Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 13, 2025
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood and The Pride Center At Equality Park Announce Star-Studded Pride Drag Brunch On Sunday, June 1
WSVN Deco Drive Reporter Alex Miranda to Host The Pride Center Honors Ceremony Celebrating Ana Navarro, Co-host of ABC’s The View, Nadine Smith of Equality Florida and The Our Fund Foundation
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (March 13, 2025) – In recognition of Pride Month, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood will host a special Drag Brunch presented by CAN Community Health at the Hard Rock Event Center at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 1, to benefit The Pride Center at Equality Park, a cornerstone organization serving South Florida’s LGBTQ+ community. This season’s social event will include a star-studded drag show with nationally known entertainers and The Pride Center Honors awards ceremony celebrating Ana Navarro, political strategist, commentator and co-host of ABC’s The View, Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida and The Our Fund Foundation.
“Pride Month is all about visibility, celebration, and empowerment, and this event perfectly embodies all of those elements,” said Robert Boo, CEO, The Pride Center at Equality Park. “Thanks to the unwavering support of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, this brunch will not only unite community members and allies, but it will deliver an incredible experience directly benefiting The Pride Center’s mission to uplift and serve the LGBTQ+ community.”
The highlight of the anticipated event will be an over-the-top drag show featuring headline performers Christopher Peterson, representing AquaPlex Key West, and Michael Dean as Cher, plus South Florida drag icons Daisy Deadpetals, Velvet LeNore, Erika Norell, and Aaliyah Jae. Show-stopping performances with a professional cast of dancers will bring the house down.
WSVN Deco Drive Reporter Alex Miranda will host The Pride Center Honors awards ceremony recognizing Ana Navarro, Nadine Smith and The Our Fund Foundation for their unwavering commitment to advancing LGBTQ+ rights, advocacy, and community empowerment.
Ana Navarro is a Nicaraguan American political strategist and commentator. She appears on various television programs and news outlets, including CNN, CNN en Español, ABC News, and Telemundo. She is also a co-host of ABC’s daytime talk show The View and has garnered Daytime Emmy Award nominations for her work.
As executive director of Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, Smith is longtime activist and advocate and a driving force in the fight for equality, earning national recognition for her leadership and impact.
The Our Fund Foundation is South Florida’s leading LGBTQ+ community foundation, dedicated to advancing philanthropy and supporting nonprofits that enhance the quality of life for LGBTQ+ individuals. The foundation strengthens organizations focused on social justice, health, and cultural enrichment through strategic grantmaking.
“At Seminole Hard Rock, our mantra is ‘Love All, Serve All’ – celebrating diversity, fostering inclusivity, and giving back to the communities we serve,” said Erick Eldridge, director of special events at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. “This Drag Brunch reflects our longstanding commitment to embracing all people, uplifting voices, and making a meaningful impact. By partnering with The Pride Center, we are honoring Pride’s spirit and ensuring that this celebration supports vital resources and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.”
In addition to the entertainment, attendees will enjoy an elevated brunch experience with a lavish buffet featuring sliced tenderloin, crab cake benedict, made to order omelets, freshly baked pastries, and more. To complement the feast, the event will offer a unique open bar experience including an espresso martini bar and champagne station, plus specialty cocktails sponsored by Absolut Vodka.
Sponsors of this Pride celebration generously hosted by the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood at the Hard Rock Event Center include presenting sponsor CAN Community Health plus AquaPlex Fort Lauderdale/Key West, Absolut Vodka, Hotspots Media Group/Happening Out Television Network, OUTSFL, OutClique, GPR | Goodman Public Relations and WSVN 7.
Tickets are $150 per person to benefit The Pride Center at Equality Park. To purchase, visit https://givebutter.com/c/VtPWYL.
About The Pride Center at Equality Park
For more than 32 years, The Pride Center has provided a welcoming, safe space – an inclusive home – that celebrates, nurtures, and empowers the LGBTQ communities and its friends and neighbors in South Florida. The Pride Center’s programs and services meet the distinct socio-economic, health, spiritual, and safety needs of the LGBTQ community. The Pride Center hosts more than 65 regularly-meeting groups each month. Support, social and educational groups focus on women, seniors, youth, men, transgender individuals, recovery, health, the arts, athletics, spirituality, games and more. More than 35,000 adults and youth attend activities at The Center each year. Outreach activities over the past year directly impacted 250,000 residents and visitors to South Florida. In October 2020, The Pride Center opened its doors to The Residences at Equality Park. The newly built Residences are located on the Pride Center’s five-and-a-half-acre campus and is the first affordable and supportive housing community for seniors with disabilities in Florida. Along with the residences on campus, Equality Park also houses 30,000 square feet of office space, a playground, and a newly renovated Mark Turner and Chuck Nicholls Garden Plaza in Wilton Manors. As a cornerstone in advancing LGBT communities locally and beyond, Equality Park provides a home for individuals, programs, and services, and synergy among organizations. Equality Park establishes The Pride Center as a leader in LGBT unity, inclusiveness, and pride. For more information, visit www.pridecenterflorida.org.
About Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood is the flagship-integrated resort of Hard Rock International, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The renowned entertainment, gaming and hospitality destination unveiled a $1.5 billion expansion in 2019, highlighting the debut of the world’s first and only Guitar Hotel. Between three hotel towers, the resort boasts 1,271 luxury guestrooms. Amenities include a 42,000 square-foot Rock Spa® & Salon; an 18-acre recreational water experience; private “Bora Bora” style cabanas; more than 20 food and beverage outlets; a 26,000 square-foot retail promenade; 120,000 square feet of premier meeting and convention space; and an expansive gaming floor with more than 2,500 slots, more than 200 table games and a 45-table poker room. In 2023, the casino launched live craps, roulette and retail sports betting, offering 10 craps tables, 20 roulette tables, and sports betting locations including both electronic kiosks and kiosks with live sports betting agents. Introducing the new games is a historic milestone that immediately puts Florida in the same league as the world’s great gaming destinations. Hard Rock Live, ranked No. 4 worldwide in 2024 gross revenue for Pollstar Magazine, highlights A-list entertainers and performers, sporting events and live broadcast productions in an intimate 7,000-person capacity setting. Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood is located on 87 acres of the Hollywood Seminole Reservation along State Road 7 (U.S. Highway 441). For more information, visit us online at www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com, call 1 (800) 937-0010 or follow us: Facebook: @HardRockHolly, X: @HardRockHolly, Instagram: @HardRockHolly.
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Ana Navarro
Photo Credit: ABC/Jeff Lipsky
Nadine Smith
Photo courtesy of Equality Florida
Michael Dean as Cher
Photo courtesy of Equality Florida
Velvet LeNore
Photo credit: Ave Harlowe
Christopher Peterson
Photo Courtesy of AquaPlex Key West
In recognition of Pride Month, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood will host a special Drag Brunch presented by CAN Community Health on June 1 to benefit The Pride Center at Equality Park. This season’s social event will include a star-studded drag show with nationally known entertainers and The Pride Center Honors awards ceremony celebrating Ana Navarro, political strategist, commentator and co-host of ABC’s The View, Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida and The Our Fund Foundation.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 13, 2023
The Pride Center at Equality Park Names New Development Director
(Wilton Manors, Florida) — The Pride Center at Equality Park, a Wilton Manors, Florida-based nonprofit formed in 1993 to serve the health, social, educational, socio-economic and safety needs of the LGBTQ+ community, announced today the appointment of Rebecca D’Amico, MPA as director of development.
D’Amico has more than two decades of experience helping nonprofits raise funds and build strong donor relationships. She has held development positions with Covenant House Florida and the Leadership Broward Foundation. Most recently, she was director of operations, programs, and events for the Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
She earned a master’s degree in public administration from Florida Atlantic University and is a graduate of Leadership Boca Raton and Leadership Broward. She also completed the Community Foundation of Broward’s Leadership Institute High Potential Track training program. Her numerous community and professional involvements include Pi Alpha Alpha, a public administration honor society, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
“Rebecca has a proven track record helping nonprofits and working on a wide range of issues, including health care, reproductive rights, community leadership and early childhood education,” said Robert Boo, Chief Executive Officer for the Pride Center. “We are thrilled to have her on board and know she will lead us to the next level of fundraising success.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 13, 2023
About The Pride Center at Equality Park
The Pride Center, which is celebrating 30 years of service to the LGBTQ+ community, has the mission to provide “a welcoming, safe space—an inclusive home—that celebrates, nurtures, and empowers the LGBTQ+ community, and our friends and neighbors in South Florida.”
The organization serves each year more than 35,000 adult and youth, who attend activities at the center. Each month more than 30 group meetings are held to provide social and educational support to seniors, youth, women, men, and transgender individuals. Topics are wide ranging and include recovery, health, the arts, athletics, spirituality, and games. Outreach activities impact each year an estimated 125,000 residents and visitors to South Florida.
The Pride Center is a major site for HIV testing, prevention, outreach, education, healthcare linkage, support, holistic health, and counseling. Our popular Senior Services activities include weekly Coffee and Conversation events with over 200 LGBTQ Seniors; individual linkage services, wellness workshops, daily Enhance Fitness senior exercise classes; a speaker series; recreational activities; healthy aging seminars; cultural events; and the annual Senior Health Expo.
Among the packed calendar of events are a community Market, women’s health initiatives, parenting workshops, transgender education series, family outreach days, exercise classes, cultural competency trainings, art gallery openings, and. Campus facilities include 30,000-square feet of meeting and office space, a rentable auditorium, a playground for children and families, a plaza area and HIV testing, prevention, education, and support.
The programs and facilities office at the Pride Center position it as the premier point of connection for the community. For any general information, visit www.pridecenterflorida.org. For more specific information, contact Robert Boo at rboo@pridecenterflorida.org.
