CL’s Chante LaGon and Amber Robinson discuss the many Halloween and Pride events happening around Atlanta this weekend, including haunted houses, burlesque and the Pride parade.
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Dr. Fifi: I’m OK with it. It’s two gay holidays together. It would be nice to have some warmer weather, but I’m just happy to be back in Piedmont Park. It’s National Coming Out Day, and National Coming Out Month in October. That has a lot of significance. I heard a lot of people are traveling to Atlanta Pride because it is in October. More people will be here. Any time we come together as a community we’re strengthened. I’d prefer June, but the fact that we get it back in Piedmont Park, it really doesn’t matter to me when it is.
Ken: It’s an abomination. Gay Pride is the anniversary of Stonewall. Stonewall is in June, not October. It has nothing to do with Halloween. It has to do with significant events in the Gay calendar and significant events that happened in June. That’s part of our history. We don’t change history. I’m all about Piedmont Park. However, you need to honor what you need to honor, and location is not the reason we do this. I am ashamed of the Pride Committee for agreeing to this. I know people on the committee that are my friends, and I am ashamed.
Chris: Piedmont Park would only let us to do [this] weekend, and it turned out to be Halloween. Having it on Halloween will inspire people to dress up more, participate more, and it will be a lot more fun than everybody sweating in the heat in June. Having it at the different time of year does not take away from what happened at Stonewall. Around the country, Gay Pride has been celebrated at different times. It makes no difference in remembering those that were at Stonewall. We always have those thoughts with us, whatever month it would be.
(Photos by Jeff Slate)
More than 50 same-sex couples walked down the aisle at the Atlanta Pride Festival Commitment Ceremony Saturday.
Some couples donned white gowns, while others wore shorts and sneakers at the rather informal event. With partners exchanging rings and wedding vows, the event closely resembled a wedding ceremony. Couples received commitment certificates and danced to Etta James’s “At Last” – a wedding classic – at the reception.
After the interfaith ceremony, led by a religious leaders wearing rainbow-colored scarves, couples received private blessings in their preferred religious traditions.
For some couples like Ivy Nia and Shaun Everhart, the ceremony was a stepping stone to becoming legally married. Shaun says the couple is thinking of going to California “to make it extra-legal.”
For others like Joanna Camper, who drew a crowd before the event by dressing her partner Anissa in a headpiece with rainbow-colored ribbons and a hand-made shawl, the ceremony was a way to rekindle their commitment.
In a state where gay marriage is outlawed, the ceremony was symbolic rather than legal. But that didn’t stop couples from yelling, “We’re married!” at the end of what the Rev. Tessie Mandeville of Christ Covenant Metropolitan Community Church called a “subversive” ceremony that recognizes love under God without discrimination.
(Photo by Michelle Ye Hee Lee)
COMMITMENT CEREMONY AT ATLANTA PRIDE: Committed lesbian action!
Gay Pride started 38 years ago as a riot in response to an NYPD raid on a gay bar in Greenwich Village. Over the decades, it has morphed from a charged political protest into a cheerful, weekend-long party. This year’s Pride headliners included camp icon Leslie Jordan and former teen pop sensation and “Skating With Celebrities†star Debbie Gibson. She goes by Deborah now.
The weekend is not politics-free, however. As in years past, Atlanta Pride’s schedule included a Friday night commitment ceremony for same-sex couples. Asked why she and partner Gina Pollut participated in the ceremony even though Georgia and most of the country refuses to legally recognize it, Meleia Hudgins replied simply, “Because I love her.â€
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
We did one lap around the park and then headed back home. We did get to see the giant AIDS quilt before we left, though.
-Me at Sallad.net recaps the weekend’s Atlanta Pride Festival. In thrilling detail!
I suspect that the festival-goers who had more fun than Sallad are probably too tired to blog this morning.
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Republicans pulled 70% in a 70% Republican district. Old school politics and old school names still matter. Most of us, yours truly included, tended to focus on issues too large while ignoring the fact voters tend to not care what we think.
-GriftDrift offers his take on the Democrat James Marlow’s third-place finish in last week’s special election to fill the vacant 10th Congressional District seat. The first and second-place finishers, Republicans Jim Whitehead and Paul Broun, respectively, face each other in a runoff July 17.
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Communism is like so rad and all that good stuff.
-ATLMalcontent on Cameron Diaz’s fashion faux-pas in Peru. Diaz visited Machu Picchu carrying a tote emblazoned with a Chinese red star and the famous Mao slogan, “Serve the people.” Tens of thousands have died in Peru due to war between the government and Maoist rebels.
If, like me, you are fascinated by the intersection of Communism and camp, you might be interested in this photo I took in Prague two weeks ago. Note the museum’s location.
