On Feb. 23, South Florida Pride Youth Band Season 14 joins forces with members of the South Florida Pride Concert Band, to experience the bridge-building power of music in our community.
These students have been rehearsing for the past month and will perform under the direction of Cheldon Williams, Associate Director of Bands at West Virginia University. Ten or more $1,500 college scholarships will be awarded to members of the Youth Band. One exceptional student will receive a $7,500 scholarship as part of the 3rd Annual FLoatarama Soloist Competition and will be featured as a soloist during the South Florida Pride Concert’s Band’s concert in May. Go to browardcenter.org for more details or to purchase tickets.
BANNED AIDE
This year’s Stonewall Gala, “Standing on the Shoulders of Heroes” will not only honor Tristan Schukraft, “the CEO of everything gay” and the late Edie Windsor, whose lawsuit eventually led to marriage equality, it will also launch Stonewall’s “Banned Aide Project,” an interactive social media movement banding people together to “free” banned books locked out of America’s public schools and libraries.
Gala guests will be part of history as they read excerpts from books in the Gala’s Banned Aide Book Booth. The Banned Aide Project’s first video was made by New York Times best-selling author and fearless feminist icon, Rita Mae Brown, who read from her groundbreaking, 1973 novel, “Rubyfruit Jungle” and “tagged” fellow icon, Gloria Steinem to join the fight. Brown will be addressing gala guests virtually to announce the launch of the Stonewall National Women’s Fund, for which she will serve as the Honorary Chair.
Hundreds of guests and VIPS are expected to attend the gala. Schukraft will be offering attendees the opportunity to win a luxurious, three-night stay at The Tryst Puerto Vallarta, including daily breakfast for two, $250 food and beverage credit, and a day trip on The Pata Salada boat for up to ten friends.
Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library is a one-of-a-kind institution collecting significant LGBTQ historical treasures, housing millions of pages of records and materials available to the media, drawing direct lines from our nation’s history to today. The gala is being held on Saturday, March 1 at The Venue in Wilton Manors. Go to stonewall-museum.org for tickets and more information.
GRAB YOUR PARTNER
If you enjoy taking line dance lessons from Lee Fox, Zachary Detweiller, and Chris Peplowski at Scandals or Hunters, here’s a chance to spend a whole day with them! The guys will hold a workshop at the Charlotte Burrie Civic Center in Pompano Beach on April 12. Beginners’ classes will be held from 9-noon, and there’ll be open dancing from noon-1 p.m., and 1-4 p.m. is for intermediate and advanced dancers. Joining them will be instructor Mimi Leary. It’s $25 for either a morning or afternoon class or $35 for an all-day pass. Register at
GET READY TO LAUGH YOUR ASSES OFF
Stand-up comedians, viral sketch comedy queens, and internationally homosexual performers Tim Murray (The Other Two on HBO Max) and Michael Henry (60 million YouTube views and Queerty award-winner) bring their gay ass comedy show to Fort Lauderdale, appearing at Island City Stage on Sunday, March 16 and Monday, March 17. For more information, go to islandcitystage.org.
COFFEE CLATCH
Compass Community Center will hold a Meet the Author event at its Coffee Clatch social group on Monday, March 3. Rick Karlin, one of the authors of “Last Call South Florida: A History of 1,001 LGBTQ-Friendly Taverns, Hang-Outs, & Haunts,” will discuss his book. A limited number of copies will be available for purchase at $40 hardcover, and the author will be available to sign the copies purchased at the event.
