resources to help support their children.

“It’s about long-term resilience,” Hunter-Ceruti explains. “We’re not typecasting people as victims. We’re empowering them with education and support.”

The lead-up to new programming like Gulfcoast Pride comes at a pivotal moment for Project Pride. In addition to its new board president, a new executive director has taken the reins.

Tom Edwards was named executive director last month, bringing decades of experience with him. The LGBTQ+ advocate also serves as a Sarasota County School Board member.

The community at large participated in a town hall Aug. 27, pictured left, to welcome him. For Edwards, Gulfcoast Pride represents a broader vision for the community.

“I’ve seen how special interest groups like people with disabilities, women, seniors, and LGBTQ+, Black, and Hispanic people are often siloed,” Edwards says. “But when we work together and when cultures share, we become stronger and understand each other more deeply. Rebranding is about merging those communities into one voice so we can build resilience and get the community we deserve.”

Edwards is no stranger to adversity. He lived through the AIDS crisis, serving on the committee of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and working with Dr. Anthony Fauci to disseminate urgent medical information. That experience continues to shape his approach today.

Edwards’ dual role as a school board member and executive director has not come without scrutiny. Conservative community members in particular have questioned whether holding leadership positions in both education and an LGBTQ+ nonprofit could present a conflict of interest.

For Edwards, the distinction between the two roles is clear and valuable. He emphasizes that his school board position gives him a unique lens to hear directly from parents, teachers and students, insights that inform his nonprofit leadership in meaningful ways.

He views it as an opportunity to connect voices across the community and provide a safe platform for people to share their values and concerns.

“I’m proud to have been elected with strong support in a nonpartisan role, and I believe that moderate, reasoned voices are exactly what our community needs,” Edwards says. He describes himself as an “eternal optimist” who refuses to compromise on issues of right and wrong, and who believes deeply in values of diversity, equity and inclusion.

For him, standing firm in these principles is not only consistent with his school board service but essential to building resilience within the wider community. That same optimism carries into his vision for Gulfcoast Pride.

“I really feel that we need to have a balance of community, advocacy and celebration,” he says. “People need safe spaces where they can be heard, but also opportunities to celebrate and build joy together. It’s not either/or — it’s ‘and.’”

In Sarasota, visibility has long been a central part of the LGBTQ+ community’s expression. In 2021, Project Pride unveiled its PrideWalk, Sarasota’s first major LGBTQ+-focused crosswalk mural at the five-corner intersection of Cocoanut Avenue and 2nd Street.

Designed by artist Joey Salamon, the installation quickly became a symbol of love, visibility and belonging for Sarasota’s LGBTQ+ community and allies. It stood as a point of pride and visibility in the heart of downtown Sarasota until this year, when the City of Sarasota announced it would remove the PrideWalk following a directive from the Florida Department of Transportation.

The decision aligned Sarasota with other Florida cities facing similar removals and sparked disappointment among advocates who viewed the crosswalk as a vital expression of identity, safety and inclusion.

In response, Project Pride began developing new ways to preserve visibility and resilience through public art. This effort includes Compassion at the Crosswalk, a community vigil and art initiative scheduled for Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Pineapple and Cocoanut, west of the Selby Library.

“PrideWalk isn’t the end of our story,” Hunter-Ceruti emphasizes. “We see it as an expression and an act of resistance. Now we’re

building on that with Compassion at the Crosswalk: a vigil and community art project that honors what’s been lost while celebrating what we’ve built.”

Edwards echoes him.

“When the Pulse memorial crosswalk was one of the first to be removed, it retraumatized families and friends of the 49 lives lost,” he says of the Orlando landmark. “Our response is not just to repaint, but to invite everyone to participate in healing and resilience.

“Responding with the message of ‘You erased us, now we’re going to paint it back’ is needed but I think that also shuts people down and makes them tune out,” he continues. “This isn’t just about the LGBTQ+ community: it’s about all of Sarasota. It’s about saying that you cannot erase us, and we will respond with compassion, art and strength.”

Compassion at the Crosswalk will bring the community together to honor the lives lost, support grieving families and reaffirm Sarasota’s commitment to inclusion. Plans are also underway for new murals and art installations with local partners, including PrideWalk’s original artist Joey Salamon. Through these initiatives, Project Pride aims to ensure that visibility and belonging are not erased but, rather, reimagined in meaningful ways.

“We are probably known for our arts community almost as much as our beaches,” Edwards adds of Sarasota. “The LGBTQ+ community accounts for a significant portion of this community. In effect, the attack was a slap in the face to all of Sarasota and its arts community.”

rights aren’t just symbolic but actually implemented. Honoring him this year feels especially fitting as we continue building a stronger, more inclusive community.”

Community support is critical to making Gulfcoast Pride possible. Project Pride is grateful to the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, this year’s presenting sponsor.

“Gulf Coast Community Foundation is proud to support Gulfcoast Pride, the largest Pride festival in our region,” Phillip Lanham, President & CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation, shared last year. “Our commitment to fostering vibrant, inclusive communities drives us to celebrate our region’s rich diversity. We look forward to joining the festivities this fall and celebrating the many voices that make our community remarkable.”

“Art is supposed to be provocative,” he continues. “Through it, we can send a message of resilience and unity to the entire community.”

That same spirit of resilience and celebration will carry into Gulfcoast Pride just a few weeks later. While its mission of advocacy remains central, the festival also promises a day full of fun, laughter and connection.

Attendees will enjoy a lively street fair with more than 100 local vendors offering crafts, services and resources, along with a drag show headlined by Pork Chop, a fan favorite from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The entertainment lineup also includes performances by DJ Brianna Lee, The Harvest Band and Merge Eleven, leading up to the grand finale from Zee Machine.

Families will find plenty to enjoy in the dedicated kids’ zone with safe, age-appropriate activities, while animal lovers can look forward to the pet zone and pet pageant. For those seeking a quieter experience, art displays and cool-down zones will provide space to connect, reflect and recharge. “This is a family friendly, free event,” Hunter-Ceruti says. “We want everyone from kids to grandparents to feel welcome.”

As they did during the last Sarasota Pride in 2023, when Edwards was recognized, Project Pride highlights grand marshals. This year’s honoree is Ken Shelin, a longtime champion for human rights and former Sarasota City Commissioner.

“Ken has been an incredible advocate,” Hunter-Ceruti says. “He’s worked tirelessly to make Sarasota a place where metrics for human

Additional sponsorship opportunities are available, offering local businesses and individuals the chance to demonstrate their commitment to inclusivity and support the largest LGBTQ+ event in the greater Sarasota region.

As both Hunter-Ceruti and Edwards stress, however, Gulfcoast Pride is about more than one day. It’s about building momentum for lasting change.

“Three big highlights guide us: breaking down silos so Pride is for everyone, supporting individuals through education and empowerment, and building resilience for all marginalized groups,” Hunter-Ceruti says. “We are stronger together. By connecting across communities, we can withstand challenges and come out even more united.”

Edwards agrees. “It’s such a difficult time for the LGBTQ+ community, with rising political attacks and restrictions,” he says. “But when we come together — when we celebrate, advocate and connect — we remind ourselves that our differences make us stronger, not weaker. Gulfcoast Pride is a chance to smile, lock arms and get back to work for a better future.”

“We invite everyone to join us for an unforgettable day of love, laughter, and community,” Hunter-Ceruti adds. “No matter who you are, there’s a place for you at Pride.”

Project Pride will hold the inaugural Gulfcoast Pride Oct. 25 in Sarasota’s Rosemary District, preceded by Compassion at the Crosswalk. For more information about these and other events, visit PPSRQ.org.

STEPPING UP: Project Pride Executive Director Tom Edwards (L) and Board President Justyn Hunter-Ceruti are leading the nonprofit into its next chapter, efforts which include launching the rebranded Gulfcoast Pride. PHOTOS COURTESY PROJECT PRIDE

Brand New Tour

‘The Wiz’ eases on down to Orlando and Tampa Bay

Aidan Carmody

FRESH REVIVAL:

Alan Mingo Jr as The Wiz in the North American Tour of “The Wiz.”

PHOTO

JEREMY DANIEL.

THE TONY AWARD-WINNING

musical “The Wiz” will ease on down to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando Sept. 30-Oct. 5 and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa Oct. 14-19.

This new rendition celebrates Black culture and the timelessness of “The Wizard of Oz” story. Renowned director Schele Williams revives the classic story by bringing a contemporary twist and highlighting Black culture.

“Its universal, it’s probably one of the biggest musicals,” Alan Mingo Jr., who plays The Wiz, says. “All Americans know when they see the Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow, we know what story we’re talking about, now we lean toward what is this version.”

Mingo has always grown up with a love for music and dancing. He recalls growing up watching 1978’s film adaptation of “The Wiz” and loving the Broadway renditions. Mingo is best known for his award-winning performance as Lola in the Canadian and Broadway productions of “Kinky

Boots,” along with other Broadway shows such as “Hairspray,” “Rent,” “The Little Mermaid” and others.

Performing with Mingo is Dana Cimone as Dorothy, Mykal Kilgore as the Lion, Elijah Ahmad Lewis as the Scarecrow, Sheherazade Holman as Glinda, D. Jermone as the Tin Man and Kyla Jade as Aunt Em/Evillene.

“Not only am I having fun as an actor, but I’m also playing with the other actors,” Mingo remarks. “There are times where I want to strike more fear into them or there’s times where I want to be more jovial or cunning and the role allows me to do that.”

“The Wiz” has won numerous awards including a Tony Award for Best Musical and the 2024 Theatre World Award. Alongside a star-studded cast there is an award-winning crew

stages across the country with new renditions for 50 years.

The special twist to this revival is its uplifting story with the essence of Black culture intertwined throughout the show.

working behind the scenes to create a magical experience for guests and transform the theater into Oz.

The scenic design team behind “The Wiz” is led by Academy Award-winning designer Hannah Beachler, who worked on Beyoncé’s “Black is King” and “Lemonade,” in addition to “Black Panther.”

“I wanted to pay homage to the original ‘Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ the way we start the show and for people to see that aspect of the original film and original story,” Beachler shared on the “The Broadway Show: Uncut” podcast.

Beachler said that many of the small intricacies within the set are each packed with symbolism and historical references to Black history.

Objects like quilt patches are hanging, as they were used as codes on the underground railroad in the 1800s and an arch inspired by the Louis Armstrong Park arch, a historical landmark in New Orleans, is also seen.

“I’ve kind of made the symbols a little more fun and a little more maybe Tim Burton-esque ... they have meaning,” Beachler remarked.

With a mix of pop, jazz and ballet dance styles, Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” choreographer JaQuel Knight brings new moves Oz has never seen before.

“We’re going on this sort of journey of all things; in my mind I’m like all things that’s Black and feels like our culture from beginning, to present, to the future of it, of what I consider to be African American dance and how I view it,” Knight shared in an interview with the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

The music in this rendition features 70s funk, gospel, rock and soul sounds mixed with classic songs such as “Everybody Rejoice” and “Emerald City Ballet.”

“I don’t know how else to say it besides it’s the first time we will ever witness this type of dance, this sort of energy, this sort of love on a Broadway stage,” Knight said.

The story of the four heroes’ journey through Oz began with the children’s book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. “The Wiz” on Broadway began in 1975 and has been gracing

From music to jokes or costume style, the entire cast and crew have made sure that Black culture is accurately represented and celebrated at every moment of the show. Including a unique twist on Munchkin Land with a New Orleans French Quarter-inspired Oz.

“It’s embracing the things that Black cultures knows to be true,” Mingo says. “Some of the things we say on stage we’ve heard people and our parents say, so it’s very universal.”

“The Wiz” is an iconic character with a mysterious aura behind him. Mingo uses his quirky charm and talent to embody the eclectic figure that is the Wizard.

“For me he’s kind of like a traveling salesman, you love to hate him and hate to love him!” Mingo exclaims.

“My whole thing is he’s unpredictable, in their mind they could be thinking what’s he doing and what’s happening but that’s how I would want them to feel about the Wizard if he was real.”

The actors in “The Wiz” ensure that guests have a unique experience that is enjoyable for all ages. Keeping this revival fresh and exciting is the main goal of the actors.

Mingo likes to bring his personality to the character and life experience to the show to give audience members an unforgettable time. The cast’s own flair on their characters offers a new perspective into the classic story.

“In a way it keeps them on their toes, because if you’re meeting this man who’s all powerful and all knowing, you’re not comfortable,” Mingo says. “It’s like when you meet God, how do you act?”

This revival of “The Wiz” is a special version with its mix of a contemporary world and a new age sound.

“It’s the reason why ‘Wizard of Oz’ still plays every year.” Mingo shares. “It’s one of those stories that we all know and coming to see an all-Black cast do their version of it is special.”

“The Wiz” will play at The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in the Walt Disney Theater Sept. 30--Oct. 5 and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa Oct. 14-19.

Tickets start at $61 for the Orlando shows and are available at DrPhillipsCenter.org and tickets start at $62 for the Tampa shows and are available at StrazCenter.org.

announcements TAMPA BAY OUT+ABOUT

CONGRATULATIONS

The Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus held its summer conference Sept. 12-14, uniting LGBTQ+ Floridians and their allies “in the face of unprecedented attacks on equality.” Read more at WatermarkOutNews.com.

The Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival held a Summer Fest Sept. 12-14 at AMC Westshore, a weekend of LGBTQ+-focused features and shorts. Read more at WatermarkOutNews.com.

Come OUT St. Pete announced Sept. 19 that Bill Kody has retired from the board of directors. The organization will also return for its National Coming Out Day Celebration on Oct. 11 from 2-6 p.m. at Central Ave. and 23rd St. S. between 1st Ave. S. The community block party will feature performances from its new royal court and other surprises. Read more at WatermarkOutNews.com.

ROYALE T: Justine B. Knights (L) strikes a pose Sept. 20 with Latrice Royale at Disco Pony Nightclub. PHOTO VIA DISCO PONY NIGHTCLUB’S FACEBOOK

STONEWALL SPEECH: State Rep. Michele Rayner speaks at the Stonewall Democrats of Pinellas County’s meeting Sept. 18. PHOTO VIA THE STONEWALL DEMS’ FACEBOOK

3 ALLY AWARD: (L-R) Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus President Kristen Browde and Vice President Luis Salazar present Rep. Kathy Castor with an LGBTQ+ Ally Award Sept. 12. PHOTO BY KIMBERLY DEFALCO

4 PAINTING PRIDE: Faith United Church of Christ paints a permanent Pride mural along its Dunedin drive Sept. 21. PHOTO VIA FAITH DUNEDIN UCC’S FACEBOOK

5 TEAM TIGLFF: TIGLFF Vice President Unity Jalal, Treasurer Caroline Bedenbaugh and President Kayden Rodriguez welcome supporters to TIGLFF’s Summer Fest Sept. 12. PHOTO VIA TIGLFF’S FACEBOOK

6 WORDS WITH WELCH: St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch hosts LGBTQ+ and other advocates Sept. 11 to discuss city art installations and more. PHOTO VIA MAYOR WELCH’S FACEBOOK

7 OUT FOR BUSINESS: (L-R) Callen Jones, Aarin Sharpe and Nela Lamb represent TransNetwork at Watermark Out News and the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber’s networking social Sept. 17. PHOTO BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT

8 BLACK HISTORY MATTERS: St. Pete City Councilmember Corey Givens Jr. (L) and Brian Longstreth at the Woodson African American Museum Sept. 20. PHOTO VIA THE WOODSON’S FACEBOOK

MCC Tampa Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw announced Sept. 21 he will conclude his time as senior pastor at the end of this year.

Funky Flamingo celebrates five years in Gulfport Sept. 30. The Garage on Central Ave. celebrates 14 years in the Grand Central District Sept. 30.

OUT FOR BUSINESS

The Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber and Watermark Out News’ Out for Business Tampa Bay returned Sept. 17 at The Study. The bi-monthly networking social featured light bites provided by the restaurant and a raffle benefiting Trans Network. Read more and view photos at WatermarkOutNews.com.

2026 HIATUS

Tampa Pride announced Sept. 19 that the nonprofit will take a “one-year hiatus,” detailing the termination of former President Carrie West. Read more on p. 10.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS

State Rep. Michele Rayner, Tampa Bay caregiver R.J. Walker, Hillsborough County LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus’ Nicholas Biscardi (Sept. 25); Accuracy Painting’s Kelly Bachman, animal lover Joe Diaz-Henson (Sept. 27); Tampa Police Department LGBTQ+ Liaison Sgt. Christie Shiver, Tampa realtor Cody Limberger (Sept. 28); Tampa decorator extraordinaire Matthieu Stanoch, Ybor City event planner Tony LaColla (Sept. 29); LGBTQ+ advocate Nathan Bruemmer, Suncoast softballer Ismal Melgar, Inclusive Care Group Chief Operating Officer Salim Rouwayheb (Oct. 1); TriggerMouth Tee’s Luis Balaguer, Tampa Bay entertainer Darnell Bradley aka Crystal Reigns, Nurses Choice Inc. president Steve Sika (Oct. 2); St. Petersburg staple Chuck Henson, Sarasota photographer Samantha Ponzillo (Oct. 4); St. Petersburg weather witch Edith Lewis-Allen, St. Petersburg sprinter Gabe Michael (Oct. 5); Tampa realtor Mike Reedy, Gomez Law Firm of St. Petersburg’s Ian Gomez, Allendale UMC Rev. Andy Oliver (Oct. 7); Tampa Bay photographer Robert Castelli, (Oct. 8)

announcements CENTRAL FLORIDA OUT+ABOUT

CONGRATULATIONS

Trina Gregory, Se7enBites owner, dedicated all 49 of her business’ parking spaces to support local artists and the LGBTQ+ community Sept. 15 for Parking Spaces for Pride. Read more on p. 8.

Joe Folsom, pride pantry coordinator for LGBT+ Center Orlando celebrated his third anniversary on Sept. 16. Central Florida Community Arts celebrated its 15th anniversary on Sept. 17.

Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis, Rep. RaShon Young and Dr. LaVon Bracy endorse Noah Widmann for Florida’s 7th Congressional District Sept. 17.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation relocated its Orlando Healthcare Center & Pharmacy Sept. 17 and celebrated with a ribbon cutting. Read more and view photos at WatermarkOutNews.com.

Pom Moongauklang announced her new role as the Culinary Director of Anthem Orlando Sept. 18.

The City of Orlando opened its Hispanic Heritage Month Art Exhibition at the Terrace Gallery City Hall Sept. 18.

Outpost Neighborhood Tavern announced Sept. 19 its first drag brunch will be hosted by Darcel Stevens on Oct. 5.

Art & History Museums of Maitland celebrated its fith year of the Latin Performing Arts Festival on Sept. 22 and will have a week of art shows until Sept. 28.

CLOSURES

Renaissance Theatre Company was forced to close Sept. 19 until further notice. Read more at WatermarkOutNews.com.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS

Southern Nights Orlando’s Christopher Bishop, Orlando chef Nathan Shifflett, Project Manager at Disney Kevin Thornton (Sept. 25); Orlando performer Eddie Cooper, Orlando performer Janine Klein, Keep Orlando Beautiful coordinator Jody Goostree, graphic artist Jarrod Pope (Sept. 26); Central Florida State of Gratitude grant recipient Kevin Voeltz, Darden Restaurants’ social media strategist Jeff Alexander Giordano, Dapper Duck owner Chuck Zell (Sept. 28); City of Orlando Chief Financial Officer Chris McCullion, Orlando advocate David Olsen, The Marvelous Hillary Chiou (Sept. 29); HIV/AIDS activist Rob Domenico, Orlando LGBTQ advocate Eric Ercole (Sept. 30); Central Florida drag queen Tora Himan (Oct. 2); Local musician Taylor Bulloch, “The Money Coach” Tammy Lally (Oct. 3); Orlando talk show host Ted Bogert (Oct. 4); The Milk District executive director Zac Alfson, Orlando bartender Tracy Thomas (Oct. 5); Lighthouse Realty broker/owner Mike Trexler (Oct. 6); Orlando advocate Michael Slaymaker, graphic designer Jocelynn White, drag performer April Fresh, aka Loc Robertson, Former Watermark Out News designer Katie DiBenedetto (Oct. 7); Watermark Out News freelancer and UCF student Jheff Mathis, Orlando Meltdown coordinator Kyle Gaither, J.P. Morgan’s Aly Benitez, D’Squared Productions’ Douglas White (Oct. 8).

NEW SPACE: Orlando Commissioner Shaniqua Rose speaks at the grand opening of AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Orlando Healthcare Center & Pharmacy Sept. 17. PHOTO BY AIDAN CARMODY

HISPANIC CAUCUS: U.S. Rep. Darren Soto speaks at the 48th annual Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala Sept. 18. PHOTO VIA ORANGE COUNTY DEMOCRATS’ FACEBOOK

UNIONS UNITED: Rep. Johanna Lopez speaks at a roundtable conversation Sept. 12 with Central Florida labor and union leaders. PHOTO VIA ORANGE COUNTY DEMOCRATS’ FACEBOOK

4 FANG-TASTIC: Watermark Out News staff attends “Nosferatu” at the Renaissance Theatre Company Sept. 13. PHOTO BY KAY YINGLING

BUSINESS REFORM: Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith speaks with the East Orlando Chamber for Latte with Leaders Sept. 12. PHOTO VIA CARLOS GUILLERMO SMITH’S FACEBOOK

WICKED GOOD: Performer Teddy Fournier, as HAVOC Orlando’s spooky new icon, at Howl-OScream in SeaWorld Sept. 17. PHOTO BY NICHOLAS GRAZIADEI

COMMUNITY PRIDE: 49 local artists come together at Se7enBitesto support the LGBTQ+ community Sept. 15 for Parking Spaces for Pride. PHOTO BY AIDAN CARMODY

OPENING NIGHT: Rep. Anna V. Eskamani (L), Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet (M) and Mira Tanna (R) attend the Hispanic Heritage Month Art Exhibition Sept. 17 at City Hall’s Terrace Gallery. PHOTO VIA REPRESENTATIVE ANNA V. ESKAMANI’S FACEBOOK

community calendar

CENTRAL FLORIDA

LGBTQ+ Soccer League

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1, 6:30 P.M.

DR JAMES R SMITH CENTER

The social sports leagues to Central Florida’s LGBTQ+ community will kick off the eight-week soccer season. . Each week, following play the team invites everyone to Outpost Neighborhood Tavern to get a free drink. For more information, visit OutSportsLeague. LeagueApps.com

EVENT PLANNER

Orlando Gay Chorus’ Uncut Cabaret

2025

SUNDAY, OCT. 5, 7 P.M.

RENAISSANCE THEATRE COMPANY

Join the frivolity of Orlando Gay Chorus’ 17th annual Uncut Cabaret at the Ren Theatre. The bar will open 30 minutes prior to show, this includes photo ops with the Uncut folks. Raffle tickets can be purchased for gift baskets and beads will be used for the Top and Bottoms game. Prize packages will be worth over $200. This is 18+ cabaret. For more information, visit Ci.OvationTix.com

TAMPA BAY

PFLAG Tampa’s 15th Anniversary Turnabout

SUNDAY, OCT. 5, 6 P.M.

DISCO PONY NIGHTCLUB, TAMPA

PFLAG Tampa celebrates 15 years of love, support and community with a night of fun, fashion and fabulous entertainment! The turnabout will be hosted by Niomi Onassis Knight and feature a catwalk competition and drink specials. PFLAG Tampa members receive free entry and tickets are $20 for allies. Learn more at PFLAGTampa.org.

SARASOTA

Fabulous Independent Film Festival

FRIDAY, OCT. 3-SUNDAY, OCT. 5

BURNS COURT CINEMA, SARASOTA

The Fabulous Arts Foundation will hold its 15th annual Fabulous Independent Film Festival to celebrate diverse voices and stories in film. Features include “Velvet V ision,” Row of Life,” “Old Lesbians x Young Lesbians” and more. Buy passes and tickets at FabulousAF.org.

FEEL THE BEAT

Pasco Pride Festival, Sept. 27, Richey Suncoast Theatre, New Port Richey. 727-842-6777; PascoPrideFestival.com

Satur-Slay with Juno Vibranz, Sept. 27, Thyrst, Largo. 727-240-0150; PlurCentral.com

President Barack Obama Main Library Ribbon Cutting, Sept. 27, President Barack Obama Main Library, St. Petersburg. 727-893-7111; Facebook.com/StPeteFL

Pride in Real Estate, Sept. 30, The Study, St. Petersburg. 727-827-2024; Facebook.com/ Groups/PrideInRealEstate

GMCTB Drag Bingo, Oct. 2, New World Tampa, Tampa.813-304-0460; NewWorldTampa.com

Word(ier) Games, Oct. 2, Green Turtle Brewing, St. Petersburg. 516-906-2140; WordierThanThou.com

CENTRAL FLORIDA

Terrifier Night: Art the Clown Takes Over, Sept. 26, Cocktails & Screams, Orlando. 407-904-0124; CocktailsAndScreams.com

Justin Lee Schultz, Sept. 26-27, Judson’s Live, Orlando. 407-358-6603; DrPhillipsCenter.org

2025 Pride in Business Awards & Gala, Sept. 27, Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport; ThePrideChamber.org

Fall Festival at Southern Hill Farms, Sept. 27, Southern Hill Farms, Orlando. SouthernHillFarms. TicketSpice.com

Viva Orlando - Pop up market, Sept. 28, The Great Southern Box Company Food Hall & Bar, Orlando. 689-207-4383; GreatSouthernBoxCo.com

Peach Pit, Sept. 29, House of Blues Orlando, Orlando. 689-329-2583; Locations. HouseOfBlues.com

“The Wiz,” Sept.30Oct. 5, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando. 407-358-6603; DrPhillipsCenter.org

The Concert: A Tribute To ABBA, Oct. 2, Hard Rock Live, Orlando. 407-351-5483; HardRockLiveOrlando.com

Orlando-area Equality Connection, Oct. 3, Se7enBites, Orlando. 407-203-0727; Se7enBites.com

Eureka O’Hara, Oct. 3, Southern Nights, Orlando. 407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsOrlando

Howl-O-Ween 5k, Oct. 4, Lake Baldwin, Orlando. RunSignUp.com

Milk Mart Spooky Soirée, Oct. 5, The Nook on Robinson, Orlando. TheNookOnRobinson. Square.Site

CREW Health Wellness Series: Yoga, Oct. 5, Renaissance Theatre Company, Orlando. 407-605-2252; CREWHealth.org

LGBTQ+ Monday Pickleball League, Oct. 6, Barber Park, Orlando. OutSportsLeague. LeagueApps.com

TAMPA BAY

“Goddess of the Hunt,” Through Oct. 5, LAB Theatre Project, Tampa. LabTheatreProject.com

“Tell Me On a Sunday,” Through Oct. 5, freeFall Theatre, St. Petersburg. 727-498-5205; freeFallTheatre.com

“Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” Through Oct. 26, Straz Center, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org

Allendale’s Monthly Charity Bingo, Sept. 26, Allendale UMC, St. Petersburg. 727-527-0778; AllendaleUMC.com

Hide Night, Oct. 3, Cocktail, St. Petersburg. 727-592-1914; CocktailStPete.com

Disco Tits: Queer Women’s Night, Oct. 3, The Ball, St. Petersburg.727-258-7626; TheBallStPete.com

Scaradise, Oct. 3-5, Florida Fairgrounds, Tampa. 813-621-7821; Scaradise.net

Pride Skate Tampa, Oct. 4, Skate World, Tampa. 813-884-7688; Facebook.com/ PrideSkateTampa

The Judy B. Goode Show, Oct. 4, Hollander Hotel, St. Petersburg. 727-873-7900; HollanderHotel.com

Satur-WEEN with Rockell Blu, Oct. 4, Thyrst, Largo. 727-240-0150; PlurCentral.com

The Fray, Oct. 10, Jannus Live, St. Petersburg. 727-565-0550; JannusLive.com

SARASOTA

Compassion at the Crosswalk, Oct. 4, former PrideWalk, Sarasota. PPSRQ.org To submit your upcoming event, concert, performance, or fundraiser visit watermarkoutnews.com.

Paul Oakenfold and The Crystal Method bring their North American tour to Hard Rock Live Orlando Oct. 10, celebrating the roots of electronic music. PHOTO VIA PAUL OAKENFOLD’S FACEBOOK

Award-Winning Care. Decades of Dedication.

At Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital, our commitment to expert, compassionate care has spanned generations. For more than 100 years, we’ve been the trusted healthcare resource our community depends on. From advanced cardiology and comprehensive emergency services to personalized women’s care and leading-edge brain and spine expertise, our dedicated teams deliver award-winning care — close to home. Giving you more reasons to choose well. OrlandoHealth.com/Bayfront