On Saturday, Sept. 27, thousands will gather to run and walk in Piedmont Park to raise money for HIV/AIDS healthcare in Atlanta at the AIDS Walk and Music Festival.
Returning for its 34th year, the event will kick off with a 5K before a festival featuring live musical performances and community celebrations.
CeeLo Green will headline this year’s festival, joined by New Orleans-based entertainer Trombone Shorty. Green, known for hits like “Forget You” and “Crazy,” rose to prominence as a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Goodie Mob. Trombone Shorty plays both trombone and trumpet as he blends rock and hip-hop with old-school funk and brass. Other featured performers include King Jai, a hip-hop artist from Birmingham, AL, and DJ Sed the Saint, a multi-genre DJ from New Orleans.
For 34 years, the AIDS Walk, hosted by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, has raised more than $1 million a year for Atlanta-based HIV/AIDS service organizations. This year’s benefitting organizations are AID Atlanta, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Aniz Inc., Bridge of Light, Center for Black Women’s Wellness, Georgia Equality, I Am Human, Lost-N-Found Youth, LGBTQ+ Institute, Positive Impact Health Centers, and Trans Women of Color Healing Project.
“This annual event offers a time to create a greater awareness of the impact of HIV and AIDS on the local Atlanta community as well as an opportunity to bring together thousands of individuals from across the region to raise critical funds for these 12 worthy organizations,” said Dr. Felicia Ivey, AHF Atlanta regional director. “AHF is proud to present this event as one of the many ways that we educate and empower the local community to join the fight against HIV and AIDS.”
The event will also include on-site HIV testing so anyone attending can know their status.
According to a recent report from Invigor Medical, Georgia ranked the highest in the country in 2023 for new HIV cases with 2,359 new cases. Fulton County saw the highest volume of HIV in Georgia that year, along with chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis.
On July 31, the Fulton County Department for HIV Elimination received an increase in federal funding to combat the epidemic in Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, and Gwinnett Counties. But with more than $1.7 billion cut from core HIV prevention and treatment programs in the Trump administration’s proposed 2026 federal budget, Imara Canady, the National Communications Director of AHF, told Georgia Voice that funds raised by this year’s AIDS Walk are critical. The money raised for these organizations – dollar-for-dollar matched by AHF – are unrestricted funds, meaning each organizations can use it for operating costs like rent and employee paychecks that are often not covered by grants, that benefit holistic HIV care.
“This is about ensuring that the foundation and the infrastructure of these organizations can maintain and sustain to do the tremendously impactful work that they’re doing all across the metro area,” he said.
To register for the 34th Annual AIDS Walk and Music Festival, create a team, or join a team, visit aidswalkatlanta.org.
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