Proud of our Pride
The annual Pride parade and festival is a sign of, pardon the pun, pride for any city looking to advertise how accepting and diverse they are, but let’s face it: All Prides are not created equal. Next Magazine set out to explore the LGBT communities around the globe and find which Prides are worth traveling halfway around the world for. Next Magazine chose seven Pride destinations and only one in the good ole U.S.A. made the list: St. Pete Pride. The magazine calls it “a vibrant festival featuring art, music and performances of all kind.” They go on to say the highlights of St. Pete Pride include the “lively display that runs right through the heart of the gayborhood” that is Grand Central and gushes about the only parade on the list that starts at sunset. St. Pete Pride is forth on the list behind Tel Aviv, Israel;Sitges, Spain and Toronto, Canada.
Dinner with a cause
A restaurant, a group of friends and a bottle of wine spells out a pretty good night. A great night would be if you could do that and help out your community. Well you can! Dine Out For Life is headed to the Tampa Bay area May 19. Just eat at one of the participating restaurants, and a varying percentage of your check (The Frog Pond in Redington Beach is donating 100 percent)is donated to ASAP.This is the first year that local hot-spot eatery Punky’s will be involved and your friendly neighborhood news. People here at Watermark will be out there alongside them as your Punky’s Dine Out For Life welcoming crew. We can’t help it; we love that everything is purple! So make sure you make your way out to Punky’s, or any of the amazing places listed at DineOutForLIfe.com, and get to eating.
Marching orders
Where people pee, more specifically where transgender people pee, has sparked protest and outcry across the country, but before it attracted national attention, this very issue was ruffling the feathers of folks in the Sarasota area. After a local magnet school allowed trans students to use the bathroom for the gender they identify, the Sarasota County School Board started having meetings and workshops,trying to decide whether they should back this policy. After the concerns of the trans community seemingly fell on deaf ears, they took to the streets in protest May 1. Nearly 140 protesters assembled at Five Points Park and then marched down Main Street for the right to use the bathrooms that make them feel safe. Joining the protest was Harvey Milk Festival president Shannon Fortner and ALSO Youth program coordinator Molly Swift.
