A Lotta Florida Rainbow Pride
6-10-15
TB Ray’s ‘PRIDE Night Out’ at the Tropicana Field, June 12th
Get your tickets to a special Tampa Bay Ray’s PRIDE Night Out at Tropicana Field, this Friday June 12th starting at 7pm. This is part of the GLBTA Diversity Awareness in Tampa Bay and this MLB Club is giving back to area GLBT organizations. This is going to be big!
Organizations benefiting include TAMPA PRIDE, Manatee Pride, St. Pete Pride, Metro Wellness & Community Centers, Equality Florida and so many more.
Get your tickets now for attending a most memorable event with Equality Florida Director Nadine Smith throwing out the first pitch. Other great events will be occurring during this special diversity night! Wear your Rainbow colors and cheer on the Rays!
POLK PRIDE June 2015
POLK PRIDE ANNOUNCES EXCITING LINEUP FOR ANNUAL PRIDE WEEKEND,
JUNE 17 – 21
Youth/Young Adult Event · Emmy-Award Winning Comedian · Family-Friendly Festivities · Community Forum · Drag Show · Interfaith Service
LAKELAND, Fla. (April 29, 2015) – Join Polk Pride in bringing our community together in unity and understanding during Polk County’s inaugural Pride Weekend, June 17-21. With such an incredible lineup, there’s something for everyone as we begin to break down barriers and celebrate our differences and our similarities.
· June 17: Pride 4 Youth. The Lakeland Youth Alliance will kickoff the weekend’s Pride festivities with music, food and fun interactive activities for ages 13 – 24 at their Pride 4 Youth Event on Wednesday, June 17. The fun begins at 7 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian, 730 S. Florida Ave. in Lakeland.
· June 19, 8 p.m. – Leslie Jordan. Bring tissues to wipe your tears of laughter when Emmy Award-winning actor and comedian Leslie Jordan graces The Polk Theatre stage at 8 p.m. June 19. The Polk Theatre is located at 139 S. Florida Ave. in Lakeland. Tickets on sale at www.PolkPrideFL.com.
· June 20, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. – Pride in the Park. An event for the whole family, spend Saturday, June 20 celebrating Pride at Munn Park in beautiful Downtown Lakeland! Enjoy live entertainment, food trucks, vendors, community organizations, and family-friendly activities. The main stage will feature a variety of music, dance and comedy acts. This FREE event kicks off at 10 a.m. and offers something for the entire family. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and come enjoy the day!
· June 20, 6 – 8 p.m. – Pride Talks. As the day winds down, join the conversation at Frescos Downstairs for Pride Talks, a LGBT Community Speaker forum to review important topics, legislation and issues affecting the LGBT community. Featuring Nadine Smith, Equality Florida’s Executive Director, various expert panelists will provide resources and answer important questions. Gain knowledge, empowerment and perspective on the future of equality. The forum takes place 6 – 8 p.m. Saturday, 132 S. Kentucky Ave. in Lakeland.
· June 20, 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. – Pride After Dark. As night falls on a busy Saturday, the Pride after party will just be starting at Pride After Dark. Enjoy a cocktail, hit the dance floor and have a good time as the amazing Kathryn Nevets, she hosts a memorable evening and Pride themed drag show. Party from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. at Club Main Street, 1295 E. Main Street in Lakeland. Everyone 18 and up is welcome, ID is required.
· June 21 – Pride in Faith. Fellowship with your community and enjoy an interfaith worship service at Pride in Faith. Celebrate the spirit as we bring together Polk County’s faith-based LGBT organizations, friends, families and allies. Visit www.polkpridefl.com for details.
Hosted by the not-for-profit Lakeland Youth Alliance, and Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) of Polk County, Polk Pride is an event dedicated to the awareness and acceptance of the LGBT community in Polk County. Polk Pride’s mission is to bring unity, equality and understanding through a variety of activities and services.
Polk Pride creates an inspiring and dedicated culture of support and aspires to be the premier platform for education and entertainment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, as well as their friends, families and allies. Polk Pride seeks to unite the Polk County Community in promoting history, diversity and future prosperity of the Polk County LGBT community.
For information, email info@PolkPrideFL.com or visit www.PolkPrideFL.com.
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Founded in 2008, the Lakeland Youth Alliance is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to providing a safe space for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth and their straight allies in Central Florida. They are an educational and referral service for parents, academia, health care workers and other human service professionals. LYA facilitates the development of GLBTQ youth and empowers them to become leaders in the community. www.lakelandyouthalliance.org
PFLAG facilitates healthy relationships and the understanding that friends and family members are the same person we loved before they chose to “come out” and be honest with us. www.pflagofpolkcounty.org
…………….PRESS RELEASE…………….
Media Contact: Scott Guira
863.370.3257
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25 Years of Gay Days at Disney (in Orlando)
Wow!! How time flies right before your eyes. We are proud to say for 25 years of Gay Days (starting out as themed Gay Day with the Mouse, Gays at the Castle then later renamed Gay Days at Disney) Mark & Carrie and MC FILM have been a part of the World’s Largest Gay Event. Starting up with us going to an invited wild red shirt Gay Disney Weekend Party ( red shirts for identification) with networked friends across America and at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in 1990. We worked on this mystical event and other events started to appear, and for the next 7 years we worked with many organized Disney planning groups for hoteliers and Disney (and the now closed original Pleasure Island themed bar complex for Thursdays). We were a proud part of the original national computer techy geek starters, Digital Queers.
Many meetings were held with Disney Officials and planning of the first weekend in June. Why do you ask 1st week of June ? Because that was the start of the slow summer hot season and Disney offered an extremely low gate fee for Florida Resident Days. It was the last low rate ticket weekend. Shirt colors and t-shirt sayings for years was a minor issue, But at 10:18 am on the first June w/e in 1994, Disney closed its admissions because to many entrants 80% Gays were inside Disney’s Magic Kingdom and were at capacity. The roads coming into Disney property were packed with visiting tourists cars and busses from all over the state, country and world. But early GLBT entrants had the park at capacity and ALL of the theme parks had to now jump into action.
Yes, It was record Gays at Disney Days and the world now knew it. Theme parks that just laughed at us (gays) years before now took drastic notice. It was financially positive! Companies called and wanted to buy our mailing lists. That created new themed national GLBT events. They offered money to Sponsor events. Gay groups increased, expanded and included National & International Gay Car Clubs, Gay Pilots, Gay Journalists, Gay Bears, Gay Leathermen, Gay bankers and National Insurance workers, Gay writers & readers clubs, Gay dancers, Clubs, National Performers, Music singers and dancers, Celebrities, Gay Techies, Gay Choruses, Lesbian groups soon had 50 major diverse organizations and it continues to grow to this day. You name it that group is there!
But now the event has evolved in those 25 years. Still selling curiosity Possible Dreams! All with super pretty boys and men in speedos at all the Orlando hotels pools. Girl groups meeting and introducing themself to new creative & social organizations from local and national convention organizations. They all come for “Fun” and we all will live long on that Mystical Disney moment. Always the first weekend in June.
Please write us about your memorable “Gay Disney Day Experience” for sharing in upcoming “Dishing with Mark & Carrie” issues.
