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Women’s Guide to Atlanta Pride

So much to do. So many places to see and be seen. What’s a dyke to do at Atlanta Pride? Well, I’m going to try to help. This is Life on Q’s officially unofficial guide to Atlanta Gay Pride. In this post, you’ll get the 411 on where the women will be.

What’s different about this Atlanta Pride Guide is my attempt to describe some of the events and venues as I have experienced them as a “pride veteran.” I have lived in Atlanta since… well, since a long time ago… and I have attended Pride events and have patronized gay and lesbian nightclubs in Atlanta for what feels like forever. For out-of-towners trying to figure out what’s what and who’s where, consider me your dyke welcome wagon. I’m going to list all the events, meetings and such I’ve researched with a combination of the promoter’s description and, where I have one, my own opinion and experiences. Please take my opinions for what they are. If you’re old enough to get into a bar, you’re old enough to think for yourself and make your own choices. If you’re planning to visit Atlanta Pride from out of town, or you’re an Atlantan looking for a change of scenery from your usual haunts, read on.

Three Themes, One Pride

There are three different women’s events happening simultaneously during Atlanta Pride weekend. The “official” women’s events (i.e., promoted by the Atlanta Pride Committee) are sponsored by Curve Magazine and are branded as “Peach.” The Peach events culminate with a massive dance party Saturday night. Girls in the Night and Girlology 101, who regularly bring Atlanta women great events, are calling their weekend party package “Fever.” And why not–it will be hot, on many levels. And Traxx Girls is adapting some of their regular events for a pride audience under the theme “Honey.” Both Peach and Fever events have individual night cover charges or VIP passes for all events. Check the specific event details below for info on cover charges, where available.

Getting Out and Around

For any out-of-towners or Atlantans who have been living under a rock, you should know that Atlanta Pride has moved from Piedmont Park to the Atlanta Civic Center. Almost all of the women’s events are just a few blocks north and south of this new Pride Central. Many are in Little 5 Points, just a few blocks south and east of the Civic Center. Others are in Midtown, a few blocks north of Pride itself. Remember that 14th Street has been closed for construction and that the Peachtree Road Race will be creating congestion early in the morning on July 4th. But if you’re planning to kick-off Pride with Thursday night’s events, you’ll probably still be sleeping as thousands run down Peachtree Street. If you’re a morning person, you’ll want to plan your breakfast location accordingly.

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Team Gina Reproduces the 80’s

If you lived through the 1980s, liked leg warmers or shoulder pads, be warned: you could have a faux-hawk flashback when the Seattle duo Team Gina comes back to Georgia just after Atlanta Pride. Gina Bling and Gina Genius, the sum total of Team Gina, will come through the South on their “Product of the 80s” tour, in support of their new album of the same name released on June 17.

The Products of the Eighties Tour will be at Little King’s Shuffle Club in Athens, Ga. on July 8 and at Mary’s in East Atlanta on July 9. I first saw the Ginas perform at MondoHomo 2007, and caught such a fever that I had to dig out my old sweatbands. Their previous album, Gina Gina Revolution, features tunes with such catchy lyrics as: “Straight Boys Love Us (But We Like the Girls),” and “I like butch dykes.”

IMHO, the Ginas are both Bling and Genius. Part camp, part rap, part high school cheerleader, part 80s hair band, this team is not your typical lesbian music duo. Team Gina will really take you back, playfully remind you of all the fun we had during the Reagan years, and bring out your inner Flashdancer. As Gina Bling might say, the Team Gina experience is “a total Landsberry.” If you’re not hip to the latest Gina Slang, you’ll just have to go to the show in Athens or Atlanta and ask them yourselves.

If you’ve never had the Team Gina experience, get a glimpse in their latest video:

For more info on Team Gina and the Products of the 80s Tour, visit Gina Bling and Gina Genius on myspace at myspace.com/teamgina. You’ll find other cities and show dates there for their nationwide tour.

Gina Bling was just in Atlanta to MC a show at MondoHomo 2008. She is looking good, and it only made my baby dyke crush worse. Ah, to be young again. Like I was in the 80s.

Queer Atlanta, Mark Your Calendars

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth with our original queer Atlanta calendar, Life on Q is debuting a new and improved calendar. We’re using Google Calendars and will add gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other general queer community events as we find them. As before, the Queer Calendar will focus on LGBT events in Atlanta and Georgia, with the occasional listing of national and international events when they are of particular interest to us or to the queer community in the Atlanta area.  We are determined to include not only gay and lesbian nightlife in Atlanta, but all LGBT events and meetings — from support groups to community service meetings to educational seminars to political events and more.  If it affects your queer life, we will try to include it.  It even includes a weather forecast for the next few days.  Take a look and let us know what you think.

Event organizers: if you see an error in a listing, please send an e-mail to editor@lifeonq.com. Event organizers who would like to see their events on the LGBT calendar should send an e-mail to editor@lifeonq.com. Send your Google Calendar URL or info on how to access your iCal-compatible calendar to editor@lifeonq.com. Events not available on a Web-based calendar will be added by Life on Q as time allows, pending editorial approval.  Atlanta is a big gay town and there’s only so much time to type in events, but we’ll do our best to keep the latest happenings noted.  We are in the process of adding Atlanta Pride event listings, so check back often as we add all the Pride festivities to your queer schedule.

Girls Gone Pride Resurrects Atlanta Lesbian Nightlife

Those Girls Gone Pride have gone and done it again. The party promoter’s Resurrection Party last night at My Sister’s Room in East Atlanta brought out several hundred women for dancing, beer pong, a wet t-shirt contest and more. Holding a party on Good Friday took a fair amount of faith, but Girls Gone Pride proved they can draw a crowd despite traditional family holidays, even despite Jesus. A standing-room-only crowd danced to the combined mixes of DJ Yvonne Monet and DJ Duck. Red and green glow bracelets were available to announce one’s availability, even flashing devil’s horns for those who felt particularly less-than-holier-than-thou. It was both a Good Friday and a Wanna-be-bad Friday.

If you have never attended a Girls Gone Pride event, it is highly recommended. Girls Gone Pride Chief Partier Bird told me that the team will be up to some new tricks, just in time for the delayed Atlanta Pride celebration this July. A new Website is under development, and more parties in the planning. Stay tuned to Life on Q. We’ll let you know where you can go get pride, and girls, as soon as we do.

Short-Attention-Span Dating for Lesbians Returns to Atlanta

For single women without the time or patience for personals, or who find the bar scene wanting, Atlanta event organizers Girls Gone Pride are bringing speed dating for lesbians back for another round on February 17th. Girls Gone Pride Co-founder Deanna tells me that the age range for the speed dating events have really been varied. “We have younger, older and those who are in between. I think we ended up with around 24 or so women at the last one,” she said.

Bird, the other half of Girls Gone Pride, added that the fast-daters were from all walks of life. A creation of the hetero world, speed dating is a relatively recent social phenomenon, no doubt a result of the increasingly fast, multitasked American lifestyle. Instant gratification no doubt has its advantages when you’re trying to deal with work, Atlanta traffic, a somewhat limited lesbian bar scene and stand-offish dykes.

In an episode of Logo TV’s Big Gay Sketch Show last season (episode 101), a spoof of lesbian speed dating was about the funniest skit I’ve ever seen. In it, two lesbians complete an entire relationship in the short window they are given to “speed date.” The characters move in together, adopt cats, fight, cheat and break up in just three minutes. Now that is taking U-hauling to a whole new level. It’s probably worth attending Girls Gone Pride’s event, if only to see how dykes, stereotypically fast in moving from a meet to a marriage, deal with the speed-dating movement in real life. The February speed dating event will be held at Birdi’s in Decatur, starting at 6:30 p.m. There’s a $5.00 registration fee. For more information, you can check out Girls Gone Pride’s myspace page.

Rose Rollins to Offer a Little L Word Foreplay for Atlanta Lesbians

Actress Rose Rollins, loved by lesbians for her role as “Tasha” on The L Word, will tease Atlanta women tonight at Foreplay, The L Word season 5 preview and ourchart.com launch party, at the Park Tavern in Midtown. Hosted by Girls in the Night and Girlology 101. Dancing, mixing and mingling will get underway at 10 p.m., with a big giveaway happening at 1:30 a.m., when two VIP passes to The Dinah 2008 will be raffled off. But everyone will be a winner, with an advance look at The L Word season 5 premiere, ourchart.com and Girls in the Night freebies, and the chance to get close to Tasha. Late this afternoon, Outwrite Bookstore staff said they had been giving out event passes all day, and in fact have run out. But you can get in at the door–There’s a $10 cover after 11.47 p.m. Find out more about the event on Girls in the Night’s MySpace page.

Ourchart.com is the new lesbian social network, based on the infamous whiteboard chart where the character Alice kept track of who had dated and/or hooked up with whom. Although heavily promoted during season four of The L Word last year, the “chart” was not quite ready for prime time. Promoters are taking advantage of the premier of season 5 to formally launch the site.

Life on Q will be at Foreplay tonight, in the person of yours truly, camera in tow. It’s the last big event for Atlanta women, and based on how quickly passes have gone, it is sure to blow out 2007 with bang. Check Life on Q tomorrow for photos from the event.

Update 12.30.07>>Photos from the event are now online! See the entire album here.

Girls Gone Pride to Share Sweets with Singles at MSR

Girls Gone Pride will be giving lonely-heart lesbians a treat tomorrow night at My Sister’s Room in East Atlanta. Their “Taking Candy from Strangers” party will give the un-partnered an opportunity to meet, greet and eat sweets. With the $10 cover comes a neon bracelet color-coded to announce your status: single and looking, approachable (with caution) or taken. Also included is a candy necklace to reward those who connect.

Music will be mixed by house talent DJ Duck and Yvonne Monet from 99X. Go Go Vixens will help get the dancing going on stage and in the crowd. There will also be a “tighty whitey” wet (or dry) t-shirt contest on the deck at 1:00 a.m. All who participate get a free t-shirt, with a cash prize for the winner. To further encourage interaction, there’ll be flip cup games, also on the deck. And of course, drink specials for some liquid courage, with $2.00 draft beer and $2.00 shots. It all gets underway starting at 9:00 p.m. More information is available at Girls Gone Pride’s myspace page.

Disclaimer: This post is not a paid advertisement. A single lesbian myself, I know it’s damn hard to date. Girls Gone Pride gets it, so they got a free promo post. See you there, girls.

Ticketholders Thrown a Curve at Peach Party

Curve Magazine’s Peach Party left Atlanta lesbians stunned.

As the Peach Party crowd grew well into the night Saturday night, hundreds were left on line down West Peachtree Street, curving around the corner on 17th as a thin crew at the door ID’ed, arm-banded and released the lesbians into the Center Stage theatre’s two bars. Having purchased advanced tickets saved five bucks, but bought you no time, as the ticketed and unticketed waited in queue together.

As women waited to reach the door, they passed the time watching new arrivals clutching tickets head for the front of the line, only to reappear on their way around the corner to the end of the line on 17th, each displaying a unique but predictable look of stunned surprise and perplexity as they carried their pre-paid tickets to the back of the queue. Meanwhile, a VIP queue was virtually unused all evening, with fewer than 10 women gracing the VIP velvet ropes during one hour of waiting for the rest of us. “It’ll be last call before we even get in there!,” complained one.

(Here’s another “L Word” for Curve Magazine: Lines! Shouldn’t there be three—one for VIPs, one for ticket holders, and one for the ticket-less? It would seem to be to the Peach Party’s advantage to get women off the streets and spending money inside as quickly as possible.)

Once inside, the impatience quickly dissipated as a different sort of stunned look crossed the faces. Hundreds of women packed two dance floors. Most were dressed to the nine’s. Others chose their best pair of flip-flops or were careful to pick just the right flannel shirt for the big event. The trucker’s hat had to match. All in all, the Peach party proved that L.A. lesbian hipness as portrayed on The L Word has some serious competition in Atlanta’s lesbian population.

DJ Pat Pat from Tampa was back for her second Peach appearance. Spinning an infectious mix of Latin beats and dance favorites, she kept the crowd on their toes….and heels…and their best pair of flip-flops….until well after last call.

Pat Pat threw in quite a few crowd-pleasers, including a danceable remix of Betty’s The L Word theme. The upstairs dance floor was packed and sweaty, but the mood was “party!” and the women friendly and accommodating as they curved through the crowd.

The smaller downstairs dance floor was the Peach Party’s first impression. Unfortunately, the smaller room was interrupted by tables and less encouraging of dancers, but Atlanta’s own DJ Kim Crawford succeeded in setting a festive mood for new arrivals with a pop-ier and rock-ier Top 40s mix. All lesbians love a little Joan Jett now and again. Party planners chose to throw in a couple of live performances, which seemed out of context despite the performers’ best efforts to capture the crowd.

In the end, the Peach Party seemed to be a sweet treat for lesbians attending the Atlanta Pride Festival 2007.