The deaths of Phillip Rush and Allen Thornell continue to reverberate across gay Atlanta and now AID Atlanta is once again commemorating the work of the two longtime LGBT activists. On Tuesday, the AIDS service organization will join with Trees Atlanta to plant trees in memory of Rush and Thornell, meeting a pledge AID Atlanta officials made during the AIDS Walk Atlanta & 5k Run in October. The event was dedicated to both men. The trees will be planted at the triangle near 17th Street and the Prado, which is along the route of the annual walk and run. Rush (top ...

The Atlanta Pride Festival, which shifted for the first time in its history to an October event this year, will remain a fall event in 2010 as it celebrates its 40th anniversary, organizers announced Friday. Next year’s event will remain in Piedmont Park, but shift to Oct. 9 and 10 to coincide with National Coming Out Day. Opening festivities are set for Oct. 8 at the Georgia Aquarium, repeating a popular event that debuted this year. “The 2010 festival  marks the 40th anniversary for APC and we are grateful to the Parks Department  and the City Officials that worked to make sure ...

If Phillip Rush was watching, chances are he had a big smile across his face. The LGBT and community activist who died in April was honored Saturday during an event packed with gay leaders and political candidates. The crowd came together on the patio of the new Phillip Rush Center, the formal name given to the DeKalb Avenue officers of Georgia Equality, Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative and MEGA Family Project. The renovated facility, a portion of which has housed ALHI since 1998, will eventually be home to other LGBT organizations and provide meeting space for groups. It is named for Rush ...

Dani Lee Harris, a police officer and controversial pick as a Pride parade grand marshal, wore her uniform on Sunday and joined a handful of openly LGBT officers from the Atlanta Police Department in the annual parade. Harris (top photo) rode in full uniform with her 10-year-old son and other family members in a red convertible under the watchful eye of a security detail from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Her selection as a grand marshal was greeted with some controversy as it came in the wake of the Atlanta Police Department’s Sept. 10 raid at the Eagle. Harris ...

MORE | View our full coverage of Atlanta Pride More than 2,000 people put a gay twist on the axoim swim with the fishes on Friday, helping launch a weekend of Pride events with a dance party at the Georgia Aquarium. The Official Pride Kickoff Party rocked with the tunes of DJ Martin Fry and featured costumed hunks and devilish divas in the first-of-its-kind event at the world’s largest aquarium. Between cocktails and hitting the dance floor, party-goers could enjoy special after-hours viewing of the aquarium’s offerings. The Atlanta Pride Committee benefited from a portion of the ticket proceeds. View the Project Q ...

MORE | View our full coverage of Atlanta Pride If you’re like us, you’re already nailing down your must-do list for Pride weekend. But when gaps in your schedule arise, these installations take place all weekend and are well worth your while. Atlanta Pride Human Rights Exhibit You don’t even have to leave the park to take a break from Pride mayhem and avail yourself in the emotional, rich history of the gay rights movement. “Stonewall: 40 Years of Struggle” breaks down the riots themselves (photos) as they happened, and the panels on display also probe into their impact since 1969. We got ...

MORE | View our full coverage of Atlanta Pride When we promised tickets to the Pride Kickoff Party for comments about the uncertainty over Pride 2010, we were slammed with responses. Even we didn’t imagine that an excellent poem would win the prize. A must read! With the City’s announcement that Piedmont Park is back open for regular business next year in a post-drought Atlanta, the natural question arose: “Will the cash-strapped Atlanta Pride Committee be able to pull off not only the logistics, but the money to do it again in just seven months for June 2010?” The comments were diverse, but ...

With the Atlanta mayoral race coming to a close, the sniping between the major candidates is on the rise. Caught in the crossfire is a gay assistant, Glen Paul Freedman (photo), who is a longtime LGBT leader and activist. The latest round of attacks between former state Sen. Kasim Reed and City Council President Lisa Borders opened on Friday. Borders knocked Reed over his brother’s job at City Hall and challenged him to commit to a ban on hiring relatives as mayor. Reed fired back, criticizing Borders for having three City Hall staffers on her mayoral campaign. Reed countered in a ...

As the year dawned, “Tighten your belt” quickly became the official mantra of 2009, and non-profits felt the pinch. Atlanta Pride was no exception, calling all year for unprecedented help even as they roll up their own sleeves. I got a unique opportunity this year to volunteer with the Atlanta Pride Committee for the first time. As Communications Chair, I see first-hand how hard these people work, how much they care, and how much thought goes into a festival many just expect to “always be there.” All year, the Committee has made clear its financial bind—and its commitment to solving it. Many ...

In a year that forced the Atlanta Pride Committee to think outside the box to drum up interest and funds, the festival now features a club party at Piedmont Park’s poolhouse on Pride Saturday. Pride announced Thursday that a partnership with promoters James Nelson, Dan Campbell and Clint Billingsley will bring international DJ sensation Paulo (photo) to the newly renovated Greystone Poolhouse. As Pride revelers wander around the park, a $35 ticket gets them inside the poolhouse and adjacent grounds for the event, which is a Halloween costume party. The party takes place from 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 31. ...

The Atlanta Pride Committee announced Tuesday that gay Rev. Chris Glaser (photo, right) and Atlanta Police Department Officer Dani Lee Harris (left) are its grand marshals for the Nov. 1 Pride Parade. Glaser is the pastor at Virginia Highland Church, while Harris is the police department’s LGBT liaison and Pride’s first openly intersex grand marshal. “Both these selections are very deserving,” says J. Sheffield, events manager for Pride. “They are out and active in very public roles, and they are great representatives for our community.” As an author of 11 books, Glaser is an authority on spirituality in the context of sexual orientation. ...