Atlanta LGBTQ Culture Explorers

Voices of a New Century - Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra, optional brunch

Sun, Feb 8 · 2:30 PM EST

Church at Wieuca, 3626 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA, US

We're returning to hear the Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra’s free concert, Voices of a New Century. Prior visits to hear the ACSO were great events.

From the ACSO website:

Jazz flair, orchestral brilliance, and rhythm that dances off the stage!
Join the Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director Robert Trocina for an unforgettable journey through orchestral color, character, and rhythm. Piano virtuoso Yongtong Tan, Ruth Kern Featured Artist 2025, is featured in Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue, blending classical tradition with American jazz brilliance. Benjamin Britten’s beloved Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra adds an orchestral showcase complete with narration that’s as fun as it is illuminating.
The program also features the blissful Meditation from Thaïs by Jules Massenet, offered as a moment of reflection honoring cherished members of the ACSO community, alongside the fiery, rhythm-driven energy of Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 2.

Event Plan:

In advance: Grab your own ticket. Use this link to reserve your free ticket. You get a ticket to download, which you're asked to show at the door (although this appears to be a bit of a formality to help them plan).

2:30 - Brunch (optional) - Meet at Buttermilk Kitchen in East Chastain Park.

• Address is: 4225 Roswell Rd. NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30342.
• Restaurant is a 5–6-minute drive from the concert venue.
• Only one spot remains. You must post a comment below if you wish to join; an RSVP does not secure a brunch spot .

3:15 - Head over to Church at Wieuca in Buckhead.

4:00 – ACSO Concert at the Church at Wieuca

• Address is: 3626 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30326

Hope to see you there. Thank you to our Culture Explorer Roger who brought this event to our attention.

The Mirrored Pool at Center for Puppetry Arts + dinner before

Sat, Feb 21 · 5:45 PM EST

Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring Street N.W., Atlanta, GA, US

Our February event includes a world premiere of The Mirrored Pool at the Center for Puppetry Arts, with dinner beforehand.

The Mirrored Pool is a visionary collaboration between acclaimed puppeteer Tom Lee and celebrated musicians Lisa Kaplan and Matthew Duvall, co-founders of the Grammy Award–winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird. This immersive performance invites audiences to reflect on humanity’s place in the cosmos, blending Eighth Blackbird’s renowned musical virtuosity with the evocative storytelling power of puppetry. Inspired by the legacy of astronomer Carl Sagan and the Voyager spacecraft carrying the Golden Record, now traveling more than 15.7 billion miles from Earth. Mirrored Pool offers a breathtaking journey through wonder, curiosity, and our enduring connection to the universe.

Puppeteer Tom Lee is known for a distinctive practice that bridges traditional Japanese kuruma ningyō (“cart puppetry”) with modern staging tools—mixing handcrafted forms with contemporary techniques such as miniature environments and, in some of his broader body of work, multimedia elements.

Tickets: I have purchased a block of 20 seats at a 10% discount. Discounted tickets are $25.00 each (vs. $28.00 at the box office).

• You can purchase discounted tickets from me (Venmo, Zelle, Paypal) or purchase separately via Center's box office.

Event Plan

5:45 Dinner – Dos Caminos (Mexican)

• Address: 1100 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
• Restaurant is a 5-minute drive to the Center
• You must post a comment if you want to join us for dinner.

7:30- Meet at entrance to the theater

8:00 – The Mirrored Pool, Center for Puppetry Arts

• Address: 1404 Spring St. NW at 18th, Atlanta, GA 30309
• Tickets are $25.00 (if you buy from me) or $28.00 (at the box office).
• If you want buy a discounted ticket from me, you must post a comment below. Otherwise, the box office has plenty of tickets left.

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Hope to see some of you there.

Docent tour of SCAD FASH’s André Leon Talley 'Style Is Forever' Exhibit

Sat, Feb 28 · 1:30 PM EST

SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film, 1600 Peachtree Street Northwest, Atlanta, GA, US

Our ‘bonus’ February event is a docent-led tour of SCAD FASH’s André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever Exhibit before it closes.

This exhibit is no 'costumes behind glass' parade, but a full-bodied encounter with a man who treated clothes as cultural argument. Anchored by nearly 70 looks from Talley’s own wardrobe (ready-to-wear, couture, and bespoke), the show moves between the public theater of fashion (Met Gala grandeur, front-row mythmaking) and the more intimate occasions where style becomes autobiography. The curatorial through-line is Talley’s insistence that a man can dress ‘with splendor’ and be admired for it -an ethos that turns the galleries into something like a runway and a reading room, with photographs, documents, and ephemera giving the garments their proper context and bite.

What makes it more than a greatest-hits closet raid is the way it frames André Leon Talley as both kingmaker and self-made icon: a figure who rose from Durham’s church aisles (his “first runways,” per ArtsATL) into the industry’s inner sanctum, then used that perch to translate fashion into narrative, lineage, and power. The installation leans into his physical and vocal presence: custom mannequins modeled in his likeness and audio of Talley himself create the feeling that you’re not just looking at garments, you’re hearing the mind that wore them.

For the LGBTQ+ community, Talley’s style reads as more than flamboyance; it’s armor, theater, and a refusal to shrink, a sensibility many will remember from his pop-cultural visibility (including judging stints on RuPaul's Drag Race).

Culture Explorer Tony’s take: ‘Tally was also a frequent judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race and was an important leader in the SCAD fashion department providing insight and feedback to their students regularly. His connection to Georgia and fashion here is also important. This is just pure fun and flamboyance along with history. Don't miss it.’

Event Plan

11:00 – Brunch – The Hive (tentative)

• I’ll ask about a reservation based on those who RSVP AND post a comment indicating interest in brunch
• Check back for updates on brunch
• Note: we had brunch there before our exhibit at The Bremen Museum

1:30 – SCAD FASH Exhibit docent tour, just for our group

• Address: 1600 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
• Fee: $5.00 – includes admission and docent-led tour (approximately 60 minutes)

Hope to see some of you there.

Margaret Cho: Choligarchy at Buckhead Theater + dinner before

Sat, Mar 14 · 5:00 PM EDT

Buckhead Theater, 3110 Roswell Rd,, Atlanta, GA, US

Margaret Cho brings her new standup act, CHOLIGARCHY, to Atlanta's Buckhead Theater in March. For our March event, we'll see her show, with a dinner beforehand.

More than forty years into her comedy career, Cho has evolved into an LGBTQ+ icon and an inspiration for today's leading Asian comics, including Bowen Yang, Joel Kim Booster, and Awkwafina. Her work in television, film, and music defies categorization, such as her Emmy-nominated satirical portrayals of Kim Jong Il on 30 Rock. Her recent film work includes Fire Island and Queens of the Dead.

Each of us will purchase their own tickets for the Margaret Cho performance.

• You can buy your tickets online here.
• My advice is to look for a block where 3-4 tickets are available, and post a comment where you bought a ticket (Section, Row, Seat) so that other attendees can purchase near you.

Event Plan:

5:00pm - Dinner, Iberian Pig, Buckhead (wait list only for new RSVPs)

• Address: 3150 Roswell Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30305
• The restaurant is one block over from the Buckhead Theater.
• We ate at their Decatur location in 2025 for the Candlelight show.
• We now have 20 attendees for dinner. If you'd like to be added to the wait list for dinner, please post a comment below.

7:00pm - Margaret Cho performance

• Address: 3110 Roswell Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30305
• We will meet at the entrance to the theater at 6:40pm

This should be a great evening filled with laughs (and a healthy dose of profanity).