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Nice day for a queer wedding
Jan. 22 — Hi, y’all. Happy Hump Day. Hope everyone shielded themselves from this week’s brutal and bitter bluster. I also hope everyone is staying safe during another (yes, another!) Atlanta winter storm.
🥩 Donald Trump immediately served up red meat to his MAGA base after being sworn in as president on Jan. 20. He signed a slew of executive orders, including one that makes it the “official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”
💻 Trump didn’t stop his culture war with signatures. GLAAD reported Jan. 21 his administration “eliminated nearly all LGBTQ and HIV focused content and resources” from WhiteHouse.gov and “key federal agency” websites.
📬 Just in time for Valentine’s Day, USPS has issued a new Forever stamp featuring an untitled 1985 drawing by LGBTQ+ artist Keith Haring. The new stamp is part of the Love series and depicts two moving figures reaching toward a red heart in Haring’s signature style. Haring’s work was an indelible part of the fight against AIDS in the 1980s. He died in 1990 at age 31 from AIDS-related complications.
🏳️🌈 Atlanta Pride is set for Oct. 11-12 in Piedmont Park but some key dates are coming up fast. Applications open March 10 for the Pride Parade and Marketplace. Nominations for this year’s grand marshals will be open from April 1 to May 1. Click here for more info.
🗂️ After stepping down earlier this month as Director of LGBTQ Affairs for the City of Atlanta, Malik Brown has announced he has taken a new role with the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority to head up a one-year feasibility study to determine if a Atlanta is ready for a dedicated LGBTQ+ community center. More details are here.
🥂 Cheers, y’all. We deserve a mid-week toast, so this week’s edition has stories spotlighting some of our amazing spirits. Charis Books & More hosted an LGBTQ+ “Matrimony for the People” event where couples proclaimed their love proudly. The 24th annual Bayard Rustin/Audre Lorde Breakfast brought hundreds of people together on MLK Day for a family reunion. And Atlanta’s own Tony Talks, a viral creator, makes their filmmaking debut this week thanks to Revry, the world’s first LGBTQ+ streaming network.
Thanks for reading.
Dyana
🎼 Join the Atlanta Symphony’s IN UNISON on Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 & “Eroica.” Enjoy premium seating, a post-concert reception, and connect with the LGBTQ+ community. Tickets at aso.org/unison. SPONSOR MESSAGE
‘To our trickster and outlaw energy’
💐 A crowd of queer couples recently united at Charis Books & More in Decatur for a special “Matrimony for the People” wedding ceremony.
The joy that filled Charis on Jan. 19 was not ignorant of what was to come the next day when Donald Trump would again take office. Most of the couples said the inauguration influenced their decision to protect their relationships with the legal rights afforded by marriage, but the overall consensus was that love and community were stronger than fear.
“To our liberation, to our love, to our trickster and outlaw energy,” said E.R. Anderson in a toast after vows were exchanged.
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🩷🤍🖤🤎 Read Katie Burkholder’s entire story here.
O’Keeffe leaving soon
SPONSORED BY THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART
🚨 Time’s running out! 🚨
Experience the bold, iconic work of Georgia O’Keeffe – featuring her stunning Manhattan cityscapes and unforgettable Southwestern masterpieces. This exclusive exhibition won’t be here forever. See it before it’s gone!
Tony Talks ready for big screen closeup
🎬 Thanks to Revry, the world’s first LGBTQ+ streaming network, Atlanta’s own viral creator Tony Talks transitions to the silver screen with the feature film, “Boss Up, The Musical.”
Based on Talks’ popular character Cassandra – the uber-glam, larger-than-life female executive who identifies as “fabulous and flawless” – “Boss Up, The Musical” follows Cassandra’s journey as she gets fired from her big-time job, loses face, and must find her self-esteem.
Out on Film will host the premiere at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. Its streaming debut on Revry is Feb. 1 during Black History Month.
🆙 Read more about Tony Talks and “Boss Up, The Musical” by clicking here.
Black LGBTQ+ icons honored at Rustin/Lorde Breakfast
☕ The 24th annual Bayard Rustin/Audre Lorde Breakfast on Jan. 20 honored the legacies of LGBTQ+ icons Bayard Rustin and Audre Lorde and celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. by promoting a vision of a “beloved community.”
The breakfast is named for pioneering Black gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who helped organize the 1963 March on Washington and was a close adviser to King, and Black lesbian “warrior poet” and activist Audre Lorde. Over the years, the breakfast has become the official LGBTQ+ celebration for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
➡ Click here to read more about the history of the annual event.
🎼 Join the Atlanta Symphony’s IN UNISON on Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 & “Eroica.” Enjoy premium seating, a post-concert reception, and connect with the LGBTQ+ community. Tickets at aso.org/unison. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Events
📖 Jan. 25 – Queer southern writer Maria Zoccola will launch her debut collection of poetry, “Helen of Troy, 1993”, at 3 p.m. at A Cappella Books. The collection reimagines Helen of Troy from Homer’s “Iliad” as a disgruntled housewife in the 1990s. Information: acappellabooks.com.
🎭 Jan. 30 to Feb. 15 – Out Front Theatre presents a production of Bryna Turner’s “At the Wedding” from Jan. 30 to Feb. 15. Out Front is located at 999 Brady Ave. Tickets and information: outfronttheatre.com.
🩰 Feb. 14 – It is Georgia Voice night at the Atlanta Ballet for its performance of “Rites of Spring” (more below). Readers get a 40 percent discount with code GAVOICE. Click here for tickets.
Georgia Voice x Atlanta Ballet: A ritual. A chosen one. A sacrifice.
🩰 Raw, instinctual, and emotionally powerful, “The Rite of Spring” tells the story of humanity’s struggle against nature’s inescapable forces. Set to the iconic Stravinsky score, performed with mystery and majesty by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra.
🎟️ Use promo code GAVOICE to save 40% off tickets to the Feb. 14 performance of “The Rite of Spring” and an exclusive preshow reception hosted by Georgia Voice and Atlanta Ballet Executive Director Tom West.
Social Follow of the Week
🛼 Hit up @therollergay on Instagram to watch him skate and roll from the Atlanta Beltline to city streets.
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