ORLANDO | onePULSE Foundation revealed its week of events and activities for the sixth-year Pulse Remembrance in a press release May 12.
onePULSE, the nonprofit established following the June 12, 2016 Pulse tragedy to honor and preserve the legacy of those killed by creating a memorial and museum, will hold events from June 4-12.
Prior to the events, onePULSE — in partnership with the One Orlando Alliance, City of Orlando and Orange County Government — launched Acts of Love & Kindness on April 25. Acts of Love & Kindness is an annual event that begins 49 days before June 12 that encourages everyone to do something that helps others, share stories that spread love and give to organizations that provide support to the local community.
The first event of the week will be onePULSE’s sixth annual 4.9K CommUNITY Rainbow Run on June 4 at Wadeview Park. The run will start at 8 a.m. with participants making their way through parts of Orlando including in front of Pulse. There is also a virtual run for those sho cannot attend the in-person event. Registration is open now and can be completed at CoummUNITYRainbowRun.com.
That evening, author and pastor John Pavlovitz will host “We See You(th): A Rally for a More Inclusive World,” a conversation led by and for today’s youth about creating safe spaces. That event will be at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, located at 4851 S. Apopka-Vineland Rd. in Orlando, starting at 6 p.m. on June 4. For more information, visit St.Lukes.org.
The return of “Straight Men, Real Makeup” will be on June 5 at Hamburger Mary’s Orlando starting at 6 p.m. “Straight Men, Real Makeup” will pull eight men out of their comfort zone, dress them in drag and have them perform a choreographed routine in front of the audience. The first “Straight Men, Real Makeup” event was held at Pulse seven months before the tragedy and continues on now as a onePULSE fundraising event. For more on this event, go to secure.qgiv.com/for/strmream2.
On June 6, return to St. Luke’s United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. for “We See Gay: An Honest Conversation About How the Church Loves Our LGBTQ+ Neighbors.” Pavlovitz also hosts this event, featuring a panel of community leaders discussing how the church shows up and loves the LGBTQ community. More information can be found at St.Lukes.org.
The University of Central Florida will hold its vigil on June 6 as well. “UCF Remembers” will be held in front of Millican Hall on the UCF Main Campus. During the remembrance, which is hosted by UCF Social Justice & Advocacy, the building will be lit in the colors of the LGBTQ Pride flag. For more information, you can contact Michael Nunes at Michael.Nunes@ucf.edu or Justin Andrade at Justin.Andrade@ucf.edu.
onePULSE founder Barbara Poma and Keith Newhouse, author of “My Tio’s Pulse,” will take part in a virtual discussion June 9 from 12-1 p.m. on how to talk to children about the Pulse Remembrance Week, and other historical tragedies, and why these discussions matter. The event will be joined by Keith’s father, Mark Newhouse, who is son of Holocaust survivors from the infamous Lodz Polish ghetto and author of “The Devil’s Bookkeepers.” Register at HolocaustEdu.org.
That evening starting at 7:30 p.m., the Orlando Sings Symphonic Chorus, in collaboration with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, will present a concert of Maurice Duruflé’s “Requiem” and Andrea Clearfield’s “Tse Go La” at the First United Methodist Church of Orlando, located at 142 E. Jackson St. in Orlando. This concert will be presented in dedication to the 49 lives tragically taken at Pulse. For tickets, go to OrlandoSings.org.
The Orange County Regional History Center will display the Pulse memorial crosses on June 10 and 11 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and on June 12 from 12-5 p.m. Admission into the history center will be free during this time. For more information, visit TheHistoryCenter.org.
onePULSE, in collaboration with Cultural Vistas, will present the International Culture of Remembrance Symposium at the UCF Downtown Campus June 10-11, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. each day. The symposium brings together leading international scholars and experts in memorial culture to provide a multidisciplinary platform to enrich and showcase progress, innovations, trends and achievements in memorial culture and turn thought into action. The symposium will be held both in-person and virtually. You can register at ConfTrac.com/#/?domain=onepulse22.
The second annual “United We Dance” celebration will happen June 10, from 6 p.m. to midnight, in the Thornton Park District. It’s a night of music and dance to honor the resilience of the community, the City Beautiful, Pulse families, survivors, first responders and the 49. General admission is $20. Tickets are available at OrlandoWeeklyTickets.com.
The Dru Project will host a drag brunch June 11, starting at noon, at the 808 in Thornton Park to announce this year’s scholarship award recipients and to raise funds to support next year’s awards and the Gay Straight Alliance club grant program. For more details, visit The Dru Project’s event page on Facebook.
Later that evening, the Zebra Coalition will host its Pride Prom at the Orlando Museum of Art from 6-10 p.m. The event, open for ages 14-20 only, will feature a DJ, dancing, lip synch competition, lite bites, beverages and a live performance by Axel Andrews. More information is available at ZebraYouth.org.
On June 12, the day will begin at the First United Methodist Church of Orlando with the Orlando Gay Chorus performing at the church’s 11 a.m. worship service, followed by the annual 49 Bells Ceremony at 11:45 a.m. Following the ceremony, the Sanctuary will remain open for quiet reflection until 1 pm. For more information, visit FirstChurchOrlando.org.
OneBlood will hold blood drives at two locations, one at Orlando City Hall and one at the Pulse Interim Memorial, starting at noon. More information on the blood drive can be found at OneBlood.org.
The Pulse Remembrance Ceremony will be held at the Pulse Interim Memorial, located at 1912 S. Orange Ave., from 7-8 p.m. The ceremony will be livestreamed on onePULSE’s Facebook page. For more information, visit onePULSEFoundation.org.
