Sarasota's Harvey Milk Festival Celebrates Equality

“Hope will never be silent.”

These words were spoken by the iconic politician and civil rights activist, Harvey Milk. He became the first openly gay individual to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in January 1978. Milk’s time in office was cut tragically short, however, on November 27, 1978 when he and San Francisco Mayor, George Moscone, were assassinated by disgruntled former City Supervisor, Dan White.

Although Milk’s voice was silenced, his legacy continues to ring out loud and clear today as communities throughout the nation rally together to promote progress in the movement for equality that he so famously championed. This weekend in Sarasota, local voices will align with those from across the country who are holding festivals not only to celebrate the life of Harvey Milk, but also to make strides toward greater lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) equality.

Sarasota’s 2nd Annual Harvey Milk Festival is scheduled to take place from 2pm until 10pm Saturday in the historic Rosemary District downtown. Admission is free, although donations will be accepted. A portion of the proceeds will be put toward benefitting ALSO Out Youth, a support organization for LGBT youth in the greater Bradenton-Sarasota community.

Prior to Saturday’s main event, the Harvey Milk Festival Art Opening will take place on Friday from 7pm - 10pm at The Red Panty Press photography studio and art gallery at 513 Central Avenue. The gallery will remain open throughout the duration of the festival so that attendees may view the Harvey Milk and equality themed work submitted by some of Sarasota’s most exceptional artists.

Along with art, the festival will feature a huge billing of indie music. Local favorites such as Completely From Mountains, Friends of Giants, Kenra Whyte, MeteorEyes and Sons of Hippies will be joined by several other musicians to keep the music pumping from the festival’s two stages throughout the duration of the afternoon and evening.

“To be able to so directly support a cause centered around equality and equal rights is an honor for our band,” said Sons of Hippies front-woman, Katherine Kelly. “Sons of Hippies believes in equal rights for all individuals, families, and lovers, and our participation in this festival is a testament to that.”

At 9:30pm, headlining band, Ha Ha Tonka will take the stage to close out the event. Hailing from the Ozark region of Missouri, the alternative country band which is often described as an infusion of southern rock and bluegrass, is rapidly gathering national acclaim from their Billboard Chart climbing LP, Death of a Decade.

The strongly music-centric nature of the Harvey Milk Festival is no accident. The organization’s president, Shannon Fortner, is also the front-woman for Sarasota-based electro-indie quartet, MeteorEYES.

Fortner attended The National Equality March in Washington D.C. in 2009 and was inspired by the words of Cleve Jones, an influential LGBT and AIDS activist who worked closely alongside Harvey Milk as a student intern in his campaign office during the 1970s.  During the rally in the nation’s Capitol, Jones encouraged attendees to bring the spirit of Harvey Milk alive in their communities by championing the cause for LGBT equality and social awareness.

Fortner, who coincidentally shares a May 22 birthday with Milk, decided to combine her passion for music with her devotion to the cause for equal rights, and hatched the idea for a music festival in Sarasota that would promote LGBT awareness throughout the community.

In 2010, the first Harvey Milk Festival was held in Sarasota, drawing an estimated 2,000 attendees. This year, Fortner says that the festival committee hopes to double the numbers. Last year’s festival garnered the attention of Equality Florida, whose field director Joe Saunders, will be a keynote speaker at this year’s event. Writer, Todd Kachinski-Kottmeier will also be speaking at this year’s festival for the second time.

“Last year, it was just a couple of friends and me,” Fortner said. “This year, we have a board and a committee, so everything is much more organized. Eventually, we’re hoping to turn it into a statewide festival.”

Fortner’s dream for a statewide festival is aligned with the ambitious efforts of the Harvey Milk Foundation, which is working to establish May 22 as a national holiday in the gay rights pioneer’s honor. The Harvey Milk Foundation also recently began a campaign to have Milk’s face placed on a postage stamp.

With a 15-band lineup featuring some of the community’s most talented musicians supporting a nationally acclaimed chart-topper, a collaborative exhibition from some of the most original artistic voices in the community, and the participation of influential guest speakers, the 2011 Harvey Milk Festival promises to hold true to its namesake’s powerful promise:

Hope will never be silent.