2 years after Pulse: tributes, art, a 4.9k run, calls to action

In the coming days, Orlando will mark two years since its darkest day — the June 12, 2016, massacre at Pulse nightclub — with art, music, memorials, a 4.9-kilometer run, fundraisers for the LGBTQ community and a call to action.

There’s even a drag queen or two.

“This will be a week of reflection, as we remember our 49 angels, support our survivors and consider how we as a community continue to emerge from this tragedy,” said Barbara Poma, owner of Pulse and founder of the onePULSE Foundation formed in the shooting’s aftermath. “These events will focus on unity, hope and our continued efforts to fulfill our promise that we will not let hate win.”

The events lead to an Annual Remembrance Ceremony at 7 p.m. June 12 at the Pulse Interim

Memorial, 1912 S. Orange Ave. The ceremony will include songs and tributes to honor the 49 killed, survivors and first responders, and reflections from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and local spiritual and community leaders.

Before that, though, is a full calendar of events, starting today with Healing Ink, an organization started by tattoo artists who help survivors of terrorism and violence heal through their art.

“Unfortunately, there is no shortage of communities affected by terrorism,” said the organization’s director, Craig Dershowitz. “We’ve been to Israel and New York and California, and now we’re trying to go back and help Orlando. We’re in this terrible position of having to limit our work, because we can’t help everyone.”

At their Orlando event this afternoon, the artists have chosen to offer tattoos to Pulse survivors, family members and first responders, but the 10 slots filled quickly.

On Tuesday, the Matthew Shepard Foundation and Miller Lite are holding a panel discussion on hate crimes in Central Florida, followed by a happy hour hosted by a drag queen. Yes, organizers admit, it may seem like an odd pairing, but it’s appropriate, as is the venue — Orlando’s Parliament House.

“Stay Proud, Be Loud with MSF & Miller Lite,” will be 3-8 p.m. at the club, with the first two hours devoted to a panel of law enforcement officials, representatives from the LGBTQ community, Poma and Judy and Dennis Shepard. The Shepards’ gay son, Matthew, was a Wyoming college student in 1998 when he was beaten, tortured and left to die. His murder inspired federal hate-crimes legislation.

“I think a lot of people are still confused as to why Pulse wasn’t considered a hate crime, which will be part of the discussion,” said Sara Grossman, communications manager for the foundation, who lost one of her best friends in the massacre. “Whether intentional or not, [the Pulse gunman] still attacked a gay club on Latin night, so we have to consider that part of the conversation. And we also want to break down the barriers between the [gay] community and law enforcement.”

The panel will feature Orlando Police Department’s LGBTQ liaison officer Sgt. Grace Peek.

The following evening, Wednesday, local residents Phil Kean and Brad Grosberg will host An Evening with Judy & Dennis Shepard from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The Shepards will share their two-decade journey of activism since their son’s murder. Though the venue is a private residence, the event is open to the public. Tickets and details are at onepulsefoundation.org/events.

On Saturday, from 7 a.m. to noon, the 4.9-kilometer CommUNITY Rainbow Run, kids fun run and festival will be at Wadeview Park, 2177 S. Summerlin Ave. in Orlando. The race is held in honor of all affected by the Pulse tragedy, and the course passes the Pulse Memorial and the Orlando Health Trauma Center, where many of the victims were taken. Registration and details are available at communityrainbowrun.com.

The Dru Project — a nonprofit formed in honor of Christopher “Drew” Leinonen, a mental health professional who was killed at Pulse with his boyfriend — holds its second annual memorial party and fundraiser June 10, hosted by actor Jonathan Bennett of “Mean Girls” and TV host Jaymes Vaughan. The event also features Jai Rodriguez, the culture guide on Bravo’s 2003 “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” as well as Angel in the Broadway production of “Rent.” Also, the group will award at least $15,000 in scholarships and release its new gay-straight alliance curriculum.

And June 11 at 6 p.m., Equality Florida and Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf will lead a Pulse Rally to #HonorThemWithAction in downtown Orlando — a call to action on gun safety legislation, LGBTQ civil rights and mental health funding.

“We need to have an opportunity to be active and vocal, to point out that it has been two years since Pulse and we haven’t seen any change,” said Wolf, who lost close friends in the attack. “We’ve asked Gov. Rick Scott on multiple occasions for action — ranging from small things to big things he could do to uplift and heal our community — and we haven’t gotten any of them. I think the most glaring thing is that 621 days passed between Pulse and Parkland [where 17 people were killed in a school shooting in February], and we didn’t see any movement on gun safety legislation. We actually saw money removed from mental health care resources. And we saw no money allocated for the Pulse memorial site.”

A venue has not been finalized for the rally, but he said it will be in downtown Orlando. Follow the Facebook event page, Pulse Rally to #HonorThemWithAction, for updates. Additional events include:

■ O-Town Voices at the Margeson Theater at Shakespeare, 812 E. Rollins St. in Orlando, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. — a play of stories, interviews and speeches from Orlando and around the world collected during the months following the Pulse attack in Orlando. O-TOWN Voices was created and directed by David Karl Lee and features 18 local theater veterans, Barbara Poma, Pulse survivor Neema Bahrami and the Orlando Gay Chorus. Tickets are available at onepulsefoundation.org/events.

■ Ringing of the Bells, First United Methodist Church, 142 E. Jackson St. in Orlando, June 12 at noon — a public gathering for the ringing of 49 bells at this church and others participating around the world.

■ Acts of Love and Kindness from One Orlando Alliance — a movement that grew in the aftermath of Pulse in the spirit of giving and good deeds. The One Orlando Alliance — a coalition of more than 30 Orlando LGBTQ organizations — hopes to inspire volunteerism and informal acts of good. Participants are encouraged to share their stories on social media using the hashtag: #ActLoveGive.

■ Prayer Ribbons Exhibition, Orlando City Hall Plaza, 400 S. Orange Ave. in Orlando, June 11-17 — a memorial strand of prayer ribbons, formed as a symbol of solidarity and love will be on display. Details are at thecompact.org/prayer-ribbons.html.

■ Public Gallery Display — Another Year Passes: Orlando after the Pulse Nightclub Massacre, Orange County History Center, 62 E. Central Blvd., in Orlando, from Saturday through Oct. 14. Note that the 49 crosses will be displayed only during the week of June 12; museum admission that week is free.

■ Sea to Sea Flag and Art Exhibit, Orange County Administration Office, 400 E. South St., June 12, all day — a 25-foot section of the 1.25-mile LGBTQ rainbow flag, the world’s largest, constructed in 2003 in Key West. The flag stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and required more than 2,000 people to carry it. It was created as a symbol of the worldwide LGBTQ movement for acceptance, understanding, education, solidarity and inclusion.

■ Colonialtown Labyrinth, 820 N. Ferncreek Ave. in Orlando, open sunrise to sunset — a meditation labyrinth for healing and reflection. The labyrinth was constructed with Capital Improvement Funds from Orlando District 4 Commissioner Patty Sheehan’s budget.

■ Inspiration Orlando United, a mural at 801 E. Washington St., in Orlando, on the exterior east wall of Burton’s Bar and Grille. Artists Michael Pilato and Yuriy Karabash and co-founder Chimene Hurst have led the creation of the mural in response to the Pulse tragedy. It is described as a “visual narrative showing how courageous acts of compassion revealed a heart of love and kindness in The City Beautiful.”