MIAMI, FL – Kick off the new decade at Gay8 (Gay Ocho) Festival, Miami’s multi-platform celebration, this President’s Day weekend. The yearly event is hosted by 4Ward Miami, a non-profit organization connecting many of South Florida’s diverse communities and providing inclusion for the LGBTQI community. The weekend festivities begin with the 4Ward Americas LGBTQI Human Rights, Business Expo and Life Symposium on Friday, February 14 and Saturday, February 15, and the Gay8 Festival, a celebration of diversity, inclusion, dance, music, art and culture on Sunday, February 16 in Little Havana. The three-day scintillating event will combine top notch, live entertainment with diverse cultural programming and community engagement as individuals and organizations with unique backgrounds and experiences gather to create positive action towards a better South Florida future.

The free festival will feature live entertainment by Grammy and Emmy award-winning artist, Albita, along with Lucy Grau, Pepper Mashay, Son Lokos, Robbie Elias, and internationally acclaimed DJ Abel, of the Rosabel duo. Gay8 Festival attendees will enjoy music, dancing, art, film  and tasty food, highlighting the best of South Florida. The family-friendly celebration will also feature Miami’s Best Sandwich competition hosted by local food blogger Sef Gonzalez, aka Burger Beast, along with a variety of fashion shows, drag performances and a Comparsa sponsored by CubaOcho to close out the night. The festival is set to attract over 80,000 guests and 70 vendors, making it the largest Hispanic/Latino/Latinx LGBTQ hosted festival in the nation. People from all over South Florida and the world  will  gather  to  celebrate  diversity and inclusion in one of Miami’s  historic  Latin  neighborhoods  facing  widespread  gentrification.

“The Gay8 Festival is a safe space where place where people bathe in authenticity and are enthralled to celebrate each other’s differences. People are encouraged to #LiveYourStoryHere,” says Damian Pardo, Co-Founder of 4Ward Miami. “With the 4Ward Americas Symposium, we are creating an educational and inspirational avenue moving our South Florida community forward by accomplishing our goal to promote LGBTQI diversity and inclusivity, economic status and civil rights on a local, state-wide and international platform.”

The 4Ward Americas LGBTQI Human Rights, Business Expo and Life Symposium will be hosted at the Miami Beach Convention Center this year. The second annual symposium is a forum for promoting awareness, connectivity, and regional community building making strides toward a better future for all. The two-day event will bring six different tracks focused on human rights, business, financial literacy, civic and cultural engagement, spirituality, and healthcare. Some of this year’s panel topics include:

Climate Gentrification (Nadege Green of the CLEO Institute)
LGBTQ Tourism and the Pink Dollar (GMCVB)
Staying Fresh (Dr. Daniel Careaga)
Transgender Health Care (Dr. Diane Bruessow)
Living Intentional Relationships (Christian de la Huerta)
Decolonizing Human Rights Workshop (South Florida People of Color)
How to Run for Office? Get involved in local politics (SAVE)

To learn more about the Gay8 Festival and the 4Ward Americas LGBTQI Human Rights, Business Expo and Life Symposium, please visit: www.gay8festival.com and www.4wardamericaslgbt.org

Media Contacts:
Maile Gamez | maile@mrgconnect.com
Catalina Medellin | catalina@mrgconnect.com

About 4WARD MIAMI / Gay8 “Gay Ocho” Festival / 4Ward Americas

4WARD MIAMI through its Gay8 “Gay Ocho” Festival, 4Ward Americas LGBTI Symposium and other annual programming seeks to bring together South Florida’s diverse communities through engagement. Gay8 “Gay Ocho” Festival is the largest Hispanic/Latino/Latinx LGBTQ hosted  festival  in  the nation. It is a platform for diversity and inclusion through music, films, art, dance and tasty foods that reaches out to very different parts of South Florida and asks everyone to celebrate together in a historic part of town facing widespread gentrification. 4Ward Americas is an LGBTQI Human Rights, Business and Life Symposium serving as a forum for promoting LGBTQI awareness, connectivity, and regional community building making strides toward a better future for all.

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Miami, FL – Organizers of the Gay8 (GayOcho) Festival will gather with hosts and sponsors to celebrate the 2019 Gay8 Festival Kick-off on Thursday, Nov. 8, 6 PM at Casa Juancho in Little Havana. The festival will return for its 4th consecutive year on Sunday, February 17, 2019 during President’s Day weekend. The largest of it’s kind in the U.S., attendance for 2019 is slated to surpass the 60,000 that turned out in 2018. Revelers will again enjoy a one-of-kind experience that welcomes all in the LGBTQ community, their allies, and the rich, vibrant Hispanic and Latino communities in South Florida and beyond.

“We originally set out to create an event that brought the different South Florida communities together and the results speak for themselves,” said festival co-founder Damian Pardo. “Gay8 Festival is now the undisputed largest Hispanic LGBTQ event in the U.S.”

Gay8 Festival will continue to feature a number of events surrounding the street festival – including dance parties, food tastings, free film showcase, cigar tastings, a doggie village and roaming performers – while also adding an LGBTQ international human rights symposium at the University of Miami. “Given the current climate faced by the LGBTQ community in some parts of the Americas, we felt it was important to provide a forum for leading human rights activist from South Florida, Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada to convene, share experiences and organize,” explained symposium organizer Lynare Robbins.

Leading up to the festival, the 4Ward Gala will be take place on Feb. 13 at the Bacardi headquarters in Coral Gables. The event will be the setting for the 2019 Pa’Lante Awards Ceremony, where pioneers who have demonstrated outstanding civic engagement will be honored.

New at this year’s festival is a historic collaboration between Stonewall National Museum & Archives and the National Museum of the Cuban Diaspora, where both will explore the plight of the LGBTQ community in Cuba and in exile.

For more information and tickets visit www.gay8festival.com.

Who: 4Ward Miami and Gay8Festival What: 2019 Gay8 Festival Kick-off

When: Thursday, November 8, 2018, 6 PM

Where: Casa Juancho, 2436 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33135

Why: Gay8 Festival aims to promote civic engagement Miami’s diverse communities while blending all of South Florida’s delights into one gigantic block party. By connecting South Floridians, Gay8 Festival looks to ignite opportunities by bringing people together through food, music, art and fun.

To download logos and photos visit: http://tinyurl.com/Gay8-Festival-Media-Kit

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Steve Rothaus’ LGBTQ South Florida
• Gay8 Festival

Mark’s List
• Gay8 Festival

South Florida Gay News
• Pa’Lante Awards Honor Immigrant Rights Activists
• Gay8 Festival Shining a Light on the ‘L’ in LGBT

Miami New Times
• Gay8 Festival 2018 Celebrates Hispanic Queer Culture on Calle Ocho

NBC 6 Pride
• Thousands Party at Gay8 Festival in Miami’s Little Havana

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“This year’s Pa’Lante Awards recipients represent our community champions on the front lines of immigration activism” said organizer Damian Pardo. “We hope that by highlighting the efforts of these heroes we can add to the power of their voices and celebrate the Gay8 values of diversity and working together”.

This year’s Pa’Lante awards recipients are:

• Carlos J. Martinez – From working at an Exxon on Calle Ocho to becoming the Public Defender for Miami-Dade County, Carlos J. Martinez is a home-grown success story and a champion for immigrant rights.
• Juan Carlos Carabantes – As DACA champion and participant, Juan Carlos Carabantes understands that community knows no borders. His activism stretches from immigration to LGBT rights, and from his home in South Dade to the inside of a jail cell while pressing congress to pass a clean DREAM act.
• Christina Ponthieux – Ronyde Christina Ponthieux isn’t your ordinary 10-year-old – she’s a Miami Shores Elementary student AND a TPS activist fighting for protection for vulnerable communities. She recently took to the stage during a Miami concert of Arcade Fire in front of thousands to advocate for the extension of temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants.
• WeCount! – Defending worker and immigrant rights in the Homestead area, WeCount! has worked to build the power of the immigrant community through leadership development, community education, coalition building and campaigns for social change.

The awards will be presented by other prominent community activists, such as Marleine Bastien, Francesca Menes, and Cheryl Little, Esq. Attendees will enjoy a fun-filled night of live music, light bites, and cocktails. Tickets are $100 and are available on the Gay8 Festival website.

For complete information including the full Gay8 Festival schedule of events and sponsorships, visit the Gay8 Festival website here.

WHO: Local businesses and community leaders
WHAT: Pa’Lante Awards presented by Gay8 Festival (GayOcho Festival)
WHERE: CubaOcho Museum & Performing Arts Center (1465 SW 8th St #106, Miami, FL 33135)
WHEN: Friday, February 16, 2018 from 7 PM to 10 PM
WHY: Pa’Lante Awards represent a recognition and celebration of people that have helped move the South Florida community forward. Individuals are selected based on the impact of their effort as well as the length of their service. “Pa’Lante” is Spanish slang, short for “para adelante,” to push or move forward.

By connecting Miamians, Gay8 Festival ignites opportunities by bringing people together through food, music and fun.

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WeCount!

During the WeCare years, community action teams worked on school and immigration issues. In 2003 and 2004, parent-community teams inspected local schools and won improvements in the physical state of five schools. In 2005, parents organized through WeCount! prevented the principal of West Homestead Elementary School from retaining the test results of one controversial reading test of around 500 students. That year, the immigration action team successfully convinced the Miami-Dade County Commission to pass a resolution supporting driver licenses for undocumented immigrants and organized a community forum with Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart at which he committed to providing leadership in the fight for legalization of undocumented workers and students.

Since 2006, WeCount! has worked to build the power of the immigrant community in the Homestead area through leadership development, community education, coalition building and campaigns for social change. In 2007, it began working with youth from immigrant families. Over the years, it developed a clear focus on defense of immigrant and worker rights.

PRESENTED BY:

BB&T

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Christina Ponthieux

Ronyde Christina Ponthieux is a 10-year-old Miami Shores Elementary student and young leader in the Haitian Women of Miami and is now a TPS activist fighting for protection for vulnerable communities. She recorded her own video address to a President Donald Trump not to tear her family apart. She recently took to the stage during a Miami concert of Arcade Fire to advocate for the extension of temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants.

PRESENTED BY:

Marlene Bastien
Marleine Bastien, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is the Executive Director of FANM, responsible for oversight of the agency. She has championed the cause of women, children and Haitian families through her dedicated advocacy in the areas of immigration and human rights, HIV/AIDS, breast cancer and domestic violence. Ms. Bastien serves as not only the voice of Haitian women, but as the unofficial spokesperson for the Haitian community at large. She is often quoted in local, national and international media such as the Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and others.

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