Glamorous Orlando superstar Ginger Minj (OK, Joshua Eads Brown) took the world by storm this year, placing second on Season 7 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The drama of all the drama, though (and there was lots of drama), was Brown’s reconciliation with his father. Oh, also, there’s a completely accurate Adele interpretation to contend with. Well done.
Following the departure of editor-in-chief Steve Blanchard, two-decade bottle of Orlando Weekly hair products Billy Manes started at Watermark on June 22 in that position. Have you ever heard of him? HAVE YOU? This writer is he, and is very happy about his decision.
Surprising nearly no one, the U.S. Supreme Court decided, via a certain case called Obgerfell v. Hodges, that states must recognize marriage equality. WAIT, DID WE SAY THATLOUD ENOUGH? GAY MARRIAGE IS LEGAL. Sure it was a 5-4 vote, but winning is winning. It was the summer of love.
In late June, St. Petersburg Pride threw on its glad rags and pushed proudly through all conceivable records with its Pride parade. We were there; we have the blisters; there were more than 200,000 others, though, so don’t mind us. But congratulations to the organizers – wink, Erik Skains – on a fantastic event. Great year so far, right?
Except not really! Bundle of beautiful joy Dexter Foxworth, a longtime advocate for anti-bullying measures and humanity in general, announced that he would be leaving the Zebra Coalition. We wept. But Heather Wilkie, his replacement as Zebra’s executive director, is a fantastic human being who will push the organization forward. Changes!
Hey, no big deal, but the Orlando Gay Chorus celebrated its 25-year anniversary! Actually, it’s a really big deal, especially considering what a “men’s chorus” was a quarter century ago. It truly does get better.
Maybe it used to be all about donning red shirts and being a little defiant in front of mice, but Gay Days officially turned 25 this year, and we couldn’t be more proud. It’s no secret that the LGBT community loves its Walt Disney World, but seeing this particular celebration grow into itself has made Orlando all the better for it.
It took a little while – ok, four years – but following judicial pressure of the obvious sort (this battle has already been won, folks) Gov. Rick Scott removed gay adoption laws from the books. Thanks for playing, Rick.
