Hotspots Has the Lowdown on a Week of “Fort Fabulous” Events
Pride Fort Lauderdale celebrates its 38th year by making a big move, jumping to the month of October, with the largest events saved for the weekend of National Coming Out Day. There will be an entire week of events, beginning on Monday, October 5. The week of events culminates 
The first event is called Pride Fort Lauderdale Honors, the kick-off party for Pride week, and it will be held on Monday, October 5 at 6 p.m. at The Pride Center at Equality Park. The two people honored at this year’s dinner are Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Michael Kahane, the bureau chief for the U.S. Southern region at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). Pride Fort Lauderdale Honors is presented by AHF, also a sponsor of the Pride Fort Lauderdale festival, and Dignity Memorial. Admission is free but donations are accepted.
The first annual Stonewall Bar Crawl is the next event in the schedule, and it will begin at 5 p.m. 
Macy’s at Galleria Fort Lauderdale will be celebrating Pride with the winners of the Pride & Joy Wedding Contest on Thursday, October 8 beginning at 4 p.m. One male couple and one female couple will receive a wedding by Macy’s at the Galleria, which will be held that evening, and will include full wedding attire, a wedding celebration and reception for 25 family members and friends, a wedding cake, catered food and drink, make-up, hair, massages, photos, and much more.
MiFo LGBT Film Festivals have partnered with Pride Fort Lauderdale to present the opening 
Finally, there will be two humongous days of fun to close out Pride week. The Pride Fort Lauderdale festival will be spread out across two days, opening at 11 a.m. and closing at 7 p.m. on both Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11. The festival will include over 150 vendors, located in War Memorial Auditorium and nearby Holiday Park, food and drinks, and live entertainment across a number of stages. The AIDS Memorial Quilt will also be put on display, so we can honor the people who have been affected by HIV and AIDS over the past three decades.
The DJ schedule on Saturday consists of DJ Jared Curry (noon-2 p.m.), DJ Jalil Z (2 p.m.-4 p.m.), 
On Saturday, the entertainment will begin at noon with the national anthem as sung by Jennifer McClain. Some of the performances on Saturday include Jessie Lawrence (1:15 p.m.), Shadina (2:30 p.m.), DJ Citizen Jane (3 p.m.), Angelica Joni (4 p.m.) Taryn Manning (4:30 p.m.), Candice (5:30 p.m.), and Trina (6 p.m.). The Pride Wind Ensemble will begin Sunday’s main stage schedule after the national anthem at 12:15 p.m. Other noteworthy performances on Sunday include the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida (12:45 p.m.), DJ Lady Bunny (1:15 p.m.), Fantine (4:30 p.m.), Lillie 
General admission tickets cost $20 per person if bought in advance at pridefortlauderdale.org. If bought in person, tickets will cost $10 for Saturday and $15 for Sunday. Tickets include admission to Pride and also free parking. VIP tickets cost $50 for each of the two days and includes everything outlined above plus access to the VIP tent, free soda, water and mixed drinks in the VIP tent, and front-stage standing room for the concerts. If you want to meet some of the performers on Sunday, meet-and-greet tickets for Sunday only cost $75 per person. All of them can be purchased at pridefortlauderdale.org/buy/ticketsnow.html.
Hotspots Media Group is a proud sponsor of Pride Fort Lauderdale. For more information on Pride Fort Lauderdale, visit pridefortlauderdale.org.
