Central Florida names the defining moments of 2020
2020 was a monumental year with no shortage of history-making headlines. That’s why, along with asking for your favorites among a variety of categories, we also wanted to know what was the defining story or moment for you in 2020?
Most of your responses focused on three headline-making stories from last year: the pandemic, the election and racial injustice. Any one of these stories could have dominated news coverage on their own, but all three occurring in the same year led many people to call 2020 the worst year in recent memory.
Not far into 2020, cases of COVID-19 were reported in the U.S. with many people sharing stories of loved ones being hospitalized and placed on ventilators due to this new, mysterious virus. As infections and deaths climbed, the country, and the world, started to shut down. By the end of the year, we would be approaching 500,000 deaths as millions deal with the affects of the virus and millions more deal with a collapsing economy losing jobs, homes and family members.
At the end of May, the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked Black Lives Matter protests around the world with more than 450 marches occurring in every state in the U.S. and in dozens of other countries. In November, with all of 2020 weighing on their minds, voters went to the polls and elected a new president of the United States. More than 81 million people said no to four more years of a Trump presidency and not only elected Joe Biden as the 46th president, but elected Kamala Harris as the first female vice president.
While there is no denying that most of the 2020 headlines were taken up by those three stories, many of you saw local and personal stories as your defining moments.
Local stories including state Rep. Anna V. Eskamani and her staff personally helping Central Floridians navigate a broken unemployment system to obtain benefits after losing their jobs due to the pandemic, watching community members help support local small businesses and the closing of the iconic Parliament House.
Others had more personal milestones that defined 2020 for them. Someone welcomed their fifth grandchild into the world, another person beat Stage 3 lung cancer and someone wrote in that coming off of a ventilator and surviving COVID defined their 2020.
Many more defined 2020 with births, weddings, divorces, weight losses and learning a new skill.
Central Florida describes 2020 in one word
Central Florida remembers what we lost in 2020
We lost a lot in 2020. We said goodbye to far too many people who we love and admire. We lost places — some temporarily and some permanently — those safe spaces that helped us find our tribes and kept us socially engaged. And due to the pandemic, we lost the ability to travel, see friends, hug loved ones and create memories.
While asking for your local favorites this WAVE award cycle, we also asked what 2020 loss you will miss the most. Many of you highlighted beloved national leaders, activists and celebrities who we lost this past year. Talented and inspiring individuals such as Alex Trebek, Chadwick Boseman, John Lewis, Kobe Bryant and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Many of you named close friends and family members who you lost this year, many of them to COVID-19, bringing to light that far too many of us come into 2021 without mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, grandparents, aunts, uncles, the list went on and on.
Three names that appeared on the list multiple times, individuals whose impact on Central Florida’s LGBTQ community will continue to be felt decades into the future, were Sam Singhaus, Marcy Singhaus and Terry DeCarlo.
Sam Singhaus, also known as the iconic drag performer Miss Sammy, was a staple at many LGBTQ hot spots in Orlando over the years including Parliament House, Savoy and Hamburger Mary’s. He was the community’s go-to emcee. No matter the event, if you wanted to take it to another level you got Miss Sammy. Sam passed away from complications due to brain cancer on Oct. 12, 2020. He was 62.
Less than three months prior, Orlando had said goodbye to another Singhaus. Marcy Singhaus was Sam’s sister-in-law and a beloved costume designer in Central Florida.
Marcy, who worked with Orlando Repertory Theatre, Garden Theatre, Wanzie Presents, Theatre Downtown and the Mark Two Dinner Theater, got her start in the ‘90s designing costumes for Miss Sammy. Marcy died from ALS on July 22, 2020. She was 70.
At the beginning of the year, we said goodbye to Terry DeCarlo, the former executive director of the LGBT+ Center in Orlando who headed The Center in the aftermath of the Pulse tragedy.
Terry was one of Central Florida’s LGBTQ leaders thrust into the national spotlight after the Pulse tragedy in June 2016. He passed away after battling Stage 4 neck and face cancer. He was 56 years old.
Many of you said you missed human contact, hugs and kisses. Others said they missed the ability to go out to restaurants, theaters, theme parks, clubs and bars. Overwhelmingly, more than anything else on the list, you said you will miss the Parliament House.
After 45 years, the world famous Parliament House resort officially closing its doors in 2020.
Parliament House carried with it a large part of Central Florida’s LGBTQ history and hosted hundreds of national headlining performers. The iconic club was also home to some of Orlando’s most iconic drag queens including Miss P, Miss Sammy, Carmella Marcella Garcia, Darcel Stevens, Gidget Galore, MrMs Adrien and more, as well as hosted many of the queens who has appeared on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Parliament House hosted its Last Dance Nov. 1, 2020.
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