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Created: April 27 2015

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – The inaugural Diversity Honors, co-presented by the The Pride Center at Equality Park and The Pride Center at Equality Park and hosted by the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, will take place on Saturday, May 9 at 7 p.m. The impressive evening of recognition will include headline entertainment by renowned stage artist and cabaret singer Joey Arias, plus a gravity-defying performance by Cirque Dreams and special song by Casandra Ortiz.

Judy and Dennis Shepard, LGBT civil rights activists and co-founders of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, will receive the Harvey Milk Honors Medal award at the inaugural Diversity Honors gala co-presented by the Harvey Milk Foundation and The Pride Center at Equality Park and hosted by the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida on Saturday, May 9 at 7 p.m.The celebration will pay tribute to Judy and Dennis Shepard, LGBT civil rights activists and co-founders of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, who will receive the Harvey Milk Honors Medal award from Stuart Milk, nephew of the late civil rights icon, Harvey Milk (1930-1978).

Emceed by WSVN-TV’s Craig Stevens, Diversity Honors will also recognize South Florida leaders who have made a significant impact on improving the quality of life for the LGBT community: international recording artist Deborah Cox, President and Founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Rand Hoch, nationally recognized teen activist and honorary co-founder of the Transkids Purple Rainbow Foundation Jazz Jennings, worldwide celebrity entertainer  Elaine Lancaster (James Davis), CEO of Planned Parenthood of South Florida Lillian Tamayo,11^th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida Miami Judge William Thomas and Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Dean Trantalis.

Honorary event hosts include Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Senator Bill Nelson, City of Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, Broward County Mayor Tim Ryan and City of Wilton Manors Mayor Gary Resnick.

Diversity Honors sponsors include Serendipity Foundation, Ketel One, Whole Foods Market, Johnnie Walker, GPR | Goodman Public Relations, Mark Griffis, Miami Foundation/Our Miami, Over the Top Rental Linens, Metro Media Works, Cirque Dreams and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. Media sponsors include WSVN-TV, Hotspots Magazine, Agenda, Genre Latino, Guy Magazine, Mark’s List, She Magazine, South Florida Gay News, The Mirror and Wire.

Tickets for Diversity Honors are $150 per person. For reservations, visit www.diversityhonors.org.

About The Harvey Milk Foundation
The Harvey Milk Foundation is a global non-profit NGO that promotes Harvey Milk’s inspiring legacy through human rights education and global outreach. In 1977, Harvey Milk (1930-1978) became the first openly LGBT elected official to a major office in the United States. He was assassinated in San Francisco’s City Hall 11 months later. The all-volunteer run foundation was founded by Harvey's nephew, Stuart Milk, and Anne Kronenberg, Harvey's campaign manager and political aide. Today, the Harvey Milk Foundation provides on-the-ground support and award-winning programing to struggling and emerging LGBT communities on 5 continents with over four dozen dedicated volunteer leaders and long term partnerships in 31 nations. For more information, please visit www.milkfoundation.org.

About The Pride Center at Equality Park
For more than 20 years, The Pride Center has provided a welcoming, safe space – an inclusive home – that celebrates, nurtures and empowers the LGBT communities and our 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 LGBT community. It hosts more than 60 regular meeting groups each month and more than 35,000 adults and youth attend activities at the Center, each year. Outreach activities over the past year directly impacted 50,000 residents and visitors to South Florida. The Pride Center is a major site for HIV testing and prevention, education and counseling and offers holistic and comprehensive support programs for persons living with HIV/AIDS, including the nationally acclaimed PALS Project. For more information, visit www.pridecenterflorida.org.

About Cirque Dreams
Since 1993, the Cirque Dreams brand has entertained more than 50 million people worldwide under the artistic direction of Neil Goldberg. Cirque Dreams shows have appeared in theaters, casinos, theme parks, at sea and on Broadway. Cirque Dreams has garnered critical acclaim from USA Today, The New York Times, The Associated Press, CNN, Today Show, Fox & Friends and more. The Los Angeles Times declared Neil Goldberg “one of today’s leading theatrical impresarios and circus mavens,” and the New York Daily News has proclaimed his work “simply ingenious.”  The Cirque Dreams franchise includes a growing number of popular Cirque Dreams brand shows worldwide. For more information, visit www.cirqueproductions.com.