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Poet & Author Steven Reigns Book Event

Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library (SNMAL) will present award winning poet & author Steven Reigns on April 10th in Fort Lauderdale, FL. This will be an in-person interview & celebration of his work including ‘A Quit for David’ & ‘Outliving Michael.’ Hailing from Los Angeles Reigns is a fervent writer as well as advocate for LGBTQ youth & HIV acceptance. His book ‘A Quit for David’ released in 2021 tells the story of the late Dr. David Acer a gay dentist from a small conservative Florida town who was accused of infecting patients with HIV. His sexuality alongside his sickly appearance made him an easy scapegoat during a time where HIV transmission was not clearly understood. With accusers helping create hit pieces for the media David’s final stretch of his life was lived in exile a tragic tale that Reigns carefully captures with his poetic prose after years of investigative research into those who forced David to live in secrecy and shame. Reigns’ next work ‘Outliving Michael’ published in September is a personal look into his friendship with Michael Church an intergenerational bond built on what it means to navigate life as a gay man, the power of art in creating connections with others & how AIDS tore them apart. A memoir that seamlessly blends poetry & story the book tackles the generation our society lost to HIV & AIDS & how those stories must be preserved in the hearts of the living. ‘A Conversation with Steven Reigns takes place at Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library on Friday April 10th at 6P ET live & via Zoom. 
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Redesigned Org Affirms Schools For All

GLSEN is now Glisten transforming to strengthen & support youth & continuing their mission to create safe affirming schools for all with a fresh outlook & renewed energy. Since the org was founded in 1990 their name GLSEN represented the network of teachers & educators who first took action alarmed by the bullying & discrimination towards LGBTQ youth. Over 30 years later they’ve grown to represent 1.5 million youth, families, educators & advocates working to create safe schools nationwide. Expanding their reach beyond the school buildings creates ways for youth, families & allies to stay connected to a supportive community that understands them. Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, Chief Executive Officer stated, “Today, organizations like ours are facing unprecedented challenges at the local, state & federal levels. We cannot step back or give up in the face of erasure from anyone. It is more critical than ever for us to double down on our mission for all LGBTQ+ youth across the nation. “Glisten” is what we called ourselves out loud for decades. However, unlike an acronym, the name Glisten expresses the essence of the work that we do. It stands for what we represent. This is a year for transformation—not just for the Glisten team as individuals, but as an organization. This is not just a name change—it’s a name evolution. Much like the LGBTQ+ community, Glisten isn’t solely defined by the letters that represent the acronym. The brand name Glisten acts as a beacon for all LGBTQ+ youth, providing a shining, visible lifeline in schools & creating spaces where everyone can feel safe being visibly who they are.” 
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South Florida OUTshine Film Festival

The 28th annual OUTshine Film Festival Spring Edition returns to South Florida April 23rd to May 3rd. This season’s OUTshine line-up hits Miami-Dade & Broward counties with vibrant, entertaining & educational star-studded features documentaries & shorts including 4 international, 9 North American & 6 East Coast premieres from 20 countries. New this year is the festival’s Opening Night Under the Stars a Community Block Party Closing Night & an extended Fort Lauderdale run adding 3 more days of fun & fabulous excitement to connect cinema enthusiasts. Mark Gilbert, OUTshine Interim Executive director stated, “OUTshine was created to entertain, educate & inspire film-loving audiences of all persuasions by presenting the best of emerging international, national & local LGBTQ+ oriented films to South Florida. We strive to enrich our audiences while encouraging a sense of community by presenting international & culturally diverse films that offer historical & contemporary perspectives on the LGBTQ+ experience. Our message is that when you come to the festival, you’re with friends.” Joe Bilancio, OUTshine Director of Programming concluded, “With so many new universal stories yet to be discovered, selecting this year’s Spring Edition features was truly a labor of love. Our Miami run has a strong focus on Latin America, international & foreign language LGBTQ+ films geared toward a strong multicultural audience while Fort Lauderdale features many American independent films. We are proud to share these empowering stories by today’s foremost & emerging directors whose creative visions urge us to embrace our differences & foster a sense of unity & belonging.” Last year’s OUTshine drew more than 12,000 attendees from the Greater South Florida area as well as virtual viewers statewide.
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PFLAG Launches New Online Library

PFLAG National has launched “Creating Pride in Families” an online library offering a dedicated resource hub for parents & caregivers involved in employee resource groups in their workplaces. Jamie Henkel, Vice President of Learning & Inclusion at PFLAG National stated, “Being a working parent or caregiver of an LGBTQ+ child can be both profoundly rewarding & very challenging, especially right now. To help employers meet the needs of parents in the workplace, the ‘Creating Pride in Families’ library offers guidance, connections to community & tools for employee resource groups. When workplaces & ERGs partner with PFLAG, we amplify that support, helping families feel seen, valued & empowered every day.” With more than 50 years of experience supporting parents, families & non-family allies of LGBTQ people PFLAG National has pulled together best practices, resources & tools to help companies launch, maintain & revitalize internal peer-support groups for employees. The “Creating Pride in Families” library provides families with practical guidance to answering common questions, navigating difficult conversations & leading with bold love & understanding for the LGBTQ people in their care. The launch underscores PFLAG National’s ongoing commitment to empowering families & creating safer more inclusive communities & workplaces for LGBTQ people of all ages. Families, employers & employee groups are encouraged to explore the library. Founded in 1973 PFLAG works together with LGBTQ people, parents, families & allies to create an equitable & inclusive world. PFLAG has hundreds of thousands of people & hundreds of chapters from coast to coast who are leading with love to support families, educate allies & advocate for just, equitable & inclusive legislation & policies. 
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HIV Funeral Protest & Life Celebration

Pallbearers procession with symbolic coffins at the Save HIV Funding Campaign's Funeral Protest & Celebration of Life on March 16th in Washington, DC. Long-term HIV survivors, health advocates, community health providers & faith leaders gathered to hold a symbolic funeral to sound the alarm over the growing instability in HIV prevention & care funding across the United States & the impact on America's national healthcare infrastructure. Jeremiah Johnson, Save HIV Funding Campaign Co-founder & Executive Director of PrEP4All stated, “We're going to make sure that our policymakers hear us loud & clear: do we invest in life, or do we invest in death? Do we invest in care, or do we invest in bombs? We have to save our care, save our prevention, save our research, save our housing & we have to do it, not just for those of us in America, but we have to do it globally.” The event was organized by the Save HIV Funding Campaign & held at Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel, host hotel for this year’s AIDSWatch conference. The demonstration used the imagery of a memorial service to warn that decades of progress in the fight against HIV could be reversed if critical prevention & treatment programs continue to face funding threats & policy instability. Speakers included Kamaria Laffrey, Co-Executive Director, SERO Project in Florida, Barb Cardell, Program Director, Positive Women’s Network-USA in Colorado, Aubrianna Escalera Naranjo, COO & President, Poder Unides Inc. in Georgia, Vincent Crisostomo, Director of Aging Services, SF AIDS Foundation in California, Paul Aguilar, Author & Activist in California, Malcolm Reid, Co-Chair, U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus; Founder & CEO of Unity Arc Advocacy Group in Georgia. 
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Helicline Fine Art Showstoppers Exhibit

Helicline Fine Art presents Showstoppers: The Art of Stage & Screen a fabulous new exhibition that runs now through May 10th celebrating nearly a century of performance through the vision of some of the 20th century’s most influential artists & designers. The exhibition features more than 3 dozen works capturing the spectacle, glamour & cultural force of Broadway, film, dance, opera & popular entertainment. Artists featured in Showstoppers include celebrated American & European modernists alongside some of the most influential designers ever to work on stage & screen including works by Boris Aronson, Cecil Beaton, Leon Bibel, William Gropper, Edith Head, Al Hirschfeld, Mervyn Jules, Hilary Knight, Gaston Lachaise, Bob Mackie, Jo Mielziner, Anton Refregier, Irene Sharaff, Yves Saint Laurent, Tony Walton, Miles White & Richard Whorf. Many of these designers are Tony® & Oscar® Award winning visionaries whose designs shaped entire eras of performance. Keith Sherman stated, “Although I founded Helicline Fine Art in 2008, my lifelong professional passion has been leading a Times Square communications firm. From the start of my career, I’ve worked in theatre, film, television, music, dance & major cultural events. Some of the artists in this exhibition were friends & even clients. These works are profoundly personal to me & I believe they will resonate deeply with anyone who loves entertainment & the arts.” Founded in 2008 by Roy Goldberg & Keith Sherman Helicline Fine Art specializes in American & European modernism with particular strength in WPA-era works. The gallery also presents American Scene painting, Social Realism, mural studies, industrial landscapes, Regionalism, abstraction & related movements. Helicline Fine Art is located in NYC & is open by appointment only. 
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Emerging Artists 20th Spark Festival

The Award-winning Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT) returns with their bi-annual Spark Theatre Festival NYC that runs from April 6th to 26th at The 28th Street Theatre in NYC. The biannual festival will feature more than 66 new works including dance, plays, storytelling, solo performances & musicals. Theatre luminaries including TV comedy legend Joyce Bulifant, Tony Award nominee Christopher Sieber & Emmy winner Dorothy Lyman will take part in the Spring Spark Theatre Festival NYC. This year marks the festival’s 20th anniversary that was originally launched as the New Works Series & evolved significantly since its inception doubling in size & expanding to include genres such as dance, music, cabaret, drag, sketch comedy & other boundary-pushing performances. Today the Spark Theatre Festival NYC presents Spring & Fall festivals showcasing over 100 new shows each year & giving more than 400 artists the opportunity to perform new work on stage. The Spring Festival will include 12 short & full-length plays, 9 short & full-length musicals, 30 dance works & numerous solo shows. Award-winning Emerging Artists Theatre is under the direction of Founder & Artistic Director Paul Adams now in its 33th year of producing new work since launching the Spark Theatre Festival NYC in 2006. Since its inception numerous musicals, plays, solo shows & dance pieces first workshopped at the festival have gone on to full productions at the Edinburgh Fringe, NYMF, FringeNYC & Encores! as well as Off-Broadway & in national & international productions. During the festival performances run nightly with multiple performances on the weekends. Most productions receive one performance with shorter shows grouped together to form a full evening of entertainment. Short Q&A’s with the artists will follow some of the performances. Tickets run from $20 to $40 
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Poet & Author Steven Reigns Book Event

Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library (SNMAL) will present award winning poet & author Steven Reigns on April 10th in Fort L...

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