(L-R) New GayDayS, Inc. owners Joseph Clark and Thomas Souriya with current owners Tommy and Chris Manley. (Photo courtesy Joseph Clark)
ORLANDO | After nearly 30 years, owners Tommy and Chris Manley are selling GayDayS, Inc.
“Tommy and I have been doing this for about 27 years,” Chris Manley says. “He bought the domain name in ’94, we were volunteers at the first year’s event, and we’ve loved doing it but I’m going to be 65 this year and I feel it’s time to pass the baton.”
The baton is being passed to Joseph Clark, the current VP of GayDayS, Inc., and his husband Thomas Souriya, both of whom have worked with GayDayS for the last 12 years.
“It’s just an honor to be offered an opportunity to take over what these guys have worked so hard on for 30 years and both Thomas and I want to see it expand and get bigger because it has that potential to do it,” Clark says. “I can remember coming down to Orlando and attending my first Gay Days event, seeing the seas of red shirts at Disney and then going to the host hotel and seeing the parties, shortly after that is when I got involved with Chris and Tommy with Taste of Gay Days. As the years went on this Gay Days family has developed.”
This will be Chris Manley’s final year as president of GayDayS, Inc. but that doesn’t mean he is done.
“It’s time to hand it over but we will be involved in some manor for as long as they want us to,” he says. “We love the event and never just want to walk away from it but it is going to be in amazing hands.”
GayDayS will also be making its return to the first weekend in June for the first time since 2018. The organization has had to cancel its events for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to that in 2018, they had moved events to later in the summer, Manley says, after not being able to book the DoubleTree hotel they had held the events at before.
“We were their biggest client, there nine years, and I don’t know why they waited to tell us that they sold the hotel for our weekend for a one-year event, and that group never went back,” Manley says. “They approached us to come back but we told them we don’t look back. We learned our lesson and we were able to get into this hotel for the June weekend.”
GayDayS will be taking over the Avanti Palms Resort, located at 6515 International Dr., May 31-June 6. Clark says fans can expect GayDayS to continue their events on the first weekend of June moving forward indefinitely.
“A lot of it has to do with getting back to the core and the basics of what started the event. The event has grown but ultimately it’s about that first weekend in June, it’s about fun pool parties and it’s about the people,” he says.
One aspect of the weekend that is up in the air for many attending is whether or not to go to the Magic Kingdom for Gay Day in their red shirts. Disney has been under fire because of their muted response to the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill with many choosing to boycott the House of Mouse. GayDayS says they will still recommend select theme parks for each day and encourage those who still plan to go to the Magic Kingdom on that Saturday to be seen and vocal.
“There will be the diehard Magic Kingdom fans who will go no matter what and if they are wearing their red shirts, that there is a statement,” Manley says. “That is saying gay to the world. We recommend if you plan on going to any of the parks, make your own red T-shirts and put “Gay!” on them, put something about the issue on your shirt.”
Clark agrees, adding that while the first Gay Day at Disney happened at the Magic Kingdom, GayDayS has always encouraged guests to experience all that Orlando has to offer, including the theme parks.
“Go experience Disney, but also go experience Universal, go experience SeaWorld; go experience what Orlando has,” he says. “We have become this citywide event so the choice remains theirs where they want to go. I think it would be great to see a sea of red shirts at Universal or at SeaWorld.”
Clark also says that if you don’t want to do that, that’s OK too. You are more than welcome to spend the whole time at the hotel.
“We are throwing an event that is all about inclusion so if you are one of those who are boycotting Disney parks then by all means, stay with us,” he says. “We have diverse events every day that are for everyone no matter who you are and what you do. We are for everybody.”
GayDayS will be at Avanti Palms Resort May 31-June 6. For tickets and more information, visit GayDayS.com.
