Wilton Women’s Week. Full stop. Those are words that you rarely hear in “gay centric” Wilton Manors. But that is changing this week as Women’s week is fully underway. Kicked off by National Lesbian Visibility Day celebrations on Friday, is the first ever 10 day festival, presented by Pride Center At Equality Park and Women With Pride. The program began with a sold out social boat cruise Friday night. Saturday, a high energy party was held at Hunters in the heart of Wilton Manors. Hunters is generally a very gay men social space and it was rare to see such a large and energetic footprint for women. Hotspots Happening Out’s Al Ferguson attended and covered the story. He told Queer News Tonight
“This was a significant moment to launch women’s important role in the gayborhood. Hundreds attended the event and I spoke to so many participants of their pride in our community and the important role women represent in the community. It was a unique feeling to being virtually the only man in the room. It was a clear reminder of what women feel in Wilton Manors every day.”
Yesterday Stonewall National Women’s Fund hosted a sold out brunch and program with activist Rita Mae Brown at the Stonewall Museum. Then Lesbian Thespians held a cultural performance event last night. It was a jammed packed opening weekend. More events this week include partnerships with South Florida’s who’s who of lesbian and queer women including Skirt Foundation, Thou Art Women, SkirtSoFlo, Pandora Events, Sunshine Cathedral, Lezchic, and Sporty Lesbians, There are 16 events this week including educational programs, cultural arts programs, social parties, and a women’s focused vendor show and more. Diane Pappafotis, Pride Centers director of women’s programming told Queer News Tonight
“When we set out to create the first Wilton Women’s Week, our mission was to showcase and celebrate the LGBTQ+ women’s community, and to focus attention on the many contributions of women-led organizations, programs and women’s businesses in the region. Now that WWW is here, we are getting tremendous feedback from attendees, having been told numerous times over the past three days, ‘This has been a long time coming and we love it!’ I think that says it all. We’re very proud of what our team has created in this first year, and it’s only going to get better next year.”
The festival continues until May 4. Follow all the events at WiltonWomensWeek.org
