Doraville Pride was founded in 2018 to march in the Atlanta Pride parade. Five years later, Doraville Pride will not only still be marching in this year’s parade — they will also be hosting their own Pride celebration for the first time on June 3.
Ashley Marshall and Angela Werner, the co-presidents of Doraville Pride, reached out to the City of Doraville to see if the June edition of the withstanding Movie Under the Stars summer event series could be Pride-themed.
“Being that [Doraville Pride is] community led, and it aligns with the vision behind the city of diversity, vitality, [and] community, we definitely were excited about the partnership,” Crystal Dawson, the Director of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs for the City of Doraville, told Georgia Voice.
The theme of the event is “Celebrate All Love,” and along with the movie — “Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt),” an Australian rom-com about a 17-year-old who enlists her dead lesbian aunt’s help in finding the courage to ask her classmate to the formal — there will also be face painting, games, art activities led by DArt (Doraville’s art center), a staged reading of a Pride play put on by Merely Players, Doraville Pride T-shirts, and more. The event, which is sponsored by Yelp, Gray Television, and Assembly, will be family friendly and open to everyone.
“This is a city-sponsored event where we are trying to open up to all families,” Dawson said. “We’re not trying to target only one group in our community, we want the entire community to attend and to feel welcome and feel like there’s something that they can gain from it. So, making sure that it was family-friendly was important.”
Because of its vibrant and diverse LGBTQ community, Doraville has made LGBTQ history. The city elected the state’s first openly trans elected official, Stephe Koontz, in 2017, and its current mayor, Joseph Geierman, is gay. The city’s first LGBTQ member of the city council, Brian Bates, was elected in 2007, and current member of the council Andy Yeoman is openly gay.
“I am thrilled the City of Doraville is partnering with our local Pride group for an LGBTQ movie screening,” Mayor Geierman said in a press release. “In Doraville, we don’t just talk about diversity — we live it, inviting everyone to join in our celebration of love, acceptance, and pride.”
To further affirm Doraville’s commitment to the LGBTQ community, Mayor Geierman is set to issue a proclamation officially declaring June as Pride Month for the city.
Despite being the city’s first Pride, Doraville Pride promises to be an impressive kickoff to what Werner hopes will become a mainstay for queer and allied Doraville residents.
“We’re hoping that it’ll be an annual event moving forward and just get bigger with each year,” she said. “So, I think for the first year, we already have quite a bit going on.”
Doraville Pride will be held at Honeysuckle Park (3037 Pleasant Valley Drive) on June 3 at 6:30pm. To learn more, visit facebook.com/DoravillePride.