Thousands braved the rain Sunday and turned out for Stonewall Summer Pride in Wilton Manors.
Click here to view my Facebook gallery of Sunday's festival. All photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.
Ivan Cano named new executive director of annual Miami Beach Gay Pride parade and festival
From Cano's Facebook page:
Here is my great news.... After 18yrs in/out of non-profit, event planning and activist in the lgbt community and only 3.5 yrs in Miami beach, one of my dreams have come true... To be able to create change and make a difference.
I am proud to announce that I have been offered the position of Executive Director of Miami Beach Gay Pride, and I accepted!
Thank you all for your support during these past months.Especially those at miami Gay an lesbian film festival and miami dade lesbian and gay chamber of commerce
Never give up your dream, even when the chips are down and individuals drag you thru the mud. Always chin up and follow your heart!
Miami Beach Gay Pride is set to officially release the news on Monday.
Gallery | Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce 11th annual awards celebration
More than 600 people attended Saturday's sold-out Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce dinner at the Hilton Miami Downtown hotel. Above, Mr. Miami Beach Michael Aller speaks with honoree Daniel Spring.
Click here for more pictures. All photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.
Here's the Chamber's news release with details of the dinner:
The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber Of Commerce (MDGLCC) will honor corporate and individual supporters of the Miami-Dade LGBT community at its 11th Annual Gala Awards Celebration, “The Orange Gala,” on Saturday, June 23, at the Hilton Miami Downtown Hotel, 1601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. The honorees were selected for their long-term commitment to fostering diversity, as well as for their efforts in contributing to the overall well-being and quality of life in South Florida.
“As the voice of the LGBT business community, the Chamber is especially proud to have such an exemplary group to recognize this year,” said Steve Adkins, MDGLCC president. “From a global LGBT trailblazer to hometown heroes, this year’s gala honorees are as diverse as the LGBT community itself. ‘The Orange Gala’ is particularly significant this year in light of the Chamber’s achievements in growth and influence as well as the success of the LGBT Visitor Center in Miami Beach.”
The 2012 Honorees:
“AT&T Business of the Year Award” -- IKEA
This award is presented annually to an organization whose commitment to diversity is unwavering in its inclusion of LGBT and allied community issues.
“IKEA has been on the leading edge of LGBT inclusiveness the world over”, Adkins said. “In 2007, IKEA produced what may have been the first television commercials depicting a gay male couple in a completely normal setting and they have been portraying same-sex couples in their advertising and openly courting the community as customers ever since. Closer to home, the IKEA store in Sunrise graciously donated all new furniture for the LGBT Visitor Center and the Chamber’s offices – including a new kitchen! For its acknowledgment of the LGBT community throughout the world and for its significant support of the Chamber, we are pleased to present the AT&T Business of the Year Award to IKEA.”
Charles Wing, IKEA Business Manager, will accept the award.
“Wells Fargo Business Person of the Year Award” – Steve Haas
This award is given annually to an individual who embraces diversity in all forms and demonstrates excellent management and leadership skills.
“They say you can’t fight City Hall, but when it comes to City Hall, the Restaurant, the only fight is for a spot on the reservation list,” Adkins said. “Steve is a five-star restaurateur who leads his team with dedication to the culinary arts and passion for customer service. Throughout his career, he has supported numerous LGBT events and organizations by hosting fundraisers and networkers at his establishments. He was also the chief architect for the Miami Spice promotion, a favorite pursuit of the LGBT community.”
Steve Haas, owner of City Hall, the Restaurant, will accept the award.
“Non-Profit Organization of the Year Award” – Miami Beach Visitor & Convention Authority
This award is given annually to a non-profit organization whose philosophy embodies the highest standards of outreach to the LGBT and allied communities.
“The Miami Beach Visitor & Convention Authority” has long recognized the power of LGBT tourism and actively promotes Miami Beach to LGBT travelers throughout the world,” Adkins says. “In fact, the VCA’s recent Impact Analysis report concluded that LGBT tourism initiatives accounted for the highest number of hotel room night bookings out of the 11 categories studied. LGBT tourism is so important to Miami Beach, that the VCA allocates more than a third of all grant distributions to LGBT-related events and activities, including funding for Winter Party Festival, Miami Beach Gay Pride, the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Aqua Girl and the LGBT Visitor Center”.
Jeff Lehman, VCA Board Chair, will accept the award.
“Special Recognition Award” – Daniel Spring
This special award is given periodically to recognize individuals or companies that embrace diversity, dedicate themselves to the betterment of the community, demonstrate superior leadership skills and consistently support the MDGLCC.“Daniel is a pillar in the LGBT community,” Adkins said. “Through his South Beach Insurance agency, he has insured many of the area’s LGBT events and activities. Personally, he has volunteered countless hours of his time and expertise chairing the City of Miami Beach’s LGBT Business Enhancement Committee and Miami Beach Gay Pride.” For Daniel’s service and efforts supporting the LGBT community and MDGLCC member businesses with their insurance needs, we are pleased to honor him with this special recognition award.”
Daniel Spring will accept the award.
For the past several years, the MDGLCC Gala Committee has selected a different color of the rainbow flag for the Gala’s theme and has encouraged attendees to wear a splash of that color to the event. The theme for this year’s event is “The Orange Gala” featuring a color which represents optimism, warmth, happiness, adventure and risk-taking. This annual event, MDGLCC’s principal fundraising effort of the year, helps sustain operations and the ever-increasing demand to expand programming.
Gallery | Steve Rothaus at Stonewall National Museum & Archives pop-up in Wilton Manors
Saturday afternoon I spoke about "35 Years Since Anita Bryant” at the Stonewall National Museum & Archives pop-up museum, 2190 Wilton Dr., Wilton Manors. Click here for more photos.
The pop-up will be open through today's Stonewall Summer Pride festival in Wilton Manors.
Stonewall Summer Pride is from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday on Wilton Drive. The parade, with comedian Bruce Vilanch as grand marshal, begins 7 p.m. at 20th Street proceeds north to 26th Street. Afterward, Erasure singer Andy Bell will perform. All events free.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter, Mary Cheney, marries partner Heather Poe
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- Mary Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has married her longtime partner, Heather Poe.
In a statement, Cheney and his wife, Lynne, said the couple got married in Washington on Friday. The Cheneys said the two had been in a committed relationship for many years and they were delighted that they could take advantage of the "opportunity to have the relationship recognized." The District of Columbia and six states - Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont - have legalized gay marriage.
Mary Cheney and Poe have two children.
In the 2004 election, Republicans backing the ticket of President George W. Bush and Cheney pushed for state ballot initiatives rejecting gay marriage. More recently, President Barack Obama expressed his support for same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage foe now endorses gay nuptials
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO -- One of the two witnesses who testified in favor of California's same-sex marriage ban during a landmark trial on the measure's constitutionality has come out in favor of gay and lesbian unions.
In an opinion piece published Friday in The New York Times, Institute for American Values President David Blankenhorn says it's time "to accept gay marriage and emphasize the good that it can do."
Blankenhorn wrote that he still believes children have a moral right to know both biological parents, but he thinks it is just as important for same-sex couples to be treated equally under the law.
His reversal is unlikely to have a legal effect on California's ban, known as Proposition 8. A federal judge who presided over the 2010 trial ended up disqualifying Blankenhorn as an expert witness.
'Standing on Ceremony' opens at Broward Center
Several hundred theatergoers attended the opening Thursday of Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays at Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Opening night, starring Bryan Batt (Mad Men) and Bruce Vilanch (Hairspray), benefited Equality Florida.
After the performance, I moderated a short discussion with the cast, director John Manzelli and Tobias Packer of Equality Florida.
At 7 p.m. Sunday, Vilanch will be grand marshal of the Stonewall Summer Pride parade in Wilton Manors.
Above, Tobias Packer, Bryan Batt, Steve Rothaus, John Manzelli and Bruce Vilanch. Photo by Sharon Kersten. Click here to view more photos.
Standing on Ceremony runs through Sunday. Tickets $35 and $45. Click here to buy tickets.
Views shift little after Obama backs gay marriage
BY PHILIP ELLIOTT AND DENNIS JUNIUS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Even so, an Associated Press-GfK survey released Friday found that the president fired up his core supporters - at least for now - with his support of gay marriage. More young people, liberals and Democrats say they strongly approve of Obama's handling of same-sex marriage than said they did before he disclosed his new position last month.
The poll found that 42 percent of Americans oppose gay marriage, 40 percent support it and 15 percent are neutral. Last August, the country was similarly divided over whether same-sex couples should be allowed to be legally married in their state, with 45 percent opposing, 42 percent favoring and 10 percent neutral.
South Florida drag queens to hold court at Stonewall Summer Pride in Wilton Manors
BY STEVE ROTHAUS, srothaus@MiamiHerald.com
Emmy-winning comedian Bruce Vilanch and Erasure singer Andy Bell may be headliners at Sunday’s Stonewall Summer Pride in Wilton Manors, but the real stars are Whitney Houston, Donna Summer and Bette Midler.
Well, not exactly. South Florida drag queens Champagne Bordeaux, Tiffany Arieagus and Electra will perform as Houston, Summer and Midler.
“It’s as close as people can get to the real thing,” says Electra (real name Jim Buff), who lives in Fort Lauderdale. “I’m more accessible than Bette Midler or Cher. A lot of the characters I do are dead. And I’m cheaper.”
There’s no shortage of well-known drag queens in South Florida. Sushi (Gary Marion), who drops from a shoe New Year’s Eve on CNN, holds court nightly at 801 Bourbon in Key West. Latrice Royale (Timothy Wilcots) of Hollywood recently competed on Logo TV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race. Elaine Lancaster (James Davis) of Miami hangs out with Lea Black and The Real Housewives of Miami.
“It opened doors for me I never knew existed,” Davis says. “I’ve met some of the most amazing people on the planet through my character Elaine Lancaster. She’s a bright light. You’re either attracted to it or repelled by it.”
Drag has been around since the beginning of entertainment. In ancient Greek theater, young males played female parts until their voices changed. Boys typically played female roles in Shakespeare’s time. Throughout the 20th century, drag was associated with Western gay culture.
“One thing that’s been very interesting is that for people of my generation and before my generation — if you can conceive of anyone that ancient — it was very freeing for gay men in the ’70s and ’80s to see a queen in drag,” says Lady Bunny (Jon Ingle), 49, who founded Wigstock, a New York City drag festival that ran from 1985 to 2005.
Drag became passé, Lady Bunny says, but RuPaul’s Drag Race has helped make it fun again. “It created a firestorm for gay youth not just to see drag, but to want to do it. It made drag relevant again.”
Lady Bunny began doing drag in 1982, when cross-dressing was “novel,” she says.
“It became the gay coming-out experience. It was the chosen form of entertainment in every gay bar,” says Lady Bunny, who performs about six times a year in South Florida, often in the South Beach gay clubs Twist and Score.
Drag figures prominently in South Florida. Lips, an Oakland Park restaurant, offers “the ultimate in drag dining” Tuesdays through Sundays. Misty Eyez performs Sundays at Bill's Filling Station in Fort Lauderdale. Mova lounge on South Beach hosts “drag bingo” Tuesday nights to benefit the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Cuban drag queen Adora (Danilo de la Torre) DJs Latin night Thursdays at Twist. On Fridays in Miami’s Upper Eastside, Eros Lounge hosts “Born to be a Drag” starring Tiffany Fantasia (Henry Williams).
Tiffany Fantasia, born and raised in Kendall, estimates there are 40 major drag stars in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. “The talented ones will always find work,” she says. “I’m all about the performance. The uniqueness of how they interpret a song. Their dancing ability and comedic timing. It’s a combination of all of that.”
As many as 20 local drag performers work steady gigs. “There is a large clientele for it. Wise entertainers market themselves to get people to come to whatever venue they’re working at,” says Tiffany Fantasia, who performs Thursdays at Boom bar in Wilton Manors and three nights a week at Palace South Beach.
Palace, which boasts of being the only gay bar on Ocean Drive (slogan: “Because every queen needs a palace”) offers drag shows nightly plus a popular brunch and T-dance on Sunday afternoons.
“I like the drag shows, lunch, the beach,” said Ryan Meulener, 24, of Fort Lauderdale at a recent Sunday brunch. “It’s like a home-away-from-home. This is my getaway.”
The drag shows? “Fantastic. They’re fabulous,” he said with a thumbs-up. “The costumes, the makeup, the hair — it’s over the top.”
Electra, 53, who assisted in costume design for such Broadway shows as Dreamgirls, Starlight Express and La Cage Aux Folles in the 1980s, makes her own drag attire.
“It’s an expensive hobby if it’s just a hobby,” she says. “If you have to make it part of your livelihood, you have to be more resourceful. You have to be creative about what you wear and how you obtain it.”
A drag queen since 1977, Electra has about 30 personas, including “Bette [Midler], Judy [Garland], Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball, Bette Davis, Mae West.”
She moved to South Florida in 1991, and has headlined at clubs and hotels ever since. From 2002 to 2007, Electra and her husband, actor-singer Terry M. Cain, lived a real-life La Cage: They owned and ran Madame’s, a drag supper club in Sunny Isles. Now, she performs Thursdays at Boardwalk bar in Fort Lauderdale.
She and other drag queens will entertain Sunday at the Stonewall Summer Pride festival.
“We’ll all be there,” says Tabatha Mudra, creator of Drag It Out in Fort Lauderdale. “We’re like the school of drag.”
Drag It Out has “draguated” more than 200 South Floridians ages 13 to 65, says Mudra, who performs as both a drag king (Sweet T. Bag) and drag queen (Coucou Taboo).
Not all gays and lesbians like drag, and some criticize it for perpetuating stereotypes. But Lady Bunny points out that drag queens were the ones who fought back during a June 28, 1969, police bar raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, launching the modern gay-rights movement.
“Don’t ever put down the drag queens who started the gay-rights movement, because those were the people who had the balls,” she says. “They may have been in pantyhose but they were there. It was not the people who had the ‘courage’ to put on a rainbow T-shirt once a year and go back to their office jobs the next day.”
As for those who complain about media images of drag queens at gay pride parades, she says: “Get a look together honey and maybe someone would take your picture, too.”
IF YOU GO
Miami Herald gay issues reporter Steve Rothaus gives a free talk, “35 Years Since Anita Bryant,” at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Stonewall National Museum & Archives gay pride pop-up location, 2190 Wilton Dr., Wilton Manors.
Stonewall Summer Pride is from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday on Wilton Drive. The parade, with comedian Bruce Vilanch as grand marshal, begins 7 p.m. at 20th Street proceeds north to 26th Street. Afterward, Erasure singer Andy Bell will perform. All events free; stonewallsummerpride.com.
