Grayson fundraiser postponed
Last weekend’s House of Representatives vote for comprehensive health care reform was historic, but it also forced the postponement of a much-anticipated fundraiser for outspoken Central Florida Rep. Alan Grayson. More than 100 had RSVPed for the Saturday, Nov. 7 fundraiser at the downtown Orlando residence of Ted Maines and Jeff Miller in The Sanctuary. In addition to Grayson, openly gay U.S. Rep. Jared Polis from Colorado was scheduled to speak. But both Congressmen had their priorities in the right place. The bill passed by a single vote, and health care reform now heads to the Senate. Organizers say the Grayson fundraiser will be rescheduled.
Orlando ranks high as LGBT travel destination
San Francisco-based Community Marketing, Inc. just completed its 2009 Gay and Lesbian Tourism Survey, and both Orlando and Tampa Bay appeared on the list of “Top 25 US Destinations for American LGBT Travelers.” According to the survey of more than 7,000 consumers, Orlando ranked 9th and Tampa Bay ranked 23rd. More specifically, 14% of LGBT travelers surveyed visited the Orlando area in 2009 and 8% visited Tampa Bay—this despite the fact that St. Pete/Clearwater is the only local visitors’ bureau that actively markets to the LGBT community. Surprisingly, Orlando was just behind 7th place Fort Lauderdale, which attracts 17% of LGBT visitors.
Giggles during Gay Days Weekend
The comedy component of Gay Days Weekend 2010 is pretty much booked, even though the event is still almost eight months away. As previously announced, Joan Rivers will be the Gay Days Weekend headliner at Hard Rock Live at Universal Orlando. And now GayDays.com has announced an impressive lineup that will appear on successive nights in the ballroom at the huge Doubletree Resort Orlando. On Friday, June 4, Vickie Shaw and Michele Balan will appear together for one night only, and Alec Mapa (Ugly Betty) will perform on Saturday night, June 5.
