LGBT Atlanta donned its holiday finest on Saturday night for the annual Toy Party at downtown’s AmericasMart, presented by For...
Downtown Atlanta will be more bustling than Santa’s workshop on Dec. 2, as thousands of LGBT Atlantans turn out for the 10th annual Toy Party at AmericasMart #3.
For more than a decade, the Toy Party has allowed LGBT locals and an increasing number of heterosexuals to play Santa’s elves by donating holiday gifts for underprivileged children in Atlanta.
“It’s amazing how every year it gets bigger and bigger,” says Nick Gold, a member of the advisory board of For The Kid in All of Us, the volunteer non-profit that organizes Toy Party. “It’s amazing to see, and we expect maybe as many as 5,000 people will attend the Toy Party this year.”
Best Charity Benefit
Toy Party
Long considered the close of Atlanta’s social season, Toy Party, put on by For the Kid in all of Us (www.forthekid.org), collects thousands of toys and dollars to provide children with holiday gifts. The Joining Hearts Pool Party (www.joininghearts.org), scheduled for July 21, nabbed second place as it raises funds to support housing for people with HIV. Atlanta’s HRC Gala Dinner (www.atlantahrcdinner.org), a black-tie event in May which raises money for the national Human Rights Campaign, finished third.
Annual event largest on LGBT holiday calendar
A child’s delight for gifts is synonymous with the holiday season, and the cover for one of the biggest parties of the year is just one unwrapped toy.
After almost a decade, Toy Party has established itself as the largest event on Atlanta’s LGBT holiday calendar. Last year 4,000 attendees donated 6,000 toys. This year organizers expect attendance to surge by up to 1,000.
“This is our ninth year and it’s become an institution for the holiday season,” says Chris Bess, president of For the Kid in All of Us, the nonprofit that puts on Toy Party.