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Celebrating Pride Month with an eye on history
COLLIN KELLEY
June is National Pride Month, despite what any politician tells you.
The Stonewall Uprising in 1969 was the flashpoint of the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement, and it continues today even more urgently as conservatives try and turn back the clock.
And while the political climate is dire, I am thrilled to see that Pride celebrations are taking place across the state this
month. While Atlanta Pride isn’t until October, our roundup of festivals on Page 8 might spur you to take a day trip or weekend getaway to support folks in Georgia’s smaller cities.
If you’re in Atlanta, be sure to check out our Best Bets calendar on Page 16 for Pride-related events happening in June. And always check thegavoice.com and sign up for our weekly Crosswalk newsletter to keep up with everything happening in the LGBTQ+ community.
The underpinning of Pride is politics, and I’ve been spending some time looking back at how the LGBTQ+ movement has arrived at this point in history. I think
Maria Helena Dolan’s column on Page 11
News Roundup
Savannah Police to get LGBTQ training
The Savannah Pride Center is partnering with the city’s police department to conduct officer training on how to better identify and respond to hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people, following community calls for improved police response to such incidents.
The collaboration comes after the controversial police handling of the March 15 shooting death of Chris Allen Vilegas Fentress, a 27-year-old Savannah Pride Center volunteer who was allegedly murdered at a Dollar General store on West Bay Street by an assailant who reportedly shouted anti-gay slurs.
Johnathan Manson, 27, was arrested the following day and charged with murder. He had not entered a plea and had not been charged with a hate crime as the Voice went to press.
Gender-affirming care ends at prisons
Gov. Brian Kemp signed controversial legislation May 8 denying the use of state funds for sex reassignment surgery, hormone replacement surgeries and other gender-affirming care sought by Georgia prison inmates.
Georgia House Democrats walked out of the chamber in protest when the Republican-controlled General Assembly gave final passage to Senate Bill 185 in April on the next-to-last day of this year’s legislative session. Only two Democrats remained in their seats to vote “no” on the bill, which had cleared the state Senate in early March largely along party lines.
Republicans held out the bill as a fiscally responsible step amid widespread public opposition to spending tax dollars on such procedures for Georgians in the state’s custody.
adds some needed context on the subject.
I’m also reading an advanced copy of Martin Padgett’s new nonfiction book, “The Many Passions of Michael Hardwick: Sex and the Supreme Court in the Age of AIDS,” which is out this month from Norton. The book details Hardwick’s 1982 arrest for sodomy and his fight to have the arcane law overturned by SCOTUS.
Like with “A Night at Sweet Gum Head,” Padgett paints a rich portrait not only of Hardwick but Atlanta in the stillnascent days of the gay rights movement and the spectre of the looming AIDS crisis.
Hardwick would die of an AIDS-
Democrats argued the legislation is a mean-spirited attack by the GOP affecting Georgia’s tiny transgender community at a time lawmakers should have been addressing more important priorities, including education, health care, and public safety.
– Capitol Beat
Judge scraps trans workplace protections
Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has struck down guidelines by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission designed to protect against workplace harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
The EEOC in April 2024 updated its guidelines to comply with the U.S.
related illness before Georgia finally overturned its sodomy law in 1998, and it would be a new century before SCOTUS ruled in the Lawrence v. Texas case in 2003.
Hardwick lost his case, but his bravery in literally outing himself to the world still reverberates today as privacy rights remain under fire. Abortion, contraception, and marriage equality are all still in play under the current administration, so Hardwick’s story is a good primer on where this fight began.
Wherever or however you celebrate Pride this month, know that you are not alone and that millions stand in solidarity with you.
Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), which determined that discrimination against transgender people constituted sex-based discrimination as proscribed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
To ensure compliance with the law, the agency recommended that employers honor their employees’ preferred pronouns while granting them access to bathrooms and allowing them to wear dress code-compliant clothing that aligns with their gender identities.
While the the guidelines are not legally binding, Kacsmaryk ruled that their issuance created “mandatory standards” exceeding the EEOC’s statutory authority that were “inconsistent with the text, history, and tradition of Title VII and recent Supreme Court precedent.”
“Title VII does not require employers or courts to blind themselves to the biological differences between men and women,” he wrote in the opinion.
– Washington Blade
Chris Allen Vilegas Fentress (Courtesy Savannah Pride Center)
Gov. Brian Kemp (Photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
Pride Across Georgia Festivals,
parades, and solidarity to mark National Pride Month
By Katie Burkholder
While Atlanta doesn’t host its official Pride festival and parade until October, queer Atlantans don’t have to wait to celebrate. Pride organizations across Georgia are celebrating this month with festivals, parades, parties, and more.
Facing challenges like a lack of funding and harassment, smaller Pride organizations are fighting to provide safe and celebratory spaces for vulnerable LGBTQ+ Southerners – and supporting them is more important than ever.
Columbus Pride
ColGay Pride will host their 12th annual Pride festival at Woodruff Riverfront Park on June 6 and 7. The festivities kick off with the Mr/Miss/ Mx Columbus Georgia Pride Pageant on June 6 from 7 to 10 p.m. before a full day of festivities on June 7.
Despite facing more challenges than in years past, this year’s Pride celebration will be bigger than ever before, with a bigger venue, a brand-new entertainment stage, three different drag shows throughout the day, and the first-ever bicity Pride parade with Phoenix City, AL. With federally funded sponsors pulling their support due to antiLGBTQ+ pressures from the Trump administration, ColGay Pride has been struggling.
“[The lack of federal funds] has really put us in a bind, especially with a new venue,” Jeremy Hobbs, the founder and executive director of ColGay Pride, told Georgia Voice. “… We’re still struggling right now, trying
to get vendors and sponsors together, but we’re getting there. This has already been a rough year for our folks out here, especially our transgender brothers and sisters. They need something. They need this day more than anything else, and I’m going to make sure that we have it for them.”
Along with financial issues, the Trump administration has brought with it an increase in harassment towards the rural Pride organization, Hobbs said.
“This year has also been one of the roughest years as far as harassment, online harassment,” he said. “The day he was elected, it was like droves coming onto our website and attacking us... But we [still] love what we’re doing, and we’re going to continue working hard for this community.”
You can learn more about and donate to ColGay Pride at colgaypride.org.
Athens Pride
Athens Pride and Queer Collective will host PrideFest 2025: From Athens, With Pride in Downtown on June 7 from 3 to 10 p.m. The festivities will include a vendor market, local queer and affirming resources, food trucks, a kids’ zone, entertainment, and a parade at 5 p.m.
“Our community is under attack, which is evident by the 13 antiLGBTQIA+ bills discussed this legislative session in Georgia, and by the 500+ introduced across the country, with a majority targeting trans individuals,” Becky Loccisano, President of Athens Pride and Queer Collective, told Georgia Voice. “Folx are anxious,
and community has never been more important. PrideFest is a celebration of queer joy and a proclamation that we are here, we are resilient, and we’re stronger together. When attending this event, we hope people feel energized, knowing that they are not alone, and that they are surrounded by love and support in Athens.”
Registration to be a vendor, sponsor, and parade participant is now open. Donate to Athens Pride at athenspride. org/donate.
Rome Pride
Rome Pride will take place at Ridge Ferry Park on June 14, but the weekend starts with a kick-off party on June 13 before Saturday’s festivities, which start at 11 a.m. with the March for Rights at City Hall. The festival will include vendors, food trucks, a KidZone and Health Village, and entertainment, including headliner Hormona Lisa from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The weekend closes out with a Pride Sunday Church Service at Rome First UMC Church at 10 a.m.
Rome Pride is the largest rural LGBTQ+ Pride event in Northwest Georgia, attracting 4,000 attendees last year. Registration is open for sponsors and vendors until June 12 at romegapride.org.
Southern Fried Queer Pride
Want to celebrate Pride without leaving Atlanta? The 2025 Southern Fried Queer Pride Festival will be held on June 23 through 29 in Little Five Points and will include an array of
events, specifically tailored toward queer Black and brown Southerners.
This year’s schedule will include the largest artist market in its 11year history, a trans cabaret, a Black sexual liberation and body positivity workshop, a pop-up thrift shop, the Peach Pit Pageant, a queer film night, and more. Find the full schedule at southernfriedqueerpride.com/ sfqpfest2025.
Augusta Pride
August Pride will meet at the Augusta Common for Pride on June 27 and 28, but the weekend kicks off early with the August Pride President’s Soiree on June 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Sacred Heart Cultural Center. The theme is “Friends of Dorothy,” tying into the red theme of Beats on Broad, Augusta’s hottest outdoor dance party, on June 27 at 6 p.m. at the Common.
The Pride festival kicks off with the parade at 10 a.m. on June 28 before a day full of vendors and entertainment, including headliners Akeria C. Davenport from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and Eric Who from “The Voice.” Find out more and donate to Augusta Pride at prideaugusta.org.
Savannah Pride
Savannah Pride Center will host a Stonewall Block Party at Starland Yard on June 28 from 2 to 10 p.m. The all-day event will include a vendor market, drag queen story hour, the “So You Think You Can Drag” local drag competition, live DJS, and a Stonewall Vogue Ball, an open-to-all homage to the queer ballroom scene.
“This vibrant celebration honors the historic Stonewall Riots of 1969, a pivotal moment that propelled the LGBTQIA+ rights movement forward,” Michael Bell, the Executive Director of Savannah Pride Center, told Georgia Voice. “In these challenging times, as the world faces heightened uncertainty and adversity, the need for visible support and solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community is critical. This annual fundraiser plays a vital role in supporting the Savannah Pride Center, helping to provide crucial services and safe, affirming spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community in the Deep South.”
Applications for vendors are open until June 11. More details are available at savannahpridecenter.org.
Smyrna Pride
Smyrna is Fabulous will close out Pride month with their Pride festival on June 28 from noon to 6 p.m. at Smyrna Market Village. The family-friendly event will include vendors, live entertainment, activities, and more! Learn more at smyrnapride.org/pride.
Courtesy Rome Pride
Atlanta Pride announces 2025 Pride Across the Peach State recipients
By Katie Burkholder
Atlanta Pride has announced the recipients of the 2025 Pride Across the Peach State grants.
The grants are designed to uplift, support, and amplify the efforts of Georgia-based Pride organizations.
This year, Atlanta Pride received 20 percent more requests than in its inaugural year, 2024. Last year, the grant helped engage over 37,000 Pride attendees across Georgia with a total of $50,000 given to 13 grantees.
This year’s Pride Across the Peach State grantees are: Athens Pride, Atlanta Black Pride, Inc., Carrollton Rainbow, Equality Fest, Inc. (Gainesville, GA), Macon Pride, Inc., Pride Lake (Pine Lake, GA), Rome Georgia Pride, Inc., Savannah Pride Center, Smyrna Pride, Southern Fried Queer Pride, and Statesboro Pride, Inc.
“The Pride Across the Peach State initiative reflects Atlanta Pride’s commitment to building a stronger, more connected LGBTQ+ movement throughout Georgia,” Chris McCain, the Executive Director of Atlanta Pride, said in a statement. “These grants are about investing in long-term sustainability,
expanding access, and ensuring that LGBTQ+ people in every corner of our state feel seen, supported, and celebrated. This year’s recipients embody these values to their core, and we’re excited to see how their programming continues to flourish.”
Along with financial support, past grantees also received in-person support and information from Atlanta Pride. In February, the 2024 Pride Across the Peach State grantees met for a two-day event of networking and knowledge sharing and received resources to further support their Pride events.
“With so many funding sources for LGBTQ+ organizations being reduced or disappearing altogether, especially for groups outside of major cities, this grant program is more important than ever,” Steven Igarashi-Ball, Atlanta Pride’s Director of Communications and Community Engagement, said. “Pride Across the Peach State offers meaningful support to local organizers who are creating space, connection, and celebration in their communities. We are grateful to help uplift their work and to remind them that they are seen, valued, and supported.”
For more information about the Pride Across the Peach State grant initiative and Atlanta Pride, visit atlantapride.org.
GLAAD Down South brings Black LGBTQ+ storytellers together
By Katie Burkholder
On May 16, Black queer Atlantans gathered at MODEx Studio for GLAAD Down South, an event celebrating LGBTQ+ Southerners, storytellers, and people living with HIV.
The event, produced in partnership with Gilead Sciences, was designed to amplify GLAAD’s mission of amplifying LGBTQ+ and HIV narratives across the South as effective strategies in the fight against HIV and anti-LGBTQ+ attacks.
the fullness of Black queer expression and how to look beyond the boundaries of traditional faith.
“My work is about queering Black faith, not just for Christians, but for Muslims, for spiritualists, for doulas, for those who practice Yoruba faith,” Dr. Pew said. “I am curating content for us to know that the call to worship is the pregame. The sermon is in the drag performance. The community is under the lights at Bulldogs. I am tithing to the creatives.”
“We listen to trans women, queer youth, Latinx leaders, faith-based advocates, because they’ve always known what true care looks like, and we’re here to follow their lead,” Marcus Wilson, the Director of Gilead Sciences, said. “So, as we connect tonight, let this gathering be a reminder that the South is not a problem to be solved, it’s a power to be respected. Our stories are not side notes, they are strategy.”
Panelists and speakers shared personal stories about navigating different facets of authentic queer identity in conjunction with Black culture and community.
“[The panelists are] going to be able to share personal experiences and stories, so don’t take those things for granted as people share and be vulnerable in this space, because that’s who we are in the South,” DeWayne Queen, the President of Delta Air Line’s LGBTQ+ organization, and the evening’s host, said. “We don’t mind telling you our business, but we want you to respect it.”
Darian Aaron, the Director of Local News: U.S. South at GLAAD, kicked off the evening with a conversation with Dr. David Malebranche, the Senior Director of Global HIV Medical Affairs at Gilead. Dr. Malebranche, a longtime HIV clinician, discussed receiving his own HIV diagnosis and deciding to publicly disclose in a speech at a global HIV conference.
In Queering a Radically Inclusive Faith award-winning journalist Rashad Walker moderated a conversation with faith leaders Jai Davis, Rev. Mashaun D. Simon, and Dr. Kylan Pew in which they discussed how to create a space in Christianity for
Toni-Michelle Williams, the Executive Director of Snap Co., moderated Centering Black Trans Voices, a conversation among Dr. Elijah Nichols, Simaya Charlize Turner, Toi WashingtonReynolds, and Amari McGee about how they navigate the current political climate as Black trans people.
“Before we had rights, we had community,” Turner said. “Before this administration was able to roll back protections that have really only existed for [less than] 20 years, we were still able to get the work done… [remember] that we created an underground railroad of resources before there ever was any protection.”
Closing out the panels, awardwinning journalist LaPorsche Thomas led Increasing Visibility: Black Queer Women in Media. Naima Starr, Renee’ Mowatt, and Adah Duvall Pittman-Delancey discussed representation in the media, the connection between erasure and lack of safety, and the power of taking up space.
“Your silence won’t protect you,” Mowatt said. “I think as queer people, we’ve learned that our silence is actually protection. We have to unlearn that.”
The night concluded with the first GLAAD Down South Media Awards for excellence in journalism, granted to music and culture reporter at the Atlanta JournalConstitution, DeAsia Paige, and former New York Times columnist, MSNBC political analyst, and Harvard fellow Charles Blow.
To work with GLAAD in sharing your story, contact Darian Aaron at daaron@ glaad.org.
From left: Toni-Michelle Williams, Amari McGee, Simaya Charlize Turner, Dr. Elijah Nichols, and Toi Washington-Reynolds. (Photo by Katie Burkholder.)
Making history and stories, one day at a time
History. Stories about the way things used to be, the stuff that got us here, the elements that allow us to figure out how and where we proceed. Seems simple enough, but it’s not. “The winner names the age!”
This has been true, and the stories upholding the winners usually leave out women, non-passing queers, the “wretched refuse,” people too poor/too old/too pacifistic or who have the wrong skin color or religion.
Yet, there are queer stories – good and bad – that have gotten us to where we are today, especially the stories about visibility.
And we know visibility has been working because of the pushback being churned up so ferociously. The 20th and now 21st centuries have seen many attempts to invade us, corral us, and thrust us back into the shadows.
Think of the punishment of Greenwich Village women, the 1950s
Lavender Scare, the dishonorable military discharges, the library and book blowups, etc.
In June, we feast upon stories of Stonewall, of Sylvia and Marsha. Sometimes we get mentions of “Black Nite Brawl” or Compton’s Cafeteria or other times we rioted to beat back oppression.
Many memories surface this time of year, especially about queer visibility in Atlanta.
We marched for years with brave souls, facing news cameras and hostile onlookers during Atlanta Pride parades. We gathered at Atlanta City Hall to protest Dan White getting away with the murder of Harvey Milk and told Anita Bryant to piss off. We supported Charis Books & More in Decatur for 51 years.
In the 1980s, Atlanta resident Michael Hardwick fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to repeal Georgia’s Sodomy Law. It would take another decade before Georgia’s Supreme Court would eventually strike it down, but Hardwick would die of an AIDS-related illness before he could see victory.
During the AIDS crisis, we responded with caring and political organizing. People marched to remember loved ones, PWAs were pushed in wheelchairs,
speakers demanded government involvement, and protest signs abounded.
And Atlanta Pride kept growing in participants: 10k, then 25k, then 100k, then 300k.
Today, Pride provides a way to “show up and show out” (as last year’s theme suggested). But it’s just one among many ways we make community and history. We make history every day, in the ways we live our lives.
We must believe that our lives are not cheap, and we won’t sell them as if they were.
That is actual Pride.
To learn more about Atlanta’s queer history, visit Touching Up Our Roots Project at tuorqueeratlanta.org.
Maria Helena Dolan (in wheelchair) and Stephanie Miller at the 1977 Atlanta Pride Parade. (Courtesy Georgia State University Archives)
I recently took part in a wedding where I stood with the groom as best woman. I’ve served as maid of honor, bridesmaid, but never been one of the groomsmen. What’s the difference? This time I wore a man’s suit.
It was a nice, tailored three-piece suit that the groom generously provided to me and his Best Man. I could tell not many at Indochino in Buckhead were used to a woman coming in for an initial fitting, but there I was standing on a platform and getting measured behind a curtain.
The woman taking my measurements apologized when she told me that the entire suit would have to be a man’s, that they couldn’t mix and match the pieces between men’s and women’s designs. I was ok with that, I said naively, and she reassured me men’s suits were easier to alter than a woman’s.
We went back for one more fitting, as the gray suits and vests with pink shirts arrived at the store. It was then that I realized a man’s suit isn’t necessarily flattering for a woman’s figure, and I began to understand why the employee apologized. A gorgeous suit, but very straight-lined despite being the easiest to alter. I dismissed any concerns of its contour on my middle-aged physique to that of our tendency to hate ourselves while staring in a dressing room mirror.
The groom kept the suits until the wedding, and I found mine hanging in my room and the Stanley House in Marietta upon arrival. When I put it back on the morning of the wedding, I quickly understood I had taken a couple of things for granted when having to wear it all day as opposed to 10 minutes in the store.
First there was the frantic search for a belt, which for some reason I failed to bring. Men’s pants tend to fall a little further
down one’s waist or hips to provide enough room for the “external equipment” I didn’t physically have. I realized I was constantly pulling on the pants to make up for this gap in the front, and if I placed anything in my pockets – the glorious, deep pockets men enjoy – the weight would send the pants right down to my ankles. Fortunately, the best man had an extra belt for me to use.
Also, suits are hot. It was an outside Spring wedding in Georgia, so we were standing in 80-degree weather, but even after we went inside for the reception, I was burning up. Between fanning the jacket and adjusting my tie for some relief, I felt a lot more sympathy for men who have to stay in this attire for long periods. Bras are still the worst of all clothing, but I would place men’s
suits near the top of the list.
In the end, friends assured me I pulled off the suit, and the wedding was a wonderful experience. But if I’m ever asked to gender-bend again, I may have to cheat a little and include women’s clothes.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Tickets available now for queer artists showcase, Lavender Fest
By Sammie Purcell
The second annual Lavender Performing Arts Festival, a showcase for queer artists, will take place over five days from July 16-20 at Out Front Theatre Company.
Festival Director Ty Autry said that the success of last year’s event proved that Atlanta is excited to support queer artists. According to Autry, the festival hosted 650 people in total and was able to pay out over $4,000 to the artists who performed.
“We learned that people in Atlanta are hungry for new queer work on stage,” Autry said.
The festival also has a theme this year, which is “Celebrating Every Letter.” Autry (who uses he/they pronouns) said they wanted to show that queer art encompasses a wide range of identities and not focus solely on a white cis gay male perspective.
“I’ve been really curious on a personal level about the discussion of how large the queer alphabet is. People sometimes make fun of it, or don’t understand it,” Autry said. “But to me, I always view it as language evolving to give us more ways to describe ourselves.”
This year, the festival will be operating under a nonprofit called Qreative Voices. Autry said the hope is that the nonprofit will allow Lavender Fest more flexibility in terms of what it can achieve.
“I started a new nonprofit to support
this effort,” he said. “This is our first initiative –that will hopefully be one of many, as we continue to grow as a nonprofit organization – that supports and amplifies Southern queer storytelling.”
Autry said he always planned to start a nonprofit at some point in Lavender Fest’s future. However, the current political landscape for LGBTQ+ people in the United States pushed the decision forward.
“We hope to continue to inspire artists to feel safe to continue to create work with our support,” Autry said.
Autry said that Lavender Fest was not affected by President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel National Endowment for the Arts grants.
“Because we are new, we don’t have a single national grant,” they said. “So we weren’t hurt by the NEA’s reversal of their grants. The money that we’re getting in from individual contributors who support this idea, [they] also understand that the money that funnels into Qreative Voices, funnels back into the artists.”
This year’s Lavender Fest will open with Ruby Redd’s Birdcage Bingo at the Atlanta Eagle on July 16. Guests will be able to mingle with the artists, and tips to the drag queens will go toward the organization Joining Hearts, which helps those impacted by HIV/AIDS in Atlanta.
“It’s also fun to get in there and help another organization by hopefully bringing in a large crowd to tip those queens and support a local organization that also
needs assistance,” Autry said. The other shows featured at Lavender Fest will be:
■ “Yesterday is Dead” by Maria Chryssopoulos
■ “The Lily Show” by Lily Kerrigan
■ “Stuck” by JJ Ivey
■ “Bottle of Soup” by CWK
■ “Black Bastard” by Jon Gentry
■ “One Morning At The Office” by Vandy Beth Glenn
Lavender Lens spotlights queer film, history, and joy
By Katie Burkholder
When Carrie Miller was growing up, they hated movies. After watching their first queer film, “The Watermelon Woman,” Miller’s perspective on film changed forever.
Today, Miller is a prolific filmmaker with 11 short films, a feature length documentary, and several music videos under their belt, and they harness the transformative power of queer film as
curator of Lavender Lens, a queer movie night in partnership with The Bakery.
Miller founded Lavender Lens in Athens, GA, and brought it to Atlanta in October 2024. Each movie night includes the screening followed by an audience discussion, but no two events are the same.
“The experience is always different,” Miller told Georgia Voice. “[May 7’s] Lavender Lens event was super cozy,
it felt more of a community night.
We’re laughing and we’re shouting, ‘Gay!’ and ‘So hot!’… Then there was a queer short night where it feels like a [formal] event where everyone’s dressed up and there’s a photographer and I made programs inspired by zines with the help of my designer, Margot McLaughlin.”
Films screened at Lavender Lens include “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about lesbian visibility and community through the founding of Curve magazine; “National Anthem,” a narrative inspired by a real-life queer rodeo in Nex Mexico; the beloved ballroom documentary “Paris is Burning,” and more. Most of the featured films are by queer filmmakers, but not exclusively: if you make a queer movie that resonates
■ “Gracefully Stumbling Thru Beekeeping Age” by Mark Orintas
■ “I Thought I’d Be Famous By Now” by David Cohn
■ “With Love, Women” by Hannah Marie Smith
■ “Conversations On How to Get Your Mom Laid” by Ty Autry
More information on tickets and showtimes can be found at lavender-fest. com.
as true and meaningful, Miller wants to include you.
Miller’s goal with Lavender Lens is to connect queer art, community, and history. During the screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” elder activists with Touching Up Our Roots spoke about Atlanta’s lesbian and queer history.
“I feel like we really need to hear [about LGBTQ+ elders’ experiences and queer Atlanta history],” Miller said.
“Where are you going to hear that? Lavender Lens!”
While being a space for education, Lavender Lens is also a haven for queer joy, which will be on full display at the next event, a queer music video night with live bands on June 18.
“What’s important for queer people and queer liberation is to see other people happy and changing the narrative of how we see queer people portrayed,” Miller said.
Lavender Lens is hosted monthly at The Supermarket, 398 Highland St NE. To keep up, follow Miller on Instagram @carriemillerfilms or visit thebakeryatlanta.com/events.
Johnnie McNamara Walker performs the show “The Heterosexuals” at 2024’s Lavender Fest (Photo by Sydney Lee).
Carrie Miller is the curator of the queer movie night Lavender Lens. (Courtesy of Carrie Miller)
Lavender Lens brings people to The Supermarket to enjoy queer documentaries, shorts, and films. (Courtesy of Carrie Miller)
Craig Washington donates archive to Auburn Ave. Library
By Katie Burkholder
Black gay writer and activist Craig Washington has donated papers, writing, and ephemera from his archive to the collection at the Auburn Avenue Research Library.
“This collection means so much to me in two big and connected ways,” Washington told Georgia Voice. “One, because it’s a representation of, a record of, my life and my work. But moreso, it’s something I can offer to the community to which I’m most connected, the Black LGBTQ+ community. I want this to also be the impetus for us to develop more resources [for Black LGBTQ+ people].”
A significant figure in Atlanta’s Black queer history, Washington’s collection includes his articles with Southern Voice and the Atlanta-Journal Constitution; materials from LGBTQ+ organizations like AID Atlanta, Deeper Love, and Second Sunday, a Black gay men’s group founded in the ‘90s that facilitated workshops, social activities, and discussions; ephemera like event fliers for Pride and the annual Bayard Rustin/Audre Lorde Breakfast; and his collection of now-defunct Black gay magazines like Arise, CLIK, and Venus.
The collection will preserve these historic materials, the value of which Washington says is significant in today’s political climate.
“The value of any documentation about Black queer history is self-evident. It becomes even moreso pressing in this climate that is just so poisoned and marred by hostility and hatred… We’re all under an unprecedented level of political and structural terrorism and violence and living in that climate requires that we not only strategize right, not only draw upon our immense and immeasurable power, but that we find ways to connect. That we live with a sense of and a consciousness of intersectionality, not only in terms of interlocking oppressions but in terms of our common interests, our interdependence and our need for each other.”
Washington hopes the collection will not only be a tool of connection but also a commemoration of Black queer joy.
“This collection is a celebration of our history,” he said.
For more information, visit fulcolibrary.org/auburn-avenueresearch-library.
Craig Washington at the Auburn Avenue Research Library. (Provided)
Pride 2025 Must Reads: Spins, screens, and a stage
By Gregg Shapiro
Since 2003, the 331⁄3 book series has provided in-depth analyses of albums from as early as the late 1950s to as recent as the late 2010s. Not to be outdone, the “Singles” series, edited by Emily J. Lordi and Joshua Clover, narrows the focus to one song. The latest installment, “Under Pressure” (Duke University Press, 2025) by Max Brzezinski, puts the 1981 pop anthem by David Bowie and Queen in the spotlight, giving it the star treatment.
Even though Elton John may be in retirement mode, he’s never far from the public eye. His 2024 documentary “Elton John: Never Too Late,” earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song (“Never Too Late”). That tune also appeared on his 2025 Brandi Carlile collaboration album “Who Believes in Angels?” Matthew Restall’s “On Elton John: An Opinionated Guide” (Oxford University Press, 2025), described as “a
lively and imaginative exploration” of the Rocket Man’s career, earns Captain Fantastic a place for himself on your bookshelf.
In “The Vinyl Diaries: Sex, Deep Cuts, and My Soundtrack to Queer Joy” (Random House Canada, 2025), Toronto-based gay writer Peter Crighton, tells his coming-of-age story in the early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis, with an emphasis on the influence of the music of the era. Crighton, who has fabulous taste in music, separates the book into two sides (like an LP), and uses song titles (Marianne Faithfull’s “Broken English,” the B-52s’ “Give Me Back My Man,” Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” and Radiohead’s “High and Dry,” among many others to separate sections.)
It’s difficult to pinpoint why exactly, but queer British authors seem to have a knack for writing about the intersection of music and LGBT life. Martin Aston’s “Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache: How Music Came Out” and the late Darryl
W. Bullock’s “David Bowie Made Me Gay” (both from 2017) are two prime examples. The latest British writer to enter that fray is Jon Savage with his book “The Secret Public: How Music Moved Queer Culture from the Margins to the Mainstream” (Liveright Publishing Corporation/W.W. Norton, 2025) in which he takes “fresh looks” at Janis Ian, Sylvester, New York Dolls, Bette Midler, Liberace, Grace Jones, and Dusty Springfield, to name a few.
Speaking of the Brits, as part of the British Film Institute’s BFI Screen Guides series, we now have “100 Queer Films Since Stonewall” (BFI/Bloomsbury, 2025) by Chelsea McCracken & Matt Connolly. Beginning with Toshio Matsumoto’s “Funeral Parade of Roses” (1969) and concluding with Harshavardhan Kulkarni’s “Badhaai Do” (2022), the book also includes a selection of domestic (“The Birdcage,” “Parting Glances,” “But I’m A Cheerleader,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”) and international (“La Cage Aux Folles,” “Taxi Zum Klo,” “Yossi & Jagger,” “BPM,” and “Rafiki”) titles, as well as films with numerous accolades to their names (“Moonlight,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” and “Flee”).
Michael Koresky, editorial director at New York’s Museum of the Movie Image, is the author of “Sick
and Dirty: Hollywood’s Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness” (Bloomsbury, 2025). A sort of companion to Vito Russo’s highly regarded “The Celluloid Closet,” Koresky’s book spans more than 100 years, from 1922 (Alla Nazimova’s “Salome”) to 2024 (Jane Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw The TV Glow”), from the days of the Motion Picture Production Code (Hays Code) to the far more liberated and progressive present day.
“To Broadway” (Abrams Comic Arts, 2025), by Maurane Mazars, is a stunningly illustrated graphic novel that tells the story of Ulrich Rosenstiehl, better known as UIi, a freckled modern dance student in postwar (1957) Germany. Frustrated by the strict limitations of the Folkwang Institute, Uli’s dreams of dancing on Broadway (and perhaps alongside his idol Gene Kelly in films), he heads to New York in search of his great loves: dance and fellow dancer Anthony.
Best Bets
▼Theatrical Outfit presents the premiere of Young John Lewis, written by playwright Psalmayene 24 with original music by Eugene H. Russell IV. The musical examines a decade in the life of the late congressman and his journey from student activist to major leader in the Civil Rights movement. The show runs June 4-29. Get tickets at theatricaloutfit.org.
►Atlanta Eagle presents Drag Down South ‘25 at East Point City Hall on June 7 from 8 to 10:30 p.m. The event will feature drag stars Shawna Brooks, Bubba D’Licious, Hot Chocolate, Leena Lust, and many more. The event is free and open to the public. Find out more at atlantaeagle. com.
Heal Your House Outdoor Festival is June 14 at Grant Park from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Headlining this year’s festival are DJs Timmy Regisford, Donna Edwards, Ron Pullman, and Steph MB. There will also be yoga, a two-mile walk, meditation sessions, and more. Get details and ticket information at facebook.com/ theHealYourHouseProject.
My Sister’s Room in Midtown, 1104 Crescent Ave., is presenting its fifth annual Rainbow Pub Crawl on June 14-15 from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. Ten participating restaurants and bars will be announced soon. Covers will be waived for all venues with food and drink specials throughout the night. Get more details at mysistersroom.com.
▼Out Front Theatre presents drag star Ginger Minj’s one-woman show The Broad’s Way June 19-29. From Streisand to Merman, Garland to Minelli, Ginger belts, banters, and bedazzles her way through the greatest hits of Broadway’s biggest belters. Get tickets at outfronttheatre.com.
will feature music from “The Little Mermaid,” “The Lion King,” “Mary Poppins,” and more. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
Atlanta Pride is partnering with St. Luke Lutheran Church for Drag Me to Church: An Interfaith Commemoration of Stonewall on June 22. The familyfriendly, interfaith worship service will feature local clergy, musicians, drag performers, and community leaders. This service is open to all, but registration is required. Visit AtlantaPride.org for details.
Sapphic Solstice is an immersive art and performance experience for Atlanta’s queer and BIPOC community set for June 21 fom 6 to 9 p.m. at 945 Allene Ave. The event will feature pole dancing, burlesque, visual art, music, and more. Get tickets and details by searching the event name at eventbrite.com.
The Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will present Disney Pride In Concert on June 21 at 7 p.m. at Symphony Hall. The evening
It’s Giving Edgewood: O4W Pride Crawl is set for June 29 from 3 to 8 p.m. along Edgewood Avenue in Old Fourth Ward. On the bar crawl are Pieces, Lore, Sister Louisa’s, Joystick and Dad’s Garage Theatre Company. There will also be an artist’s market. Visit AtlantaPride.org for ore information.
Dad’s Garage Theatre Company presents Murder on Vavianna Island June 6-28 at 7:30 p.m. B-movie star Vavianna Vardot (Amber Nash) is hosting the wedding of her ex-husband and burlesque, music, cocktails, and murder arise. Get tickets and details at dadsgarage.com.
For even more events, visit thegavoice.com and be sure to sign up for our weekly Crosswalk newsletter while you’re there.
Atlanta’s newest wine bar readies for its debut in Boulevard Heights
By Beth McKibben
Finca to Filter and Side Saddle Wine Saloon will open soon in Boulevard Heights. Owned by Kayla Bellman, the coffee shop and natural wine bar take over two repurposed buildings at the Penman apartment complex, sharing a patio along the Southeast corridor of the Beltline.
But after announcing the openings for May 3, a last-minute permitting snafu caused Bellman to walk back the date. The postponement means Finca to Filter is only open for to-go orders, and service at Side Saddle remains on hold while Bellman works to resolve the permitting issue.
The 411
Located on Hamilton Avenue, Finca to Filter opens early in the morning for coffee, espresso, and baked goods made in-house by Emily Davis. As Finca to Filter sunsets later in the afternoon, Side Saddle opens for wine, cocktails, and food from veteran Atlanta chef Carla Fears.
Fears, whose resume includes working alongside chefs like Taria Camerino, Zeb Stevenson, and Todd Richards, was operating pop-up Gourmet Street Food when Bellman asked her to develop the menu for Side Saddle. Fears isn’t afraid to push boundaries, and Bellman likes that she brings fresh flavors
and perspectives to the dishes at Side Saddle. The menu features everything from antipasti of olives and pickled vegetables, charcuterie, and salads to confit chicken wings, a cheeseburger, and a Monte Cristo PB&J.
Expect events at Side Saddle and Finca to Filter, including winemaker talks and tastings, pop-up markets, drag shows, outdoor jazz, and weekly trivia. Bellman plans to allow seating in both spaces during the evening, using Finca to Filter as a spill-over area for more lively events like trivia.
But that’s not all Bellman has planned at the Boulevard Heights complex. This summer, Bellman will also open a frozen dessert stand selling frozen bananas, chocolate bars, and other sweet treats.
“We want this all to be a welcoming environment for everyone to hang out throughout the day,” said Bellman, who proudly celebrates her businesses as queerand woman-owned.
Side Saddle wine saloon
Bellman first opened Finca to Filter five years ago inside the taproom of Wild Heaven Beer in West End, followed by a location at Create ATL in neighboring Adair Park. Both locations closed in 2024, but not before Bellman could open another location in the Old Fourth Ward, where business is booming.
Like Finca to Filter, Side Saddle continues Bellman’s mission to support women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community in every aspect of the business, from the staff, beverages, and food to events and other services.
Bellman named Side Saddle for the antiquated seated position women were made to endure when riding horses in heavy skirts. The saddle forced the rider to sit sideways rather than astride, deemed an appropriate position to protect a woman’s modesty.
The name, Bellman said, represents the societal challenges and constraints women and other marginalized people face and work to overcome. It’s important to Bellman that supporting marginalized communities isn’t just lip service at Finca to Filter, and now at Side Saddle Wine Saloon.
Bellman and her staff will provide Plan B and Narcan upon request at the Boulevard Heights businesses. Across Atlanta, bars, restaurants, and coffee shops like Finca to Filter regularly carry Narcan, a life-saving drug that reverses the effects of an overdose. The wine and cocktails
As with the coffee at Finca to Filter, the beverage list at Side Saddle heavily features
wine and spirits produced by women, people of color, and small estates and distilleries, focusing on sustainable and low-intervention production.
“Our house wines are made by a B Corpcertified producer that uses recycled glass for bottles and paper for labels. We have boxed wine that is sustainably produced, helping to educate people on reducing the glass bottle carbon footprint,” said Side Saddle wine director Jett Kolarik. “I’m happy to offer wines by producers who incorporate fair labor practices, sustainable winemaking, and taking care of the environment into their business models.”
A wine consultant and educator, Kolarik worked for Sarah Pierre at 3 Parks Wine Shop and under sommelier Steven Grubbs at Commune in Avondale Estates. Bellman brought Kolarik on last summer to run the Thursday wine nights at Finca to Filter, which became a proving ground for Side Saddle.
Most wines by the glass average around $16, with nothing over $18 per glass. People can order flights of three half pours for $15. Look for half-off wines and weekly specials, including women winemakers highlighted on Wednesdays and funkier, more esoteric wines offered on Fridays.
“The buzz outside of Atlanta is big. One importer I spoke to recently said Atlanta is quickly becoming one of his favorite wine cities because it’s so diverse and people are bringing new ideas and events to the table,” said Kolarik of Atlanta’s wine scene. “Women and people of color are leading this industry here. It’s exciting to be a part of this right now.”
As with Kolarik’s wine list, affordability factors into the cocktails from general manager and bar manager Flemming Love. Side Saddle features four regular house cocktails for $12 (Ranch Water, Margarita, Kentucky Mule, and Dirty Shirley), with $10 drink specials on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Bellman gave Love runway to get weird with the cocktails at Side Saddle like a cold brew riff on Long Island Iced Tea and the Horse Girl made with mezcal, amaro, sour cherry liqueur, and egg white. One drink even includes lettuce-infused olive oil with a Negroni-infused olive. With access to Finca to Filter’s coffee and syrups, Love is also able to whip up plenty of non-alcoholic mixed drinks.
“I see Side Saddle and Finca as community hubs, and we must keep these spaces welcoming and our menus, service, and events inclusive,” Bellman said. “We’re super proud of the people we’re partnering with, and we want people to know it.”
680 Hamilton Ave., Boulevard Heights. Finca to Filter (@finca.coffee) open daily, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Side Saddle Wine Saloon (IG @ sidesaddlewine) open Monday-Thursday, 4-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., and Sunday, 12-5 p.m.
The staff at Side Saddle and Finca to Filter in Boulevard Heights. (Courtesy of Rebecca Carmen)
Chef Carla Fears. (Courtesy of Rebecca Carmen)
Side Saddle and Finca to Filter owner Kayla Bellman. (Courtesy of Rebecca Carmen)
Indian restaurant coming to Spring Quarter development
By Beth McKibben
Indian restaurant Pataaka will open later this year at Spring Quarter on Spring Street in Midtown, according to a press release. The tapas-style Indian restaurant comes from Atlanta chef Anish Nair, who also owns Jai Ho Indian Kitchen at Krog Street Market.
Anish previously owned a full-service location of Jai Ho on Dutch Valley Road in Morningside. He closed that location during the height of the pandemic. The space is now home to Verdure Kitchen & Cocktails.
Located on the ground floor of the Sora residential tower at Spring Quarter,
will serve a variety of tapas-style Indian and South Asian dishes, including tandoori duck, red snapper pollichathu, tamarind barbecue lamb ribs, and jackfruit bruschetta. Expect seating for up to 113 people, along with patio seating and a private dining space on the mezzanine. Spring Quarter is backed by Atlanta real estate company Portman Holdings. Plans call for the redevelopment of an entire city block to include the Sora residential tower, an office tower, and the preservation and renovation of the historic H.M. Patterson Home and Gardens. The residential and office towers at Spring Quarter topped off in 2024, with both now leasing.
restaurant
Louisiana-based
at Sora. Japanese restaurant
by Chef Fuyuhiko Ito, will occupy a ground-floor space at the neighboring Ten Twenty Spring office tower. It will feature robata grill dishes and a sushi counter. Ito’s 14seat restaurant Omakase at ISHIN will open on the eighth floor of the building in a rooftop space overlooking the Midtown skyline.
All three Spring Quarter restaurants should open this fall.
In 2023, Portman Holdings announced that restaurateur Steve Palmer of Indigo Road Hospitality would bring a “morning-to-night [food and beverage]
destination” to the nearly century-old H.M. Patterson building. While Portman still plans to preserve the historic funeral home and mortuary, providing additional entertainment amenities for Spring Quarter, Palmer and Indigo Road are no longer listed on the website and were not mentioned in the press release.
Rough Draft reached out to representatives for Spring Quarter to confirm the status of Palmer’s restaurants at the development. Check back for updates.
Spring Quarter, 1020 Spring St., Midtown
Italian restaurant Yeppa & Co. opens at Junction Krog District
By Georgia Voice Staff
The second location of Italian restaurant Yeppa & Co. opened on May 20 at Junction Krog District, across from Krog Street Market on the Eastside Beltline.
Backed by Yeppa Studios restaurant group (Storico Fresco, Forza Storico), Yeppa & Co. becomes the latest addition to the Junction Krog District complex at the intersection of Auburn Avenue and Irwin Street.
Yeppa & Co. originally opened at Buckhead Village in 2023, and is known for its lively atmosphere, dishes from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and focaccia pizzas.
Open for dinner on weekdays and allday dining on the weekends, expect dishes at the Beltline location like antipasti, insalata, taglieri, focaccia pizzas, and pasta, including cacio e pepe and tagliatelle alla bolognese.
Look for lunch service to begin soon,
and a grab-and-go window to launch in the coming weeks, serving espresso, gelato, and paninis.
The restaurant’s name, “Yeppa,” was chosen in honor of a restaurateur and close family friend of co-founder Stephen Peterson.
“The name ‘Yeppa’ holds personal significance as the nickname of my mentor and close family friend while growing up in Rimini,” said Peterson in a press release. “Yeppa was a beloved restaurateur in town known for his exuberant spirit and love of entertaining.”
Designed to reflect the spirit of Rimini, Italy, the Beltline restaurant location features Italian-sourced furnishings and decor, an open-air bar, sidewalk tables, and heated outdoor seating for year-round dining.
Yeppa & Co. (yeppaco.com), 667 Auburn Ave., Old Fourth Ward. Open Tuesday-Friday, 5 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Pataaka
Pataaka joins
Mexican
Habaneros
Sozou, backed
Courtesy Portman Holdings
A rendering of Pataaka at Spring Quarter (Courtesy The Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry)
Courtesy of Veronica Frison
