ABOVE: Representatives for the City of Orlando and Equality Florida during last year’s in-person Orlando Youth Empowerment Summit. (Photo by Jeremy Williams)
ORLANDO | The City of Orlando’s Office of Multicultural Affairs is sponsoring several events in celebration of LGBTQ History Month and National Transgender Awareness Week.
LGBTQ History Month — which is recognized every October — brings two virtual events, Pride Shabbat and the final workshop of the 2020 Orlando Youth Empowerment Summit (OYES).
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando celebrates LGBTQ inclusion with its second annual Pride Shabbat, this year a live virtual event on Zoom, streaming Oct. 16 starting at 6:30 p.m.
The event will feature Mayor Buddy Dyer, City Commissioner Patty Sheehan and world-famous transgender activist and former rabbi Abby Stein. The event is free but you must register, which can be done at OrlandoJewishFed.org/event/Pride-Shabbat.
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OYES’s next workshop will stream live on Zoom Oct. 24 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Hosted by Zebra Coalition and the City of Orlando — and sponsored by Gilead, 26 Health and Impulse Orlando — this will be the third and final workshop for the 2020 summit.
The workshop, titled “Celebration of Resilience: LGBTQ History & Pride,” will educate LGBTQ youth ages 13 to 22 and their parents about the community’s collective history towards a more equitable society.
The event will feature a welcome video from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum and Florida drag legend Roxxxy Andrews as well as performances by Axel Andrews, Jade Embers and Bri Addonis. Participating youth will also have the chance to win amazing prizes with a lip sync battle and Show Us Your Pride videos.
The event is free to attend and you can register at OrlYES.org.
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National Transgender Awareness Week will be Nov. 11-19 and to honor the week this year, the Orlando International Fringe Festival, in partnership with the City of Orlando’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, will host a streaming event on Orlando Fringe’s Facebook page Nov. 6 from 7-10 p.m.
On the first Friday of every month, Orlando Fringe offers streamed programming for its fans on Facebook, and for November’s event it is amplifying the voices of transgender and gender nonconforming artists.
The event will be a combination of live and pre-recorded performances with each performance limited to 15 minutes each. Transgender and gender nonconforming playwrights, directors and actors can submit to be a part of the performance. A selection lottery will take place Oct. 30 at noon ET. There is no set number of performances and Orlando Fringe will attempt to fit in as many as possible in the allotted time.
To submit a performance click here. For questions, email Lindsay Taylor at Lindsay@OrlandoFringe.org.
