A busy weekend ahead
Sep. 25 — It’s a busy weekend of festivities, art, and fundraising around Georgia, including Macon Pride and Out on Film. Keep scrolling for previews of what’s on tap.
But first, a few headlines:
💸 Just as I was about to hit send on this newsletter, our colleagues at Washington Blade posted an exclusive story about the Trump administration withholding $1.25 million in LGBTQ+ and DEI grants.
🤬 The right-wing Heritage Foundation is urging the Trump administration to monitor and label transgender people and those close to them as terrorists. On Sept. 23, Trump signed an executive order designating antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization” despite the movement having no centralized leadership or structure.
🛂 The Trump administration is urging the Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a passport policy requiring applicants to use male or female sex markers that match their birth certificates, rather than their gender identity.
🗂️ The Congressional Equality Caucus has called on the State Department to once again include LGBTQ+ and intersex people in its annual human rights report.
👎 Tampa Pride said it will take a “one-year hiatus” from hosting its annual festival and parade due to “the current economic and political climate.”
📸 Congratulations to Atlanta photographer David Clifton-Strawn, whose debut book, “After a Long Intermission: Portraits from Atlanta’s Creative Community,” will be released on Friday.
Call off all your forces…
Collin
💙 Every child deserves a safe, loving home. CHRIS 180 provides foster and adoption services with personalized support, ongoing training, and 24/7 professional guidance. Join us in transforming lives—open your heart, open your home. Learn more on our website. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Macon Pride set for Sept. 25-28
🏳️🌈 From Sept. 25 to 28, the LGBTQ+ community will gather in Macon, GA to celebrate Macon Pride with a weekend full of drag, festivities, and community.
The highlight of the weekend is the official festival, Pride in the Park, on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Third Street Park from 2 to 8 p.m.
Along with vendors and a live entertainment stage, this year’s festival includes a kids zone, community yoga, and accommodations for neurodivergent attendees, including low sensory hours from 2 to 4 p.m. and “The Still Point” serenity spaces housed in Hello Boba Café and The Bohemian Den. The fun will move to JBA Macon at 9 p.m. for the official afterparty.
Start your journey with CHRIS180 today
SPONSORED BY CHRIS180
💙 Every adoption or foster journey begins with hope—for a child and for the family who will welcome them.
At CHRIS 180, we guide you through each step, from orientation to training, home study, and beyond. While the process is important, the heart of the journey is preparing to open your home, provide stability, and share love with a child who needs it most. With guidance, support, and community by your side, you’re never walking this path alone.
➡️ Ready to begin? Get more information here.
A guide to the 38th annual Out on Film festival
📽️ The 38th annual Out On Film festival kicks off Thursday, Sept. 25, with the theme “Queer Propaganda.”
Presented by GILEAD, festival screenings, Q&As, and panels will take place at Landmark’s Midtown Art Cinema and Out Front Theatre Company.
This year’s diverse selection comprises 150 films, ranging from narrative features to documentaries to short films.
➡ See the full list of films and get tickets here.
AIDS Walk returns to Piedmont Park on Sept. 27
🏃🏾♂️ On Saturday, Sept. 27, thousands will gather to run and walk in Piedmont Park to raise money for HIV/AIDS healthcare at the Atlanta AIDS Walk Atlanta Music Festival & 5K.
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. Other featured performers include hip-hop King Jai and DJ Sed the Saint.
➡ Get more details, register, and donate.
🌈 Foster or adopt with pride at CHRIS 180. We welcome LGBTQ+ individuals, couples, and families, offering inclusive support, proven success with zero adoption disruptions since 2013, and 24/7 guidance. Reach out to us on our website or send us an email. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Best Bets
🍽️ Open Hand invites supporters to the 22nd annual “Party in the Kitchen” on Thursday, Sept. 25, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at The Foundry at Puritan Mill.
🎨 Atlanta Art Fair returns to Pullman Yards Sept. 25–28 with an expanded slate of installations, talks, performances, and cultural collaborations alongside booths from regional, national, and international galleries.
📷 “Al Clayton Photography: Lost and Found,” a photography exhibition celebrating drag icons like Mr. Charlie Brown and RuPaul, club kids at Backstreet, and the LGBTQ+ community, opens Sept. 25 at the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art.
👄 The Plaza Theatre in Atlanta is marking the 50th anniversary of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with anniversary screenings starting Sept. 26, plus the related documentary “Strange Journey.”
New chairs for trans, non-binary business initiative
📎 OUT Georgia Business Alliance’s TGX360 initiative for trans and gender expansive individuals has announced new co-chairs Aquila Brennan and Hiroko “Hiro” Ortiz.
Launched in 2021, TGX360 delivers wrap-around career services, start-up coaching, micro-grant pathways, and employer inclusion training aimed at closing the equity gap and accelerating the growth of trans and gender-expansive (TGX) owned businesses across Georgia.
Brennan is a 13-year veteran of the U.S. Army and now works in public relations as a principal consultant in the Aquila Group. Ortiz, a native of Japan who moved to the U.S. for college and made their way to Atlanta after graduation, is a former business owner with a background in corporate and nonprofit work.
➡ Find out more about the new leaders in Katie Burkholder’s interview.
