The check’s (not) in the mail
Wednesday, Sep. 16 — Republicans held an unusual “midterm convention” in Texas last week to try to rally its base ahead of the November election. Along with the usual anti-trans rhetoric, President Donald Trump promised $5,000 checks to everyone who voted Republican, which is illegal and won’t happen. Like the rest of the country, I’m still waiting on the promised DOGE dividend, tariff refund, and healthcare refund. I’m not waiting up nights.
Here are a few more news headlines:
⚖️ More than two years after an Atlanta man was murdered during a trip to visit family in Alabama, his then-boyfriend has now been charged with murder.
📲 OUT Local Atlanta, a new app dedicated to LGBTQ+ nightlife, will launch ahead of the Atlanta Pride festival.
☔ The Stand for Peace storytelling festival in Decatur was rained out last week, but organizers said the event will be rescheduled.
😒 A MAGA and Trump supporter named to the board of equalpride – which owns the LGBTQ+ publications The Advocate, Out, and Them – resigned after his political affiliations were questioned by editorial staff.
🎉 My lesbian friends who grew up crushing on FBI Agent Dana Scully on “The X-Files” were thrilled to hear that Gillian Anderson has come out as pansexual.
🕯️ Legendary fashion designer Bob Mackie – who famously dressed Cher, Carol Burnett, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, and more – died Monday at 87.
What about love, baby?
Collin
Queer Latinx dance party La Choloteca marks decade milestone
🎂 Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month, an annual celebration of the history and contributions of Hispanic and Latinx people. For La Choloteca, Atlanta’s queer Latinx dance party, this month also represents its 10th anniversary.
La Choloteca was born out of the desire of advocacy organizer and co-founder Josephine Figueroa – aka DJ La Superiorrr – to marry the worlds of queer nightlife and sexual education.
“Music encourages us to move our bodies in a very primal way, and sometimes that’s sensual and sometimes that’s sexual, but at no point is that shameful,” she said. “I think we have been taught, especially through Catholicism and conservative ideologies, that these things are bad. I wanted to shift the culture of nightlife because I saw it as this important, beautiful thing.”
➡ Read Katie Burkholder’s feature story here.
NOT THE HACIENDA?!
😭 After nine years of daytime parties beloved by Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community, Chaka Khan Hacienda is going on hiatus after an event on Sept. 27. “I don’t know exactly how or when or where Chaka comes back or, to be honest, if it does [come back], but I really want to thank everyone who’s ever come out over the years and rolled with us through all the changes, as well as everyone who’s helped put on the event,” founder Ree de la Vega said on Instagram.
The Ultimate Fall Getaway Guide to Lake Oconee
SPONSORED BY VISIT LAKE OCONEE
🍁 The first cool morning of fall changes everything at Lake Oconee. Steam rises off the water, the golf courses are at their best, evenings end around a fire with s’mores, and the trees surrounding the lake slowly turn shades of amber and crimson.
If you’re ready for an easy fall escape from Atlanta, there’s no better time to visit.
🍂 Whether you’re looking to unwind, reconnect, or explore, Lake Oconee is Georgia’s hidden gem for fall getaways. Find your reason to linger longer with this Ultimate Fall Getaway Guide.
Atlanta LGBTQ+ History Project returns after hiatus, hires new positions
🏳️🌈 The Atlanta LGBTQ+ History Project, an initiative to gather, preserve, and share stories of LGBTQ+ lives in the South, will be returning after a hiatus.
The multimedia project, founded by designer and creative director Sam Landis and journalist Rachel Garbus Benitez (both pictured), used photography, oral history, archival materials, and the Out Down South podcast.
The project is currently accepting applications for a podcast producer and showrunner and a research fellow to develop content. Applications for these positions must be submitted by Sept. 18.
➡ Find out more about the Project here.
I will always love Dolly Parton
🦋 Dolly Parton’s death was a gut-punch. I was a lifelong fan, discovering her old 1970s television variety show when I was 5 years old. I was so obsessed that my parents bought me the Dolly doll that was released in 1976 when I found it at a KB Toy Store (remember them?!) in the mall. I’ve still got her, as you can see in the photo.
When I posted that story on my social media, a number of my followers praised my mom and dad for buying me a doll when so many parents of that era would have shoved a GI Joe action figure in their sons’ hands and told them that “Dolly was for girls.”
My parents were open-minded (partly because my Uncle Terry – my mom’s beloved brother – was gay) and also music lovers, but with very different tastes. Dolly was one of the artists we could all agree on. I think the world felt that way.
➞ Read my full tribute here.
Best Bets
🎭 Playwright Topher Payne’s “The Only Light in Reno” is on stage at Process Theatre in Scottsdale, GA, through Oct. 4.
🥂 The Metro Atlanta Association of Professionals (MAAP) is hosting an Out on Film Pre-Party on Sept. 17 from 7-9 p.m. at Hotel Granada.
📽️ Atlanta Dairies is hosting a free outdoor screening of “Steel Magnolias” on Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
🎨 The City of Atlanta is seeking art from LGBTQ+ artists or work that explores the LGBTQ+ experience for the annual Mayor’s Pride Exhibit. The deadline is Sept. 28.
➡ Find many more events and activities in our IG stories @thegeorgiavoice.
