Watermark Out News has been Central Florida and Tampa Bay’s leading LGBTQ+ news source for over 30 years. For most of that time, readers have recognized their local favorites through our annual “best of” awards.
Nominations and voting in the 2026 Watermark Out News: Diversity, Excellence and Resilience Awards, or WONDER Awards, closed in February. Readers nominated Central Florida and Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ+ community in the areas of activism, service, entertainment and more before celebrating their winners in March.
Congratulations to every person and organization who was recognized this year. View Tampa Bay’s Top 3 honorees below and read more about the 2026 WONDER Awards here.
2026 WONDER Awards: Tampa Bay winners
FAVORITE LOCAL POLITICIAN
FIRST: Tampa Mayor Jane Castor
SECOND: St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch
THIRD: State Rep. Michele Rayner
FAVORITE LOCAL LGBTQ+ ACTIVIST
FIRST: Tamara Leigh, Tampa Bay Black Lesbians
SECOND: Ant Avila, Equality Florida
THIRD: Byron Green-Calisch, Justice Over Everything/St Pete Pride
GREATEST ALLY TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
FIRST: Carol “Mama” Steen, Tampa Bay Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
SECOND: Rev. Andy Oliver, Allendale UMC
THIRD: Molly Robison, St Pete Pride
MOST EFFECTIVE LOCAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
FIRST: St Pete Pride
SECOND: Equality Florida
THIRD: Metro Healthy Communities
FAVORITE LOCAL TRANS-AFFIRMING ORGANIZATION
FIRST: St Pete Pride
SECOND: TransNetwork
THIRD: Inclusive Care Group
FAVORITE LOCAL TRANS-AFFIRMING SPACE
FIRST: The Ball
SECOND: TransNetwork Events
THIRD: Allendale UMC
FAVORITE LOCAL FAITH-BASED ESTABLISHMENT
FIRST: Allendale UMC
SECOND: MCC Tampa
THIRD: UU St. Pete
FAVORITE LOCAL WRITER / JOURNALIST
FIRST: Ryan Williams-Jent, Watermark Out News
SECOND: Immani Love, Blaque/OUT Magazine
THIRD: Dave Borman, Tampa Bay Gay
FAVORITE LOCAL WEBSITE
FIRST: WatermarkOutNews.com
SECOND: ILoveTheBurg.com
THIRD: TampaBayGay.com
FAVORITE LOCAL TV / WEB PERSONALITY
FIRST: Discord Addams, “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
SECOND: Greg Dee, Tampa Bay 28
THIRD: Natalie Taylor, Tampa Bay’s Morning Blend
FAVORITE LOCAL RADIO SHOW / PODCAST
FIRST: “The Big Gay Radio Show,” WMNF 88.5
SECOND: “The Skittle Squad”
THIRD: “Wine, Wine Not: A Queer Podcast”
FAVORITE LOCAL CONTENT CREATOR
FIRST: Chris Gibson, @ChrisGibsonLive
SECOND: Art Smith, @GayBarchives
THIRD: Dr. Beachgem, @Dr.Beachgem10
FAVORITE ANNUAL LOCAL LGBTQ+ EVENT
FIRST: St Pete Pride
SECOND: Winter Pride
THIRD: Equality Florida St. Pete Gala
FAVORITE LOCAL TRANS-AFFIRMING EVENT
FIRST: TransMarch, St Pete Pride
SECOND: Trans & Ally Picnic, PFLAG Safety Harbor & TransNetwork
THIRD: Transtastic, St Pete Pride
FAVORITE LOCAL NETWORKING EVENT
FIRST: St Pete Pride/Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber Pride Connect
SECOND: The Good Gays of Tampa Bay
THIRD: St. Pete Girl Boss
FAVORITE LOCAL SPORTS LEAGUE / ORGANIZATION
FIRST: HotMess Sports St. Petersburg
SECOND: Tampa Bay Lightning
THIRD: Tampa Bay Rays
FAVORITE LOCAL HEALTH CARE FACILITY
FIRST: Metro Healthy Communities
SECOND: CAN Community Health
THIRD: Love the Golden Rule
FAVORITE LOCAL PHYSICIAN
FIRST: Dr. Kush Patel, MD Do Assoc
SECOND: Dr. Bob Wallace, Love the Golden Rule
THIRD: Dr. Antonio Luis, Inclusive Care Group
FAVORITE LOCAL THERAPIST / COUNSELOR
FIRST: Katie Hoffman-Reed, ECM Counseling Services
SECOND: Lizzi Wolfson, Rainbow Family Wellness
THIRD: Tristan Byrnes, Byrnes Counseling Group
FAVORITE LOCAL FITNESS CENTER
FIRST: Planet Fitness St. Petersburg
SECOND: EōS Fitness Tampa
THIRD: Crunch Fitness St. Pete Northeast
FAVORITE LOCAL HAIR SALON / BARBER SHOP
FIRST: Tyler’z Barbershop
SECOND: Haus of Chantel Salon Studio
THIRD: Top Notch Barber Co.
FAVORITE LOCAL PLACE TO PAMPER YOURSELF
FIRST: Inclusive Care Group
SECOND: Sunshine City Massage
THIRD: The Body Mechanic Massage Therapy
FAVORITE LOCAL VETERINARIAN CLINIC
FIRST: St. Pete Veterinary Hospital
SECOND: Bayview Animal Hospital
THIRD: Dale Mabry Animal Hospital
FAVORITE LOCAL PET SPA
FIRST: The Bow Wow Barber
SECOND: Bath & Biscuit Pet Boutique
THIRD: Tampa Paws Pet Salon
FAVORITE LOCAL PET-FRIENDLY VENUE
FIRST: The Dog Bar
SECOND: Mutts & Martinis
THIRD: Pinellas Ale Works
FAVORITE LOCAL REALTOR
FIRST: Callen Jones, The Jones Home Team
SECOND: Gabe Alves, The Alves Group
THIRD: Rob Hall, The Alves Group
FAVORITE LOCAL FINANCIAL ADVISOR
FIRST: Samantha Fernandez, Raymond James
SECOND: Dean Hershkowitz, Edward Jones
THIRD: Thomas Hake, Raymond James
FAVORITE LOCAL LAW FIRM
FIRST: Sheppy Law
SECOND: The King Law Firm, PA
THIRD: Ferrari, Butler & Moneymaker, PLLC
FAVORITE LOCAL BUSINESS NOT A BAR/CLUB
FIRST: Atlas Body + Home
SECOND: Memphis Style BBQ Co.
THIRD: ZaZoo’d
FAVORITE NEW LOCAL BUSINESS
FIRST: Disco Pony Nightclub
SECOND: The Ball
THIRD: Red Mesa Mercado West
FAVORITE LOCAL MARKET
FIRST: St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market
SECOND: Ybor City Saturday Market
THIRD: Big Gay Market at Cocktail
FAVORITE LOCAL FLORIST
FIRST: Jennie’s Flowers St. Petersburg
SECOND: Green Bench Flowers
THIRD: Bruce Wayne Florals
FAVORITE LOCAL TATTOO PARLOR
FIRST: Blue Devil Tattoo
SECOND: Electric
Gold Downtown
THIRD: 13 Arrows Tattoo
FAVORITE LOCAL ADULT NOVELTY STORE
FIRST: Todd Couples Superstore
SECOND: The Back Room by ZaZoo’d
THIRD: Jack and Jill
FAVORITE LOCAL CANNABIS DISPENSARY
FIRST: MÜV
SECOND: Curaleaf
THIRD: RISE
FAVORITE LOCAL SHOPPING / ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT
FIRST: The Grand Central District
SECOND: Ybor
THIRD: Hyde Park Village
FAVORITE LOCAL ARTIST
FIRST: Chad Mize
SECOND: John Gascot
THIRD: Nelson Perez
FAVORITE LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER
FIRST: Morgan Le Shade
SECOND: Dave Decker
THIRD: Dylan Todd
FAVORITE LOCAL PERFORMER: DRAG QUEEN
FIRST: Veronica Foxx
SECOND: Alice Marie Gripp
THIRD: Brianna Summers
FAVORITE LOCAL PERFORMER: DRAG KING
FIRST: Mister E
SECOND: Vyn Suazion
THIRD: Apollo Infiniti
FAVORITE LOCAL PERFORMER: STAGE
FIRST: Robert Rigsby
SECOND: Jeff Klein
THIRD: Matthew McGee
FAVORITE LOCAL PERFORMER: MUSICIAN
FIRST: Jay Miah
SECOND: Brittany Baldwin
THIRD: Vyn Suazion
FAVORITE LOCAL PERFORMER: DJ
FIRST: DJ Mike Sklarz
SECOND: DJ Ace Vedo
THIRD: DJ Tex Flex
FAVORITE LOCAL BREAKOUT PERFORMER
FIRST: Keirra Ka’oir Summers
SECOND: Morgana Morgan
THIRD: Reb3l
FAVORITE LOCAL ADULT CONTENT CREATOR / ENTERTAINER
FIRST: Scott Simon
SECOND: Hunter Vance
THIRD: Tampa Tom
FAVORITE LOCAL PERFORMING ARTS VENUE
FIRST: Straz Center
SECOND: Tampa Theatre
THIRD: Mahaffey Theater
FAVORITE LOCAL ARTS ORGANIZATION
FIRST: OUT Arts & Culture
SECOND: Creative Pinellas
THIRD: Diversity Arts
FAVORITE LOCAL THEATRICAL SHOW
FIRST: “The Evolution of Drag,” Daphne Ferraro
SECOND: Zubrick Magic Theatre
THIRD: “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” Straz Center
FAVORITE LOCAL RESTAURANT
FIRST: Neptune Grill
SECOND: Red Mesa Cantina
THIRD: BellaBrava
FAVORITE LOCAL BRUNCH SPOT
FIRST: The Wet Spot
SECOND: Red Mesa Cantina
THIRD: The Tap Room, Hollander Hotel
FAVORITE LOCAL COFFEE SHOP
FIRST: Black Crow Coffee Co.
SECOND: Bandit Coffee Co.
THIRD: Blind Tiger Coffee Roasters
FAVORITE LOCAL UNIQUE DRINK/EAT/TREAT
FIRST: Cuban, Bodega
SECOND: The Chappell, The Ball
THIRD: Figgy Piggy Pizza, Noble Crust
FAVORITE LOCAL LGBTQ+ BAR / CLUB
FIRST: Cocktail
SECOND: Disco Pony Nightclub
THIRD: Bradley’s on 7th
FAVORITE LOCAL ALLIED BAR / CLUB
FIRST: Good Night John Boy
SECOND: The Castle
THIRD: Lost & Found
FAVORITE LOCAL HANGOUT
FIRST: St Pete Pier
SECOND: Casa del Merman at GayStPeteHouse
THIRD: FloridaRAMA
FAVORITE LOCAL HAPPY HOUR
FIRST: Bradley’s on 7th
SECOND: Cocktail
THIRD: Enigma
FAVORITE LOCAL HOST: KARAOKE
FIRST: KJ Brad Rox, Cocktail
SECOND: Immani Love, Tampa Bay Black Lesbians Meet-Ups
THIRD: KJ Jayson Chancey, Utopia Road Bar & Courtyard
FAVORITE LOCAL HOST: TRIVIA
FIRST: Vic Salazar, The Ball
SECOND: Greg Anderson
THIRD: Lilith Black, The Garage
FAVORITE LOCAL HOST: BINGO
FIRST: Veronica Foxx, Common Dialect Beerworks
SECOND: Alexis De La Mer, Cocktail
THIRD: Brianna Summers, Red Mesa Events
FAVORITE LOCAL BARTENDER / SERVER
FIRST: Jordan Furlong, Disco Pony Nightclub
SECOND: Vernon Vaden, MR D’z Men’s Emporium
THIRD: Erick Henriquez, Enigma
FAVORITE PLACE TO TAKE AN OUT-OF-TOWNER
FIRST: St Pete Pier
SECOND: Armature Works
THIRD: The Dalí Museum
FAVORITE LOCAL HIDDEN GEM
FIRST: Lucky Star Lounge
SECOND: Tampa Bay Drinkery
THIRD: Lettuce Lake Park
Read more about the 2026 WONDER Awards here.
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