Travel Thursday: Pride, Resilience, and Fun in the Sunshine State

The thing about Gay Floridians is that they are resilient, full of Pride, and look out for each other. We are here, we are mighty in numbers, and we know how to have a great time.

If you’re here just for the pics of the speedo-wearing men, scroll down to the end.

Gay Floridians are still having a great gay time even with the political, economic, and social climate that our state and other states are facing. We have to, we live here, we work here. And sure, go ahead and boycott the Sunshine State, stay away because our alleged lift-wearing governor loves to hate woke things. We’ll still have fun without you. We will be present, be visible, support each other, and be out and in the community and proud.

Businesses Supporting Businesses

One such showing of support that we all cheered about involved Lips, an institution here in Fort Lauderdale.

Lips, which was founded in NYC, opened on Oakland Park Blvd. in 2007. From their Sunday Gospel Brunch, to Drag Bingo, to hosting fundraisers and bachelorette parties, Lips quickly became a go-to party spot.

But the venue was recently up for sale. COVID was a tough time for staffing, calling on the performers to pitch in above and beyond, more than they ever had to make sure the business was working, staying open. In early August, there was news that a potential buyer had changed their mind and was not moving forward with the purchase. It was announced that the last performance would be on Sunday, August 11. But….

From Out SFL, we learned in their post Local Drag Bar Lips Sold, Staying Open. Lips, a place where you could go get a filling meal along with great drag entertainment, was sold to its new owners Michael and Jonathan Barrett, owners of the Aquaplex in Key West, Florida. They new owners stated:

“This is an exciting venture for us as we spread our wings from Key West to South Florida. We love drag, and we love it here, so it is the perfect venue for us to personalize and make our own. Our Key West experience and success have provided us with inspiration, and we’re looking forward to visualizing it in Fort Lauderdale.”

Bravo. Businesses supporting businesses, gays keeping gay things moving forward.

School is In Session

And then there were the primaries and recent local elections. It seems there’s some sanity coming back to Florida voters, or maybe it’s just the voters using their voices to drown out the one squeaky Ronnie DeSantis whine we hear from his temper tantrums over people thinking differently than he does. ‘The Fever Is Breaking’: DeSantis-Backed School Board Candidates Fall Short in Florida. Oh my, what a glorious title to read from US News and World Report. “Of the 23 school board candidates that DeSantis endorsed this cycle, preliminary results show more of them appeared to lose their election races than win them.” We are hoping more blue changes to come.

Go Dem’ Carts Go!

Before that, there was what happened in The Villages – A Promising Turn in The Villages: Kamala Harris Rally Signals Hope was out title to cover the great show of support for the Democratic Party from the massive retirement community, you know, where everyone sends their republican grandparents to expire. Go have a read and watch the videos. It brought us joy.

Still Plenty of Love

Walking down Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors (the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd gayest city in the US, depending on who is doing the survey), businesses are hopping, the sidewalks are full of queer people with smiles and little shorts, tank tops, glitter tops, holding hands, having an amazing time. What I like about Wilton Manors is that it feels natural and real to see all of this and feel the joy.

Still Going Gay Strong

And Wilton Manors is the gay capital of Florida, some say the gay capital of the US, and some say the gayest place on earth. We will let you all argue about that. The gay destination is not slowing down, boycotts or no boycotts, little ronnies or no little ronnies.

One of the biggest additions to the happenings in the area has been the Flock Fest events. You can see all of their events over on their web page, one of the biggest held in July each year, and here are some that are coming up in the next couple of months.

These events are front in center at some of the more visible hotels in Fort Lauderdale as well as right on one of the busiest beaches in the nation, Fort Lauderdale Beach and no, it’s not in the gay beach area as it takes over so much more space than that. Prime real estate for a prime event. Keans Llamera Photography posts great photographs of events from across the Greater Fort Lauderdale Area. Be sure to look at the galleries below of 2 of Flock Fest’s July events, but if you want to see more pics, head over to Keans Llamera Photography’s Facebook page.

Cover or Not to Cover

As Managing Editor, I get to travel and represent Instinct across the nation and the globe. But over the past couple of years, I’ve held back a bit on covering anything about Florida in our Travel Thursday posts. We get the emails about people boycotting our phallic state. But alas, the gays are still here in the state, the gays are still coming, the gay business owners are still welcoming customers, and if we leave, who will fight the fight? We need to cover the good parts of not only this state, but other states, too, highlight those communities and businesses pushing forward against adversity. And if there’s a state to push back in, well, it is Florida.

Visibility is important. Are these Speedos helping?

July 6, 2024 event