By Dakota Parks for Inweekly Every Juneteenth has its own soundtrack, but there are always common threads: music spilling through public parks, families sharing stories over plates piled high with food, the slap of dominoes against card tables and laughter from children racing through the crowd. Rooted in the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when enslaved African Americans in Texas finally learned they were free two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth is the ce

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly Pride month is often defined by crowded bars, late nights and dance parties that cater to younger crowds. But this month, one local event is shifting focus to the generation that helped pave the way, offering LGBTQ+ adults 50 and older a Pride celebration of their own. The inaugural Silver Pride Tea Dance is hosted by Sunday’s Child and Stamped Film Festival. Organizers hope to create a space where LGBTQ+ elders feel celebrated and connected. “At

for Inweekly Happy Pride Month to all who celebrate. We made this issue just for you. If your group chat has officially run out of ideas for how to make this month special, we’ve got you covered. Between drag events, dance parties, outdoor meetups, and, of course, PensaPride, June in Pensacola will be busy and queer as always. Whether you’re looking to find community or just figure out what’s worth leaving the air conditioning for, we rounded up our favorite ways to help you

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly “Are you a friend of Dorothy?” Long before Pensacola’s Memorial Day weekend Pride celebration became one of the largest LGBTQ+ gatherings in the South, queer communities relied on coded language and underground networks to connect safely. In the 1960s, the fictional Emma Jones Society helped quietly organize the first LGBTQ+ gatherings on Pensacola Beach, while “friend of Dorothy” operated as a discreet signal phrase used by queer people across th

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly If you’ve ever spotted an odd little critter staring back at you from a mural in Pensacola, chances are you’ve already encountered Jaime Diffee’s work. From thumbs-up possums and armadillos in combat boots to cowboy-hat-wearing toads, Diffee’s work always seems to create its own strange little world. “I’m enamored with all critters, varmints and beasties,” Diffee said. “I especially love animals, like possums, that are generally regarded as pests

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly One question raised at Stamped Film Festival was all it took to kickstart Pensacola filmmaker William Mettlach’s career. Now, a nationally traveling writers festival is coming to town, and it’s built to amplify stories like his. This weekend, the Del Shores Foundation Writers Festival, presented by the Red Ribbon Charitable Foundation in partnership with Stamped Film Festival, will bring queer Southern storytelling and real-world career-building o

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly Monsters, cryptids and creatures that go bump in the night often get a bad rap. But for 17-year-old high school senior Desmond Anzaldo-Satterwhite, they might just deserve a second look, and maybe even a love song. That’s exactly what audiences can expect from “Mothman the Musical,” an original production from the Pensacola Little Theatre Education Department. “The initial inspiration came from the movie ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall,’ where a music

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly The revolution won’t be televised—but it might be scribbled in the margins of a spiral notebook or stapled into a zine on the back of a book truck. This April, in honor of National Poetry Month, Perfect Day Books is inviting the community to show up, write every day and see what rises to the surface. Specializing in stories often left off the shelves, like banned books and works from queer and BIPOC authors, the independent mobile bookstore is lau

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly In a time when so much of life happens online, Books By The Bay is bringing readers and writers back together the old-fashioned way: face to face, books in hand. What began as a modest idea for a community book fair has quickly grown into the largest literary event in Northwest Florida. This spring, Books By The Bay returns for its third year, drawing more than 150 authors, dozens of performances and hundreds of book lovers for a full day celebrat

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly In 1950s America, being yourself could cost you everything. That tension sits at the heart of “Perfect Arrangement,” the current Studio 400 production at Pensacola Little Theatre. Written by Topher Payne, the play offers a look at life during the Lavender Scare, when queer federal employees were deemed national security threats. Concurrent with the anti-Communist Red Scare, this government-led moral panic forced thousands of LGBTQ+ federal employe

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly If you think the library is just for borrowing books, you’re missing out. West Florida Public Libraries (WFPL) have become some of the most versatile public spaces in our community—part classroom, part creative studio, part community center, and yes, still a great place to find your next read. “Our vision is to be the heart of our diverse community, and we are proud to provide a welcoming and inviting space where everyone is welcome to learn, disc

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly Open mics are where a community finds its voice, bringing poets, writers, comedians, musicians and neighbors together under one roof. Pensacola Poetry, the city’s longest-running open mic, has done just that for nearly two decades, weathering venue closures, a pandemic and the passing of the torch from longtime hosts. From End of the Line Cafe to Sluggo’s, Constant Coffee to Subculture and the Pensacola Liberation Center, Pensacola Poetry has call

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly At a time when transgender people face constant attacks on their rights, from passports to healthcare to housing, it can be hard to leave room for joy. That’s why, for the past eight years, Strive has been hosting TransFest: a multi-day celebration of trans joy and trans lives, including Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors those lost to anti-transgender violence. This year, TransFest will take place Nov. 19-23. For board member Indigo Let

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly Often, words alone can’t capture every feeling. That’s when artist and illustrator Adrian Sparrow turns to their sketchbook—pages filled with hot sauce tears, ghost cats and the manifestation of death. A lifelong lover of comics, Sparrow has always found comfort in combining art and storytelling. But it wasn’t until both of their parents passed away that drawing became a lifeline and an outlet to remember, connect and process grief. A graduate of

A Community-Sourced Reading List for Pride Month