Pride arts festivities take off ahead of annual celebration

“Broadway Does Pride” is Wednesday at the Grand Opera House and the cabaret-style evening of entertainment sits amid a number of Macon Pride activities that begin this weekend.

“I adore the partnership we’ve had with The Grand and Mercer University through the years along with all the many other partners who’ve helped make our September events a growing tradition,” said Scott Mitchell.

Mitchell is a longtime Macon businessman and owner of downtown’s Sweet Eleanor’s and The Bohemian Den. He spearheaded the founding of Macon Pride in 2019 along with Pride Week which he said means a lot to Middle Georgia’s LGBTQIA+ community and the larger community as well.

“For me, at the heart of Macon Pride is the fact that when I was a young, gay kid growing up in Middle Georgia there were no role models showing me I wasn’t different or weird,” he said. “I had no self-esteem and a lot of challenges and looked for acceptance in nightlife and drugs. I’ll do all I can now so what happened to me won’t happen to others. Instead, I want them to know how beautiful and perfect they are.”

Things kick off Friday with “Storytellers Macon’s Live Pride Edition” at the Serenity Entertainment Complex, 427 Poplar St. Three scheduled storytellers are set to take the stage while others in the LGBTQIA+ community and allies will be allowed five-minute slots in an open mic setting to share tales of love, acceptance and resilience.

The topic is “Chosen Family” and Out Georgia Business Alliance is sponsoring a social starting at 6 p.m. with stories starting at 7 p.m. Cost is $10 for the event.

Among other scheduled activities is an Mx. Macon Pride Pageant on Saturday, a Classics at the Bibb outdoor showing of the movie “To Wong Foo” starring Patrick Swayze Sunday, a panel discussion Tuesday, and the week’s signature Pride in the Park event Sept. 28 at Third Street Park. It’s from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. and features vendors, food, music, dance and more. 

Other activities fill Macon Pride Week; details can be found at maconpride.org and facebook.com/maconpride.

Technically, this is the sixth year Macon Pride has put on events but because it got its start during what turned into the COVID-19 pandemic, things initially had to be done online with Zoom meetings. He said that makes this the fifth year actual gatherings have occurred.

Mitchell also said Macon Pride events are in late September rather than June, the recognized national and international Pride Month, partially because of the cooler weather but mainly because September offered the first post-COVID chance to gather and the later-in-the-year celebration puts it close to October’s National Coming Out Day.

Though at the irregular time, Mitchell said the week is important to the entire Middle Georgia community.

“We’re here,” he said. “We’re part of the Macon community which is a very diverse and inclusive community. We want to celebrate our diversity and want others to join in. We have a strong, committed board who’ve moved things forward from those early days on to see the festival grow each year and become a tradition many expect and want to be part of.”

But back to “Broadway Does Pride.” The Grand calls it “an upbeat cabaret-style performance blending Broadway-inspired vocal stylings with the eclectic atmosphere of an intimate lounge show in downtown Macon.”

It includes music important to the LGBTQ+ community from shows like “Rent” and tunes like “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross and “Vogue” by Madonna.

Performers are local instrumentalists and vocalists with a bit of comedy thrown in.

“’Broadway Does Pride’ (and other ‘Broadway Does…’ shows at The Grand) are a tradition that began during the COVID-19 pandemic when we couldn’t bring Broadway tours to Macon,” according to Julia Morrison, Mercer’s director of arts marketing and community engagement. “We decided to elevate Macon’s voices to a Broadway stage with a community cabaret under the musical direction of McKinley Starks.”

Morrison said the 2024 class of Pioneers and Trailblazers will be inducted during the show by Macon Pride. A photo exhibit including past inductees, such as Stephen Fulbright, Jim Crisp and Tangerine Summers, will be in the lobby.

The 2024 inductees are Charlotte Storey, Thomas Burlington, Jeff Whatley and Keith Bankston.

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Also, don’t miss the “All Hands Art Festival,” this weekend, an annual three-day event that celebrates artists who work in clay, glass, wood and metal.

“A lot of times we only think of art as paintings or famous sculptures but art is a lot of things,” said Melissa Macker of The 567 Center for Renewal, sponsor of the festival.

“We picked the other types of materials to showcase artists whose work ranges widely from decorative pieces to functional art, from pottery to wooden bowls and from wine toppers to toys made by a blacksmith. There are useful and whimsical items to see and choose from.”

Artist exhibitors, vendors, demonstrations, live music and food trucks are all a part of the Saturday and Sunday happenings with plenty to interest kids as well.

This year, “All Hands” takes place across from Fall Line Brewing Co., 567 Plum St., but a Friday meet-the-artists VIP party with hors d’oeuvres and drinks opens the weekend at The 567 Center on First Street. It’s for those with $30 all-weekend, all-event tickets. The VIP party starts at 7 p.m.

Saturday is the day for the festival’s art Olympics where artists compete in technical and creative challenges while visitors watch. Inspired by popular competition shows on television, artists complete tasks like working on a pottery wheel while blindfolded.

For more on the festival, ticketing and other 567 Center information, go to the567center.org/allhands.

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Finally, Macon and Warner Robins community theaters are opening shows this weekend with two other groups following soon.

Theatre Macon opens “The Wizard of Oz” Friday and it runs through Sept. 29. Richard Frazier-Sostillio of Theatre Macon said the production stays faithful to the words and story of the original but blends live theater with film and other sensory input to expand the experience.

“We’re modernizing the look and playing around with things but it’s the same story, same characters, but a 4D feel,” he said. “It’s an amalgamation of video projection, black-light effects, even some wind and other surprises.”

Find out performance details and more on coming attractions at theatremacon.com.

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Warner Robins Little Theatre opens “Clue” on Saturday and it runs through Oct. 6.

“We’ve gotten creative and implemented a few things partly due to the size of our stage versus the requirements of the mansion setting of ‘Clue,’” said director Cathy Collins. “Doors – there are so many doors in the play, so many entrances and exits. We’ve had to create new ways of getting things done and new ways to use props but the play is the same, hilarious script people really enjoy.”

More on WRLT is at wrlittletheatre.com.

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Macon Little Theatre does open its Family Theatre Production of “Mean Girls – High School Version” Friday but their next main stage show opens Oct. 18 when they present “Cabaret.” You can find MLT shows, times and info at www.maconlittletheatre.org.

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The Perry Players have a new show coming Sept. 26: “Driving Miss Daisy.” It runs through Oct. 6. Of course, more details on it and their entire season are at perryplayers.org.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at [email protected] and join him on Instagram at @michael_w_pannell.