Keep Pride Alive
Mar. 20 — A disturbing story from California caught my eye this week as the San Francisco Pride committee announced that a number of its largest sponsors have pulled their support for this year’s Pride Festival.
The sponsors include Comcast, Budweiser parent company Anheuser-Busch, wine company La Crema, and Guinness and Smirnoff parent company Diageo. All cited financial reasons, but officials also believe the political climate is behind some of the decisions.
It should go without saying that Pride festivals are more vital now than ever. Let businesses know that you’re counting on them to support Pride events, donate to your local Pride if you can, and be sure to turn up for the events.
🗓️ Here are Pride organizations around the state that have announced dates so far. Savannah and Athens should be announcing soon.
Columbus Pride: June 7
Rome Pride: June 13-15
Augusta Pride: June 27-28
Macon Pride: Sept. 25-28
Atlanta Pride: Oct. 11-12
⚖️ A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender service members.
📚 I’m also sending condolences to the family, friends, colleagues, and fans of gay literary pioneer Felice Picano, who died March 12 at age 81. My friend and fellow poet Steven Reigns wrote about Picano’s impact on the LGBTQ+ community for the WeHo Times.
Thanks for reading!
Collin
Bella Bautista steps down from Miss Georgia USA pageant
👑 Transgender pageant queen Bella Bautista has relinquished her title as Miss Buckhead USA and stepped down from her historic spot in the Miss Georgia 2025 pageant.
Bautista, who began her pageant journey in December 2024 at the Miss International Queen USA competition and has since used her platform to advocate for trans rights, published a statement on March 17 detailing her decision to leave the Miss Georgia USA pageant.
“When I joined this pageant, I did so with the hope of breaking barriers, inspiring others, and showing that representation matters,” she wrote on Instagram.
Bautista is pursuing legal action against the company that produces Miss Georgia USA, but due to these legal proceedings, she is currently unable to publicly detail why she had to leave the pageant.
➡ Read Katie Burkholder’s full story here.
Robert Spano Conducts Scheherazade
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
🎶 Music Director Laureate Robert Spano returns to conduct the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in two adventurous programs. The first weekend is almost sold out!
The second weekend (March 27 and 29), Spano takes us on a journey into the many tales of 1001 Arabian Nights that come to life in Rimsky-Korsakov’s vivid symphonic poem Scheherazade, which tells the stories with a sumptuous, richly hued tapestry of orchestral colors—listen here.
🎹 Piano powerhouse Jae Hong Park joins Spano for a delightful rarity by Scriabin. The program opens with Sibelius’ enigmatic Tapiola, a tone poem inspired by the fiercely rugged Scandinavian wilderness.
Quirky Cabbagetown restaurant JenChan’s encourages eating supper together
🍽️ Since its inception six years ago, JenChan’s, a quirky little restaurant in Atlanta’s Cabbagetown neighborhood, has been about one thing: bringing people together to eat supper.
“We just feel very strongly about how sentimental it is to sit together and eat,” Emily Chan said, who co-owns JenChan’s with her wife, Jen. “I think it’s a salve for all the world’s problems.”
The restaurant’s supper club structure allowed it to survive the COVID-19 pandemic and is now thriving as a fun and unique testament to the joys of food and community, as the Chans had always intended.
➡ Read the full feature story here.
Janis Ian discusses new documentary ‘Breaking Silence’
📽️ Singer/songwriter Janis Ian doesn’t like the term “icon” (although many consider her one), but a documentary is a sure sign you’ve reached special status.
Ian spoke with contributor Gregg Shapiro ahead of the March 28 theatrical release of the documentary “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence” from director Varda Bar-Kar.
Jean Smart and Laurie Metcalf are just some of the stars in the film who sing Ian’s praises, especially her 1975 single “At Seventeen,” which has since become a feminist anthem.
➡ Read Gregg’s full Q&A with Janis Ian here.
Best Bets
🎭 City Springs Theatre Company’s production of the musical “Ragtime” continues through March 30. Set in the volatile melting pot of turn-of-the-century New York, three distinctly American tales are woven together. Be sure to check out colleague Sammie Purcell’s review of the show and get tickets here.
💃 You’re invited to T4T! A Trans & Non-Binary Dance Party on Friday, March 28, at 10 p.m. at Star Bar in Little Five Points. Come enjoy this intentional function for trans and non-binary folks to dance the night away! Get tickets here.
🗣️ The Atlanta Preservation Center and Touching Up Our Roots will present ‘Celebrating LGBTQ+ People and Places That Define Us’ on Saturday, March 29, starting at 5:30 p.m. The event, part of Phoenix Flies, will be held at Ria’s Bluebird Cafe, 421 Memorial Dr., and the public is invited to share stories of meaning and precious places.
Social Follow of the Week
📸 Atlanta’s own Lil Nas X has been dropping singles every week in the run-up to the release of his new album ‘Dreamboy.’ The sexy and provocative video clips are one good reason to follow Montero on Instagram, but the songs slap, too.
