Watermark’s Complete Guide to Orlando’s Big Gay Weekend.
RED Shirt Pride Day looks to continue Orlando’s traditional Gay Day at the Magic Kingdom
By : Jeremy Williams
May 22, 2019
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In June 1991, a group of LGBTQ Central Floridians—led by openly gay Orlando resident Doug Swallow—decided to meet at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom to say to “The Most Magical Place On Earth” that “We’re here, we’re queer and we’d like to see Cinderella’s Castle!”
“[Doug said] ‘let’s go be somewhere where we can be ourselves and let people see that we’re normal people, but let them know that we are gay … we’ll do something like wear a red shirt so we can know who each other are.’ That was totally Doug’s idea, to make that day what it is,” said Michael Wanzie, a Central Florida entertainer who was at the very first event, in an interview with Watermark in 2018.
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Red Shirt Pride Day looks to continue Orlando’s traditional Gay Day at the Magic Kingdom, Gulfport Public Library wins national award, Zebra Coalition to throw LGBTQ Youth Pride Prom, local news, celebrity interviews, photos, events and much, much more!
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Change scares a lot of people. You get so comfortable with the way things are—whether they are ideal for you or not—and you figure why change it up? What if you make things worse? What if the payout isn’t what you thought it would be in the end?
I have always been a fan of change. I’ve rarely lived in the same place more than a few years, opting to pack up and change homes, roommates and, in some cases, entire states for a change of scenery. It’s why I always fit well in the military lifestyle, a lifestyle I would most likely still be a part of if not for that pesky “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” thing. No, I wasn’t discharged because I was gay but the hardship of hiding who I was and having to come up with inventive, new ways to explain to my commander why my “roommate” accompanied me to all work functions, family gatherings and annual vacations was more work than I wanted to put into a lie.
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Watermark’s Most Eligible – Central Florida: Nate West
By : Jeremy Williams
February 14, 2019
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AGE: 38
HOMETOWN: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
IDENTIFIES AS: Gay
PRONOUNS: He/ him/ his
SIGN: Aries
MBA Orlando selects 2019 board of directors, announces new RED Group
By : Jeremy Williams
December 12, 2018
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ABOVE: Board members (L-R) Michael Deeying, Tom Yaegers, James Llewellyn, Brianna Rockmore, Sherri Absher and Dawn Kallio at the MBA Orlando holiday mixer. Photo by Jeremy Williams
ORLANDO | The Metropolitan Business Association (MBA Orlando) announced its new board of directors during its Holiday Business Connect mixer at the Tupperware World Headquarters Dec. 5.
The announcement was made by current MBA Board President Tom Yaegers and Executive Director Kellie Parkin.
PHOTOS: Partygoers strutted into Disney Springs’ House of Blues for One Magical Weekend’s RED party
By : Jeremy Williams
June 4, 2018
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One Magical Weekend continued with the weekend’s biggest parties with RED Vol. III: #STRUT at the House of Blues in Disney Springs June 2.
The days official color of red continued on as many partygoers swapped out the red t-shirt for red shorts, crop tops and harnesses. The dance floor was packed by midnight as thousands moved, shook and strutted under a giant, red 9-foot high heel.
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RETURNING TO ORLANDO IN OCTOBER, 2017 – DRIP is excited to convert their warehouse-like live art bar on International Drive (I-drive) into an Underground Vampire Bar for the month of October! This safe haven for vampires and their human friends will include:
-Signature “Blood” Bar
-Full Theatrical Show with Vampire Love Story about eternal love and heartbreak
-New Characters, New Performances, New Choreography
-Dancers Performing in “Blood”, paint, flying water, red sand and more!
-Interactive Blood Shower
-Special Edition Vampire Shirts
-Blood Bag Cocktails
-Afterparty with Human Sacrifice
Disney was seeing red at the annual Gay Day at the Magic Kingdom
By : Jeremy Williams
June 6, 2017
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A sea of red washed over the Magic Kingdom for the annual Gay Day at the Walt Disney World park June 3.
Whether making a political statement or showing their Disney love, the red t-shirts were as much an event as Space Mountain and the Country Bear Jamboree.
Keep it Together: MBA President Lu Mueller-Kaul on community building amid crises
By : Billy Manes
December 29, 2016
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You wouldn’t take Lu Mueller-Kaul for the shy type but she is remarkably thoughtful. Mueller-Kaul, who joined the Metropolitan Business Association, eventually, becoming its president in 2015, understood that business requires communication.
“I was involved in the Referral Exchange Development Group (RED) before, and that was really why I became part of the MBA,” she says. “I was so awkward about running a business and promoting a business, that I thought, ‘OK, I could do something to learn this.”
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CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) – Apple marked World AIDS Day by giving more than 400 of its stores a makeover in red.
Apple stores on five continents turned their logos red or featured red window decals Dec. 1 in an effort to raise visibility for World AIDS Day. It also launched new products and efforts to support (RED), a multi-brand effort aimed at raising money to fight the spread of the disease in Africa.
Round-up of questions potential Supreme Court Justices have been asked
By : Wire Report
February 18, 2016
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(AP) – White House lawyers are scouring a life’s worth of information about President Barack Obama’s potential picks to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court – and not all of it is about the law.
Prospective justices are put through the nation’s most thorough background check, an invasive process in which nothing is off-limits. After all, a surprise dredged up later could scuttle confirmation. So candidates’ taxes, writings, childhood, business dealings, medical history and yes, love lives, are all scrutinized for potential red flags.
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