Take PRIDE! “Coming Out of the Shadows” Free Exhibition at Galleria Fort Lauderdale 5/29/26 – 6/30/26

Take PRIDE! “Coming Out of the Shadows” Free Exhibition at Galleria Fort Lauderdale
Friday, 05/29/2026-06/30/2026, 10:00 am-08:00 pm
Galleria Fort Lauderdale
2414 East Sunrise Blvd.,
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33304
Website
Cost: Free

In honor of PRIDE Month, History Fort Lauderdale will present “Coming Out of the Shadows,” a free photo exhibition, that will run from May 29 – June 30 at Galleria Fort Lauderdale (2414 East Sunrise Blvd). The exhibition is part of Galleria Fort Lauderdale’s “Take PRIDE!” 2026 activities.

The “Take PRIDE!” 2026 exhibit “Coming Out of the Shadows” will feature photos and ephemera that tell the stories of the tumultuous political climate of 1960s pre-Stonewall Fort Lauderdale. The exhibit, a collaboration with Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library and Florida International University, is curated by Fred Fejes, professor emeritus of multimedia studies at Florida Atlantic University and Julio Capo, Jr., an author and associate professor of history at Florida International University.

Visitors will also learn about this year’s “Take PRIDE!” honorees who have made significant contributions to the South Florida community: Chris Caputo, commissioner and vice mayor of the City of Wilton Manors; Dennis Dean, executive director of ArtsUnited; Robert Griffin and Durrell Watkins, the bishops of Sunshine Cathedral; Ronnie Larsen, actor, director, playwright, and producer; Rafaelé Narváez, co-founder and director of health programs for Latinos Salud; Jason Parsley, owner and publisher of Out South Florida; William Schultz, police chief, City of Fort Lauderdale; Nicole Stodard, artistic director of Thinking Cap Theatre; and Tatiana Williams, founder and executive director of TransInclusive Group.

The exhibition, located near H & M, will be open to the public during mall hours.

“Take PRIDE!” is presented by Galleria Fort Lauderdale with support from The Our Fund Foundation, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, HotSpots Media Group/Happening Out Television Network, OutSFL, Hunters Nightclubs, Gulf Stream Distillery, Ethos Greek Bistro, and GPR | Goodman Public Relations.

For more information about Galleria Fort Lauderdale or for a complete list of retailers, call (954) 564-1015 or visit www.galleriamall-fl.com.

History Fort Lauderdale’s “Three by the River” Artists-in-Residence Exhibition 6/4/26 – 6/30/26

History Fort Lauderdale’s “Three by the River” Artists-in-Residence Exhibition
Thursday, 06/04/2026-, 10:00 am-04:00 pm
History Fort Lauderdale
231 SW Second Avenue,
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33301
Website
Cost: Exhibition is free. Museum admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $7 for students

History Fort Lauderdale presents “Three by the River,” an Artists-in-Residence annual exhibition, from June 4 to June 30. Featured will be acrylics by Constance Ivana, mixed media works by Stephanie McMillan, and portraits by Florencia Clement de Grandprey.

Constance Ivana is a Fort Lauderdale–based mural artist and visual creative passionate about creating bold, vibrant artwork that sparks reflection, conversation, and joy. Her art is inspired by social justice, Black stories, women’s voices, and nature.

Stephanie McMillan is a third-generation Fort Lauderdale resident and artist. Her distinctive style combines affectionate humor with the bright colors of the sunny tropics. A graduate of the
Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, with a focus in animation, she began drawing illustrations and editorial cartoons, for which she won several Florida Press Club awards. This led to 25 years as a widely published freelance cartoonist and illustrator producing award-winning editorial cartoons, syndicated comic strips, comic journalism, and graphic novels. In recent years she has returned to painting, drawing, and mixed media assemblage. She is the author/illustrator of several books including As the World Burns and The Beginning of the American Fall: A Comics Journalist Inside the Occupy Wall Street Movement (Seven Stories Press). Her original sketches, illustrations, comics, and papers are archived at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University.

Born and raised in southern Spain, Florencia Clement de Grandprey is a self-taught mixed media figurative artist whose mission is to empower and inspire through meaningful and uplifting artwork. Her artistic journey began in 2014 when she left her full-time job in interior design to follow her true passion: painting. Clement de Grandprey has developed a style without rules, granting her the freedom to express herself fully. She blends her love for the classic masters with contemporary design, resulting in unique mixed media paintings. Her award-winning work celebrates strong, confident, soul-aligned men and women. She aims to highlight our unique, perfectly imperfect nature, bringing out our strengths and beauty as a reminder of who we truly are. She ensures that a variety of ethnicities are represented, making everyone feel seen and honored in her art.
History Fort Lauderdale’s Artists-in-Residence Annual Show is sponsored by the following funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: Jan and Ed Crocker Unrestricted Fund, Leo M. and Alice J. Rutten Fund and The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation Broward Community Fund. Additional funding is provided, in part, by Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward County Cultural Council and Visit Lauderdale.

History Fort Lauderdale is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. with docent guided tours, daily, at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Group walking tours are available upon special request. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for seniors and $7 for students (through age 22 with a valid student ID). Admission is free for members, military and children ages six and under. Tickets are available online at HistoryFortLauderdaleTickets.

For more information about History Fort Lauderdale, please call (954) 463-4431 or visit us online at historyfortlauderdale.org. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/ftlhistory, on Instagram @ftlhistory and on Twitter @FTLHistory. Subscribe to us on YouTube at youtube.com/user/FTLhistory.

Island City Stage presents the Florida Premiere of Light Switch 5/21/26 – 6/14/26

Island City Stage presents the Florida Premiere of Light Switch
Thursday, 05/21/2026-, 07:00 pm-09:00 pm
Island City Stage
2304 N. Dixie Highway,
Wilton Manors, Florida, 33305
Website
Cost: 50

Meet Henry Sullivan – 27, gay, Autistic, and completely enchanted by the sweeping romance of 19th-century British novels. He’s read Wuthering Heights 67 times; dreamed every scene… but nothing in those pages prepared him for the complexities of modern dating. Join Henry on his journey through love, heartbreak, identity, and acceptance – navigating a world that doesn’t always understand him and learning to write his own kind of love story – in Island City Stage’s Florida premiere of Light Switch by Dave Osmundsen. Tickets are on sale now for the play running May 21 – June 14.

This poignant coming-of-age story thoughtfully portrays one remarkable young man’s journey to find anything — or anyone — that lights up his heart the way 19th century romantic literature does. When Henry ultimately meets a potential match in Joseph, he wonders if Joseph will be the one to “flip the switch.” Funny, moving, and profoundly relatable, Light Switch captures the power of imagination, the longing for connection, and the courage it takes to be truly seen.

Autistic playwright Dave Osmundsen’s work explores the intersections of queerness and neurodiversity. Light Switch received its world premiere with Spectrum Theatre Ensemble in April 2022. Light Switch was also the 2021 Distinguished Achievement recipient of the Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award, an Honorable Mention finalist for BAPF 2021, longlisted for the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award, a finalist for the 2020 Carlo Annoni Playwriting Prize, and a semi-finalist for the 2020 National Playwrights Conference. Osmundsen’s work has been seen and developed at KCACTF Region 8, the Kennedy Center/NNPN MFA Playwrights Workshop, B Street Theatre, the William Inge Theatre Festival, the Midwest Dramatists Conference, Phoenix Theatre Company, Clamour Theatre Company, Premiere Stages, and more. He was one of two recipients of the Blank Theatre and Ucross Foundation’s inaugural Future of Playwriting Prize. His one-act, A Firework Unexploded, was a semi-finalist for the NYC Audio Theatre Writing Contest and was produced by Pint-Sized in London. His plays have been published by or are forthcoming in The Dionysian, Canyon Voices, Exposition Review and Broadway Play Publishing. MFA: Arizona State University.

Island City Stage’s production of Light Switch is directed by theater veteran Michael Leeds and stars Gage Callenius as Ezra, Eric Gospodinoff as Joseph, Larry Toyter as Roggie, Irene Adjan as Marian, and Luis Roberto Herrera as Aaron/Ken/Another Guy.

Light Switch co-producers are Funding Arts Broward & Mark Loeser and the Opening Doors Charitable Trust; Lights and Sound Sponsor is Scott Bennett; Talent Sponsors are Jim Morgan & Joe Rodonis; Costume Sponsors is Richard Meyerson; and Set Sponsor is Glenn Goldberg. Additional funding is provided by the following: The Our Fund Foundation, The Schubert Foundation Inc., the SHS Foundation, the Warten Foundation, and OutClique.

Individual show tickets start at $50. A Mimosa Sunday performance sponsored by Misty Daniels will take place on May 31. The show runs for one hour and 50 minutes with an intermission.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.islandcitystage.org, call (954) 928-9800 or email boxoffice@islandcitystage.org. Follow Island City Stage on Facebook at facebook.com/IslandCityStage and on Instagram at @islandcitystage.

Area Stage’s Inspire Theatre Project presents Spongebob The Musical Youth Edition 6/5/26 -6/7/26

Area Stage’s Inspire Theatre Project presents Spongebob The Musical Youth Edition
Friday, 06/05/2026-06/07/2026, 07:00 pm-
Area Stage
5701 Sunset Drive, Ste 286,
South Miami, Florida, 33143
Website
Cost:

Area Stage Conservatory’s Inspire Theatre Project presents The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition, a high-energy adventure set in the colorful underwater world of Bikini Bottom. When a looming volcano threatens to destroy their home, SpongeBob and his friends must band together to save their community, discovering courage, friendship, and the power of believing in yourself along the way. Brought to life by our talented ITP neurodiverse performers, this joyful and uplifting production is a celebration of imagination, resilience, and the strength of community.