Published May 17, 2011
(Photo: sarasota.patch.com)
TWISler Breakdown: The Harvey Milk Festival gets TWISted
Harvey Milk Festival Art Opening: 7-10 p.m. Fri., May 20, The Red Panty Press, 513 Central Ave., free; 2nd Annual Harvey Milk Festival: 2-10 p.m. Sat., May 21, Rosemary District, 1376 5th St., donations accepted with a portion of proceeds benefiting ALSO Out Youth, harveymilkfestival.com.
As the TWISler pointed out in statistical fashion back in February, Sarasota is a pretty gay place. No joke, the federal government actually ranks cities on their level of fabulousness in a nifty census study ambiguously called The Gay Index. And last time we checked, our population was about 61 percent gayer than the national average.
I mean when you think about it, Sarasota’s actually known for some of the most flamboyant characters in the modern American psyche. Our biggest claim to fame in the YouTube world has to be SNN meteorologist Justin Mosley’s “Cockroach VS. Weatherman†video, which is clocking in at just north of a billion page views now. (When are you going on Tosh.0, Justin?!) Then there was local heartthrob Jason Champion on HGTV’s Design Star, who stands in the top echelon of most flaming contestants to ever grace the show. (more…)Tag: Harvey Milk Festival
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TWISler Breakdown: The Harvey Milk Festival gets TWISted
Published May 17, 2011
(Photo: sarasota.patch.com)
TWISler Breakdown: The Harvey Milk Festival gets TWISted
Harvey Milk Festival Art Opening: 7-10 p.m. Fri., May 20, The Red Panty Press, 513 Central Ave., free; 2nd Annual Harvey Milk Festival: 2-10 p.m. Sat., May 21, Rosemary District, 1376 5th St., donations accepted with a portion of proceeds benefiting ALSO Out Youth, harveymilkfestival.com.
As the TWISler pointed out in statistical fashion back in February, Sarasota is a pretty gay place. No joke, the federal government actually ranks cities on their level of fabulousness in a nifty census study ambiguously called The Gay Index. And last time we checked, our population was about 61 percent gayer than the national average.
I mean when you think about it, Sarasota’s actually known for some of the most flamboyant characters in the modern American psyche. Our biggest claim to fame in the YouTube world has to be SNN meteorologist Justin Mosley’s “Cockroach VS. Weatherman†video, which is clocking in at just north of a billion page views now. (When are you going on Tosh.0, Justin?!) Then there was local heartthrob Jason Champion on HGTV’s Design Star, who stands in the top echelon of most flaming contestants to ever grace the show. (more…) -
Milking it: The 1st Annual Harvey Milk Festival aims to entertain while getting the word out about the fight for LGBT civil rights
Published May 20, 2010
“My name is Harvey Milk and I’m here to recruit you.”
Harvey Milk Festival
1-10 p.m. Sat., May 22, Rosemary District, 5th St. and Central Ave., Sarasota, 228-4872 orharveymilkfestival.com; The Milk Collection Art Opening: 6-9 p.m. Fri., May 21, Pure Luxe, 513 Central Ave., Sarasota, 364-5800 or pureluxeonline.com.
Shannon Fortner sits in her home just north of the Rosemary District flipping through a small notebook filled cover to cover with phone numbers, hastily scribbled notes and artistic doodles. “This is my Harvey Milk book,†she explains, her scratchy voice straining with exhaustion. The volume was nothing but blank pages not two months ago when she decided to start organizing the Harvey Milk Festival just before traveling to England to visit her girlfriend of three years.
Fortner’s partner was her inspiration for the festival. The U.K. native has been limited to no more than 90-day stays in the U.S. due to the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which states that same-sex partners of U.S. citizens are not granted permission to be sponsored for family-based immigration. So Fortner, a long-time civil rights activist and lead singer of local bandsMeteorEyes and Spontaneous Habit, decided to spend much of her two-week vacation on the phone putting together the event to raise awareness about laws that she sees as discriminatory toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals. (more…)