Atlanta Pride returns to Midtown this weekend

The 42nd Annual Atlanta Pride Festival rides a rainbow of love back to Piedmont Park this weekend and with it the always colorful Pride Parade.

The festival includes music, entertainment, a marketplace, yoga, children's show, car & motorcycle show, literary showcase, cultural exhibits, health expo, cabaret, food & drink, and much more.

Atlanta Pride promotes unity, visibility and self-esteem among lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender persons and to promote a positive image in the Atlanta area and throughout the Southeastern United States through community activities and services.

The main mission of the Atlanta Pride Committee is to provide lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender persons with cultural and educational programs and activities which enhance mental and physical health, provide social support, and foster an awareness of the past and present contributions of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender persons, through community activities and services, including an annual Pride event.

The festival is now just a two-day gathering officially to be held Saturday and Sunday Oct. 13-14, but expect Pride-related events to take place in Midtown throughout the weekend. That means traffic will be heavy as tens of thousands of visitors descend upon the area (festival organizers estimate between 35-45K attendees Saturday and 45-50K on Sunday).

This event will mainly be held in Piedmont Park, including two stages of entertainment, and programming is scheduled to end at 9 p.m. (no longer 11 p.m.) both days to help mitigate the impact on the surrounding neighborhoods, especially in terms of sound.

On Saturday evening at 6 p.m, the one-hour Dyke March will exit the park from Charles Allen Drive, travel west on 10th Street to Peachtree Street, north on Peachtree to 14th Street, east on 14th and will reenter the park at the 14th St. gate. Two lanes will be closed for this event, not entire streets, and no lanes are expected to be closed for longer than about 10 minutes.

On Sunday, the Atlanta Pride Parade kicks off at 1 p.m. from the MARTA Civic Center Station assembly area on W. Peachtree Street. It will travel east on Ralph McGill Boulevard, north on Peachtree, east on 10th and terminates at the Charles Allen gate on 10th. The parade lasts approximately three hours and entire streets will be closed during the parade.

On Friday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., two lanes of 10th St., closest to the park, will be closed from Monroe Drive to Charles Allen. These lanes will be used for load in purposes, as well as operational parking. The two lanes closest to Grady High School will be open for two-way traffic. There will be no structures in the lane and the lane reopens each night after closing.

This year’s entertainment schedule:

BUD LIGHT STAGE

Saturday:                                                                                 

Literary Event                                                                         

Juliana Finch                                                                         

Jessica Bettes                                                                      

Renee Wahl                                                                           

Sayer McShane

Unbreakable Bloodline

Sunday:

Kyron Leslie

Maria Gabriella Band

Jamie Charoen

Dylan Michael

COCA-COLA STAGE

Saturday:                                                                                

Justin Utley                                                                          

Sexual Side Effects                                                               

Kat Graham                                                                           

Demize

Crystal Waters                                                                       

Kristine W                                                                            

Rita Ora- Presented by WiLD 105.7 and 96.7

Andy Bell of Erasure - Presented by David Atlanta and Project Q Atlanta

Sunday:

The Michel Jon’s Band

Leslie Christian

Gurufish

Amy Ray