Orlando, May 10, 2009 – In line with the 2009 theme for Come Out With Pride, organizers are pleased to announce Stuart Milk, nephew of legendary Harvey Milk, will be leading the annual parade as Grand Marshall. “The theme for this year’s event is Heroes. The event will honor the LGBT community’s unflinching, steadfast determination to achieve full equality for all citizens through celebration of our heroes, our victories, and ourselves,” MBA president Dr. David Baker-Hargrove said in a statement. Strong in its commitment to diversity and unity, the Metropolitan Business Association of Orlando (the area’s LGBT chamber of commerce) also announced its entertainment line-up will feature national recording artist and out musician Ari Gold, whose songs, “Where the Music Takes You” and “Human” have reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Dance Charts.

“Since its inception in 2005, Come Out With Pride, Central Florida’s signature Pride event, gets bigger and better with each passing year, continually shattering attendance records and offering exceptional entertainment, food, music, and fun!” added Dr. Dave. With a record attendance of 45,000+ in 2008, for the third year in a row, Come Out With Pride festivities will be held at Lake Eola, in the heart of the city beautiful, on October 11, 2009.

In spite of a difficult recession, the organizers have promised to maintain its core celebrations to include a kick-off party on October 8 (with details to be announced in the coming weeks) and an attendance to beat all records, showing the LGBT community’s determination to convey a positive outlook on the future.

In addition to serving as Central Florida’s largest LGBT Pride parade and festival, Come Out With Pride also celebrates National Coming Out Day (October 11) and the month of October as Gay & Lesbian History Month. One of the unique features of the event is a month-long history exhibit tracing the beginnings and milestones of the Central Florida LGBT community. A smaller version of the exhibit will also be shown at the main event on Sunday, October 11, 2009.

Entry forms, information, volunteer opportunities, sponsorship packages and passes for all premium functions are available on the website now and in the coming weeks at www.comeoutwithpride.com. Come Out With Pride is one of the many benefits to Central Florida provided by the Metropolitan Business Association in cooperation with
the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Student Union of the University of Central Florida.

My mother and nephew were visiting us for a week’s vacation in February and friends of ours wanted to show them a very unique Florida experience. They suggested swimming with the manatees. My nephew was quite excited about it especially since he was not really sure what a manatee looked like. I knew he was in for a terrific surprise.

Manatees, also called sea cows, are very large vegetarian mammals. On average, they grow to about 9-10 feet long and 900-1200 pounds.

The planning was easy. Execution was another story. We reserved space on the first boat of the morning. That meant we had to get to Crystal River by 7am which was a 2 hour drive from St. Petersburg. Getting everyone up at 4am to get ready was the worst part of the day but once everyone was up, showered, fed and all the adults had at least one cup of coffee things went smoothly.

We arrived at the dive shop by 6:30am where we were fitted for wet suits, snorkel, mask and fins. The wet suit was necessary. In February the morning air can be cool and the river is spring fed with water temperatures averaging about 72 degrees Fahrenheit. We sat through a safety video warning us to allow the manatees to approach us rather than chasing after them.

We all boarded the boat with lots of excitement. We motored out a short distance and saw a group of manatees. The captain anchored the boat and within minutes we were in the water. We all behaved ourselves and waited for the manatees to approach us and in no time they did.

As I mentioned, they are very large animals and it is remarkable how graceful they look in the water. One manatee approached and rolled over so that we could scratch its belly and touch its skin. Their skin has a slimy fuzzy feel. Then we noticed a mama manatee with a baby nearby. We kept our distance and watched as the baby swam around its mama. The baby was very confident in close proximity to its mama and showed off for us by flipping and turning as it circled around her.

Some people rolled in the water to see if they could entice some of the other adult manatees to do the same thing but I didn’t notice any mimics. The manatees seemed to be comfortable swimming with humans as they swam close by and lingered for awhile. The tour team had a large video camera inside a waterproof casing. They filmed the entire dive and made the tape available for purchase after the trip.

Once back at the dive shop, we changed from wet suits to dry clothes and headed off for a good old southern breakfast where we relived our encounters with the manatees.

It was a wonderful experience for us and we got such a kick out of watching my nephew negotiating the waters in his first snorkeling trip. By the time we returned to St. Pete, he was very satisfied with himself but sound asleep in the back seat of the car.

Please note: The dive shop that we used is not longer in business so I can’t recommend it. I instead list the manatee tours in the area: http://www.manateetoursusa.com/, http://www.manatee-central.com, and http://www.sunshinerivertours.com/.

Photos courtesy of Free Public Domain Photo Database and Public Domain Clip Art

By now, you know that the final installment of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books is the fastest-selling book of all time. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold a record 8.3 million copies in the U.S. within 24 hours of going on sale. But did you know plans were underway to create the magical world of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando?

That’s right – Universal Orlando Resort announced on May 31 that they will partner with Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. to create “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” in late 2009. According to Universal’s press release , visitors will be able to visit locations from the book like the village of Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and Hogwarts castle. “The plans I’ve seen look incredibly exciting, and I don’t think fans of the books or films will be disappointed,” said J.K. Rowling.

The creative design team is led by Stuart Craig, an Academy Award winning production designer. He was responsible for bringing the Harry Potter books to life in the movies and promises to remain faithful to the look and feel of the films.

I’ve heard people pine over the fact that this is the last Harry Potter book. Readers confess that they will miss the be speckled mudblood. I hope Universal’s planned attraction will help to ease the pain that Rowling’s final book may have caused you.

The series is not just for children. I saw quite a few teens and adults dressed in costume waiting to buy the book at my neighborhood Barnes and Noble. And I look forward to Orlando Gay Days 2010 where we join our GLBTQ brothers and sisters dressed as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall and all the rest of the Rowling characters we have come to love.

We always liked going to restaurants in Florida with our friend, Judy. Judy grew up on the west coast of Florida and she turned us on to the best back road restaurants. Susan Harb’s article in Sunday’s Washington Post about Cherry Pocket Steak and Seafood Shak in Lake Wales was reminiscent of those quaint old places we visited with Judy.

“The place drips with backwater charm,” describes Harb and “looks exactly like a 40-year old Old Florida fish camp should look.” If you are not so ready to abandon the good feeling you’ve had visiting Disney’s Tom Sawyer Island, why not extend the experience by making a trip to an authentic fish camp?

While the blackened and fried dinners sound great, the homemade desserts are what put “The Shak” on my list of places to visit next time I’m in Orlando.

Cherry Pocket is located only 45 minutes south of Disney World. Cherry Pocket’s website provides directions from any location.

Enjoy!

Are the crowds at Disney and Universal driving you mad? Well, why not go off the beaten path and satisfy your out-of-space curiosity and head over to the Kennedy Space Center. On May 25, 2007, the center officially opened Shuttle Launch Experience.

According to the Kennedy Space Center press release, the Shuttle Launch Experience sends the visitor through a simulation into the Earth’s orbit. The ride took three years to develop with veteran Space Shuttle astronauts, attraction experts and a design team. It utilizes modern technology to simulate the blast into orbit. Speakers under each seat help to rumble and shake the rider during the main engine ignition and air bags in the seats simulate the effect of G forces on the body during liftoff.

“It’s not a thrill ride,” said Dan LeBlanc, chief operating officer of the Visitor Complex. “You won’t be dodging asteroids or battling any aliens. We have worked hard to ensure that it is as close as you can be to simulating the reality of a Space Shuttle launch within the confines of Earth’s gravity.”

This is the first of a series of exhibits that the Space Center will launch over the next ten years to help the average visitor better understand space travel (and who knows what that will mean to the future of gay travel).

The Kennedy Space Center is located in Merritt Island, just 45 minutes from Orlando. For more information go to the Kennedy Space Center website at http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/.