In June 2024, after that year’s Red Shirt Pride Days ended, One Magical Weekend made the announcement that it would be moving its June 2025 celebration up a week to make room for WorldPride.
“Our goal is to support WorldPride’s efforts to facilitate and inspire the LGBTQIA+ community in every aspect as we celebrate Pride Month,” said Tom Christ, co-founder of One Magical Weekend, in a press release June 25, 2024. “We have always kicked off Pride Month in Orlando by hosting our event the first weekend in June, but with WorldPride slated for that weekend we are moving our event date. With aligned missions, we would like to give people the opportunity to experience both events rather than making what may be a difficult decision to choose one.”
InterPride — the organization that puts on the WorldPride events — announced in 2022 that it would be bringing its international celebration to Washington, D.C. in 2025 with the bulk of its events happening from June 5-8. D.C. was chosen since 2025 is the 50th anniversary of Pride celebrations in the nation’s capital.
This year, One Magical Weekend and Bear Jamboree will take place from May 29-June 2.
The decision was not made lightly, the organization stated, as One Magical Weekend’s nonprofit arm, Kindred Pride Foundation, was formed to help keep the spirit of the first Saturday in June as Gay Day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom alive.
“This wasn’t something Tom and Billy just decided to do, they did their research,” says Ethan Suarez, owner of Pineapple Healthcare and a sponsor for One Magical Weekend. “They sent out surveys to those who have attended One Magical Weekend and looked into how many people were realistically looking at attending WorldPride in 2025.”
Based on the surveys, One Magical Weekend found that about 40% of regular attendees were considering going to WorldPride instead.
“That’s a big number,” Suarez says. “So the decision was made to come start your party here and then go to D.C. and finish your party there.”
The Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C. team organizing WorldPride, partnered with One Magical Weekend to help promote both events to the community.
“The Capital Pride Alliance is excited to partner with One Magical Weekend in 2025, as we bring WorldPride to Washington, DC,” said Ryan Bos, a representative for The Capital Pride Alliance, in a statement in June 2024. “With the new dates, you can have fun partying in the Florida sun then travel up to our Nation’s Capital to keep the party going for what will be a powerful, inspiring, and momentous WorldPride.”
Something else that has changed between last year’s celebration and this year’s is One Magical Weekend has new owners. Pineapple Healthcare is no longer just a sponsor of the event. Clinic owners Ethan and Erick Suarez purchased the event organization in October from co-founders Christ and his husband, Billy Looper.
“We’ve been involved with One Magical Weekend and Bear Jamboree since Pineapple’s been open, for the last five years, as a sponsor,” Ethan Suarez says. “Literally Billy and Tom approached us and said, we’re in our 60’s and 70’s, we’re getting ready to retire, what do you guys think about owning this party?”
When the Suarezes agreed to buy One Magical Weekend, Ethan Suarez says he had a bit of instant buyer’s remorse at first.
“It was the same thing when I opened Pineapple Healthcare, like what the hell did I just do? I went from working for somebody else to working for myself, taking this huge leap of faith,” he says. “Now we are doing it again. I’ve spent my career in health care, so going into the entertainment business, into hospitality is a new endeavor for me.”
Ethan Suarez says some of it has been easy to get into (“the business and the politicking of negotiating with Disney and doing contracts with House of Blues and different vendors, that stuff I knew,” he says.) and other parts he has had to find his footing (“I love my community but there are a lot of personalities you have to deal with,” he laughs). Luckily, they haven’t had to do it alone. Christ and Looper, while no longer owners, are still involved for now.
“They really have been mentors to me,” Ethan Suarez says. “They joke that the only thing that has changed for them is now they have bosses.”
While it is under new ownership, nothing is going to “radically change” about the popular annual event, Ethan Suarez says.
“There are a few things that we are polishing up to enhance guest experiences, implementing payment plan options, those kinds of things,” he says. “But you still have the pool parties, you still have RipTide, RED party; it is all still there.”
One change you will see is the nonprofit group that is affiliated with One Magical Weekend. The organization will now fall under Pineapple Healthcare. Kindred Pride Foundation, which is the nonprofit One Magical Weekend fell under prior, will still be overseen by Christ and Looper, and will still be responsible for bringing The Pride Cup, the annual LGBTQ+ multi-sport competition held during Red Shirt Pride Days, to Orlando each year.
A benefit to come out of purchasing One Magical Weekend for Pineapple Healthcare is that the annual event can now act as an annual fundraiser, especially given the current presidential administration’s “DOGEing” of federal funds for HIV prevention and care.
“We are calling it ‘Party with a Purpose’,” Ethan Suarez says. “This is helping us fuel our advocacy, our outreach, our education and our treatments. Pineapple Healthcare says we treat everyone regardless of ability to pay and we don’t have federal grants, the federal grants have dried up. We do have some grants from Gilead and ViiV for some research but it’s not enough for the influx of patients, and we don’t want to turn anybody away because they don’t have the ability to pay.”
Since March, the Florida Department of Health has lost nearly $500 million in public health funding provided to the state to detect, prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, including HIV, according to reporting from the Sun Sentinel. Ethan Suarez adds that Pineapple Healthcare was notified by the state that the clinic will no longer be receiving HIV tests.
“For years HIV tests have been given to us by the state for free in exchange for data and statistics,” he says. “The state said come July 1 we’re no longer giving you condoms, lube or HIV tests. So now how do we keep doing HIV testing? You need to know your status, and not everyone’s going to walk into our clinic to do that. That’s why we have our mobile units and we’re out at the bars and the clubs, and these special events like Orlando Fringe, to do these testing events and offer free HIV tests, the rapid test.”
Ethan Suarez adds, “My fear is that we’re going to see a decline in new HIV cases, not because we are having a true decline in HIV but we’re having a decline in testing.”
Ethan Suarez says that Pineapple Healthcare does about 150 rapid HIV tests a month, and with each test costing $6.75 a piece, he says that will add about $12,000 a year to his budget.
“That’s not including any incentives to test or ancillary supplies such as gloves, alcohol swabs, any of that,” he adds. “It’s going to get difficult for some of these smaller grassroots organizations — Divas in Dialogue, Gender Advancement Project, QLatinx — that don’t have very large budgets, they can’t afford to purchase a test that costs $6.75 a test.”
While funds brought in by One Magical Weekend will help with future health programs, Ethan Suarez says those attending this year’s events will be able to take advantage of the safe sex initiatives that will be in place.
“We have teamed up with a Walk For Change, which is spearheaded by the Department of Health, and they will be doing HIV testing on site,” he says. “Pineapple Healthcare will also be giving out free Doxy PEP (an after-sex pill taken to help prevent syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea) on site all weekend. So, everyone can get one dose of Doxy PEP for the weekend at no charge.”
Given the current political climate with cuts to grants and health care funding, some may be feeling like now isn’t the time to be focusing on a “party.” But Ethan Suarez says now is precisely the time for it.
“There is such a thing as burnout,” he says. “You cannot be an activist 24/7, hitting that pavement. You need to take some self-care, and if that means experiencing queer joy in a pool with a couple hundred of your friends, and you’re in that queer bubble for that weekend, so be it. Let that recharge you and see what you’re fighting for. Plus, who doesn’t want to go to a Disney water park that’s completely queer for a night?”
One Magical Weekend and Bear Jamboree are May 29-June 2 at the Sheraton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Resort, located at 12205 S. Apopka Vineland Rd. in Orlando. For tickets, events and more information, visit OneMagicalWeekend.com.
The Pride Cup, presented by the Kindred Pride Foundation, is May 31-June 1 at various locations in Central Florida. Go to KindredPride.org/Pride-Cup for more information.
