The
Atlanta
Pride
Committee
expect
women
—
as
well
as
men
—
to
gather
in
large
numbers
for
the
annual
Dyke
March
on
July
5,
despite
its
new
Atlanta
Civic
Center
location.
For
the
past
several
years,
organizers
estimate
400-500
people
have
participated
in
the
annual
march
around
Piedmont
Park.
Betty
Couvertier,
director
of
outreach
for
the
APC
and
an
organizer
of
the
Dyke
March,
says
the
event
is
a
“planned
but
spontaneous,”
trans-inclusive
event
for
women
to
express
their
unity.
“I
do
hope
that
in
this
most
important
year,
an
election
year
and
a
year
where
we
are
seeing
so
many
‘good,
bad
and
ugly'
occurrences
in
our
community
—
locally,
nationally
and
globally
—
that
the
women
of
Atlanta
and
our
allies
come
out
to
show
our
continued
solidarity
and
our
diversity,”
she
says.
The
Dyke
March’s
route
this
year
begins
at
the
Pine
Street
Gate
at
the
corner
of
Piedmont
Avenue,
winds
toward
North
Avenue,
turns
west,
then
south
on
Peachtree
Street
and
east
on
Ralph
McGill
Blvd.
for
a
return
to
the
Civic
Center.
The
march
is
approximately
1.2
miles
and
is
estimated
to
take
35
minutes.
The
Dyke
March
is
a
chance
for
everyone,
including
men,
to
demonstrate
unity,
pride
and
visibility,
Couvertier
says.
“We
invite
our
gay
brothers
to
join
us
to
help
us
maintain
security
as
they
march
alongside
of
us
in
a
show
of
community
and
a
visible
show
of
how
we
are
united
as
one,”
she
adds.
—
Dyana
Bagby
Commitment
Ceremony
joins
couples
at
Atlanta
Pride
Atlanta
Pride
again
presents
a
mass
commitment
ceremony
as
part
of
the
festival
to
provide
couples
the
opportunity
to
publicly
affirm
their
relationship.
The
event
is
scheduled
for
Saturday,
July
5,
a
change
from
the
ceremony’s
Friday
night
spot
in
previous
years.
Each
year,
dozens
of
couples
exchange
vows
during
Pride’s
Commitment
Ceremony.
(Photo
by
Sher
Pruitt)
Congregation
Bet
Haverim’s
Rabbi
Josh
Lesser
officiates
the
ceremony,
along
with
Rev.
Tessie
Mandeville.
Lesser
says
he
honors
the
message
the
event
sends,
but
is
especially
happy
to
see
the
change
in
day
take
place.
“They’ve
done
it
on
Friday
nights
in
the
past,
which
has
prevented
a
Rabbi
from
participating
in
any
real
way,”
Lesser
says.
“Because
they
did
move
it,
I’m
grateful
and
I’d
like
to
honor
that.”
The
ceremony
is
interfaith,
and
participants
have
the
opportunity
to
be
blessed
individually
by
a
member
of
the
clergy
of
their
own
particular
faith.
Gay
singer/songwriter
Eric
Himan
is
slated
to
perform
at
the
reception.
Lesser
predicts
that
this
year's
ceremony
will
see
some
impact
by
the
California
Supreme
Court's
same-sex
marriage
decision.
“I
think
it
will
probably
bring
more
politically-minded
people
to
make
the
statement
that
we
don’t
have
these
rights
in
Georgia,”
he
says.
But
essentially,
it
remains
a
personal
event,
and
should
not
stand
on
its
own,
Lesser
stresses.
“For
me,
this
ceremony
doesn’t
replace
actually
working
with
a
clergy
person
and
having
one’s
own
ceremony
and
making
sure
that
people
have
the
legal
protections
that
they
can
have
in
place
before
doing
something
like
this,”
he
says.
“I
feel
that
this
ceremony
is
a
ritual
to
honor
people’s
commitments
and
encourage
them
to
go
further
and
deeper.”
—
Rob
Beck
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