The Stonewall National Museum, Archives and Library (SNMAL) gala, “Standing on the Shoulders of Heroes,” will be held at the Venue on Feb. 24.
The annual event, which raises awareness and funds to support SNMAL’s tireless, 50+ year fight to tell the stories of the LGBTQ community, will honor iconic athlete Diana Nyad, whose historic swim from Cuba to Key West inspired the just-released Netflix movie Nyad. Nyad, who will attend the gala, will be honored and added to SNMAL’s “Standing on the Shoulders of Heroes” traveling educational exhibit.
Other honorees at the gala include Kristen Lovell, star & director of the HBO documentary, “The Stroll”, who will be joined by fellow survivors and share an inspiring story of hope and resilience, ingrained in this community’s legacy, and Stacy Ritter, President/CEO of Visit Lauderdale, who has risked much to keep Broward County a welcoming place for our community to visit, live, and work.
Outspoken influencer and LGBTQ activist Zander Moricz, who rose to national media fame via viral videos of his high school graduation speech opposing Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law as well as his recent viral response to a Florida school board president, whose private antics created a media frenzy, and has been in the forefront of the “Don’t Say Gay” statewide and national efforts, will be SNMLA’s honored guest.
More than 500 guests and VIPS are expected to attend this high-energy celebration of inspiring messages, delicious eats, entertainment, an open bar, awards, and a live auction. Last year’s gala raised a record-breaking sum and was supported by major corporate sponsors nationwide, with more than 600 in attendance and generating nearly 50% of their operating funds. It’s fitting that Stonewall, which provides an inexhaustible historical record of achievements in the face of prejudice and hate, is recognizing courageous leaders and heroes.
SNMLA is a one-of-a-kind institution collecting and sharing powerful stories, hosting dynamic weekly events, launching fact-based solutions to real-world problems, and mobilizing educators who face an ever more challenging time educating students. To purchase tickets, go to stonewall-museum.org/gala-2024.
PALM BEACH OPERA OPENS SEASON WITH ‘TOSCA’
Palm Beach Opera opens its highly anticipated 2024 Season with Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca,” 100 years after the composer’s death. Featuring high-voltage drama and a sensuous score, all set against the backdrop of real-life locations in Rome, the opera continues to captivate audiences around the world. It will be sung in Italian with English supertitles projected above the stage. Performances will be held Friday, Jan. 26 through Sunday, Jan. 28 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. The Opera’s 2024 Season continues with Jacques Offenbach’s fantastical “The Tales of Hoffmann” March 1-3 and Vincenzo Bellini’s cherished “Norma” April 5-7, also at the Kravis Center.
‘FUNNY WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE’
Award-winning veteran stand-up comic Carole Montgomery has had a long and varied career as a comedian, writer, director, and producer, with an extensive background in television, and as a comedy club headliner throughout the United States. Frustrated by the way women have been portrayed on television once they hit 50, she created “Funny Women of a Certain Age” to give older women comics a chance to be seen and heard. It is a show straight from the unfettered mouths and uninhibited minds of the funniest, most daring, most experienced people in comedy: women who have seen it all! Montgomery will be joined on stage on Feb. 8 and 9 at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center by Julia Scotti and Leighann Lord, and by Vanessa Hollingshead and Trish Keating on March 22 at the Aventura Cultural Arts Center.
