When Se7enbites owner Trina Gregory saw the negative reaction following the removal of the rainbow crosswalk outside Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, she felt a desire to respond differently.
“I feel like we’re all in this place of trying to heal and have been, for so long,” Gregory told the Orlando Sentinel.
“I see so much hate, and these protests, and the rhetoric of fighting back, but there’s another way to fight back: with kindness and love and creating community and that is where this event comes from.”
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On Sept. 15, Gregory will welcome the community to celebrate as artists paint 49 parking spots in the Se7enbites lot to honor the lives lost in the Pulse nightclub shooting of June 12, 2016, at the time the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
Parking Spaces for Pride – A Rainbow Connection is proving a powerful panacea for those caught up in the sadness of the erasure, when workers, under cover of night, removed the crosswalk, one of the most significant sites in Florida for the LGBTQ community, apparently as part of state and federal transportation officials’ aim to wipe “political banners” from public roadways.
The response, she says, has been overwhelming.
“It has me more in my feels than almost anything I’ve ever done.”
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The daylong, family-friendly event — plans for which are still developing — will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to allow artists the full day of painting, says Gregory, and will happen on a Monday, when Se7enbites is closed.
“There will be DJs and live music, face painting, vendors and food trucks,” she says. “Lots of activities, including other art opportunities for people to get involved.”
The restaurant’s rainbow birdhouse installation, she says, has seen better days after 10 years on outdoor display.
“We’re figuring it out, but while we have people there, some will be able to paint birdhouses and we can hang all the new ones.”
Donations to cover the cost of paint, sealant and other supllies, as, as well as event essentials like volunteer care and logistics can be directed to the project’s SpotFund page (spot.fund/3db3899sc).
Though more than 49 artists have expressed interest in painting parking spots, at press time, only 16 had filled out all the necessary information, including rough sketches of their concepts, to be considered. Interested parties can find links to that information at Se7enbites.com. Qualifying submissions will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis and unused donations will roll over, says Gregory, who plans on making this a biennial event.
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“Because of the outpouring of interest, we’d like to give other artists the ability to participate, as well,” she says, noting that each event will be an opportunity to come together as a community, on private property, beyond the reach of anything state-sanctioned.
She says she doesn’t have any battles to fight.
“I want it to be peaceful. I want to keep politics out of it. I want to create the opposite of the anger and frustration that people are feeling right now,” she says. “This is going to be a joyful event.”
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
If you go
Parking Spaces for Pride – A Rainbow Connection: 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Sept. 15. Se7enbites is located at 617 S. Primrose Drive in Orlando.